Wednesday, August 17, 2016

*The Lessons Of The Spanish Civil War- From The Pen Of Leon Trotsky


Click on title to link to the Leon Trotsky Internet Archive's writings of Leon Trotsky on the Spanish Revolution and the article cited below,"Spain-The Last Warning".

BOOK REVIEW

THE SPANISH REVOLUTION, 1931-39, LEON TROTSKY, PATHFINDER PRESS, NEW YORK, 1973

THE CRISIS OF REVOLUTIONARY LEADERSHIP

AS WE APPROACH THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEGINNING OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR MILITANTS NEED TO LEARN THE LESSONS FOR THE DEFEAT OF THAT REVOLUTION.

I have been interested, as a pro-Republican partisan, in the Spanish Civil War since I was a teenager. What initially perked my interest, and remains of interest, is the passionate struggle of the Spanish working class to create its own political organization of society, its leadership of the struggle against Spanish fascism and the romance surrounding the entry of the International Brigades, particularly the American Abraham Lincoln Battalion of the 15th Brigade, into the struggle.

Underlying my interests has always been a nagging question of how that struggle could have been won by the working class. The Spanish proletariat certainly was capable of both heroic action and the ability to create organizations that reflected its own class interests i.e. the worker militias and factory committees. Of all modern working class revolutions after the Russian revolution Spain showed the most promise of success. Bolshevik leader Leon Trotsky noted that the political class consciousness of the Spanish proletariat at that time was higher than that of the Russian proletariat in 1917. Yet it failed in Spain. Trotsky's writings on this period represent a provocative and thoughtful approach to an understanding of the causes of that failure. Moreover, with all proper historical proportions considered, his analysis has continuing value as the international working class struggles against the seemingly one-sided class war being waged by the international bourgeoisie today.

The Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 has been the subject of innumerable works from every possible political and military perspective possible. A fair number of such treatises, especially from those responsible for the military and political policies on the Republican side, are merely alibis for the disastrous policies that led to defeat. Trotsky's complication of articles, letters, pamphlets, etc. which make up the volume reviewed here is an exception. Trotsky was actively trying to intervene in the unfolding events in order to present a program of socialist revolution that most of the active forces on the Republican side were fighting, or believed they were fighting for. Thus, Trotsky's analysis brings a breath of fresh air to the historical debate. That in the end Trotsky could not organize the necessary cadres to carry out his program or meaningfully impact the unfolding events in Spain is one of the ultimate tragedies of that revolution. Nevertheless, Trotsky had a damn good idea of what forces were acting as a roadblock to revolution. He also had a strategic conception of the road to victory. And that most definitely was not through the Popular Front.

The central question Trotsky addresses throughout the whole period under review here was the crisis of revolutionary leadership of the proletarian forces. That premise entailed, in short, a view that the objective conditions for the success of a socialist program for society had ripened. Nevertheless, until that time, despite several revolutionary upheavals elsewhere, the international working class had not been successful anywhere except in backward Russia. Trotsky thus argued that it was necessary to focus on the question of forging the missing element of revolutionary leadership that would assure victory or at least put up a fight to the finish.

This underlying premise was the continuation of an analysis that Trotsky developed in earnest in his struggle to fight the Stalinist degeneration of the Russian Revolution in the mid-1920's. The need to learn the lessons of the Russian Revolution and to extend that revolution internationally was thus not a merely a theoretical question for Trotsky. Spain, moreover, represented a struggle where the best of the various leftist forces were in confusion about how to move forward. Those forces could have profitably heeded Trotsky's advice. I further note that the question of the crisis of revolutionary leadership still remains to be resolved by the international working class.

Trotsky's polemics in this volume are highlighted by the article ‘The Lessons of Spain-Last Warning’, his definitive assessment of the Spanish situation in the wake of the defeat of the Barcelona uprising in May 1937. Those polemics center on the failure of the Party of Marxist Unification (hereafter, POUM) to provide revolutionary leadership. That party, partially created by cadre formerly associated with Trotsky in the Spanish Left Opposition, failed on virtually every count. Those conscious mistakes included, but were not limited to, the creation of an unprincipled bloc between the former Left Oppositionists and the former Right Oppositionists (Bukharinites) of Maurin to form the POUM in 1935; political support to the Popular Front including entry into the government coalition by its leader; creation of its own small trade union federation instead of entry in the anarchist led-CNT; creation of its own militia units reflecting a hands-off attitude toward political struggle with other parties; and, fatally, an at best equivocal role in the Barcelona uprising of 1937.

Trotsky had no illusions about the roadblock to revolution of the policies carried out by the old-time Anarchist, Socialist and Communist Parties. Unfortunately the POUM did. Moreover, despite being the most honest revolutionary party in Spain it failed to keep up an intransigent struggle to push the revolution forward. The Trotsky - Andreas Nin (key leader of the POUM and former Left Oppositionist) correspondence in the Appendix makes that problem painfully clear.

The most compelling example of this failure - As a result of the failure of the Communist Party of Germany to oppose the rise of Hitler in 1933 and the subsequent decapitation and the defeat of the Austrian working class in 1934 the European workers, especially the younger workers, of the traditional Socialist Parties started to move left. Trotsky observed this situation and told his supporters to intersect that development by an entry, called the ‘French turn’, into those parties. Nin and the Spanish Left Opposition, and later the POUM failed to do that. As a result the Socialist Party youth were recruited to the Communist Party en masse. This accretion formed the basic for its expansion as a party and the key cadre of its notorious security apparatus that would, after the Barcelona uprising, suppress the more left ward organizations. For more such examples of the results of the crisis of leadership in the Spanish Revolution read this book.

Revised-June 19, 2006

2 comments:

  1. Here are some guest lyrics.

    Two Songs Of The Spanish Civil War: "Viva La Quince Brigada" And "El Paso Del Ebro"


    By Thomas Keyes
    Apr. 16, 2005

    “¡Viva La Quince Brigada!” (Long Live the Fifteenth Brigade!) and “El Paso del Ebro” (Crossing the Ebro) are two songs of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) sung to the same melody. The original version of the song goes back to the time of the Napoleonic Wars, but I haven’t found the lyrics for that version. The lyrics of these two songs both pertain to the later war, since both mention aircraft. “¡Viva La Quince Brigada!” is also called “¡Ay, Manuela!”, while “El Paso del Ebro” is also called “¡Ay, Carmela!” “Manuela” and “Carmela” are women’s names.

    Unfortunately, the two audible versions that I was able to find on the Web are somewhat different from the song as I know it, and not as good in my opinion, but perhaps they are more authentic. I have known “¡Viva La Quince Brigada!” since the 1960’s, but to date have not learned “El Paso del Ebro”. I just like the music for its own sake and for its value as a souvenir of Spanish culture. I don’t take sides on the Spanish Civil War, because I don’t know much about it. Incidentally, the Ebro is a major river in the north of Spain. The Jarama, mentioned in the first song, is another river.

    I have provided my own translations, for those who cannot manage the very easy Spanish lyrics. Below are the URL’s for the music:

    http://idd003x0.eresmas.net/mp3/El%20Paso%20Del%20Ebro.mp3

    http://personales.ya.com/altavoz/midis/elpasodelebro.mid

    VIVA LA QUINCE BRIGADA (Spanish Lyrics)

    Viva la quince brigada,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Viva la quince brigada,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Que se ha cubierto de gloria.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!
    Que se ha cubierto de gloria.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!

    Luchamos contra los moros,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Luchamos contra los moros,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Mercenarios y fascistas.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!
    Mercenarios y fascistas.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!

    Solo es nuestro deseo,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Solo es nuestro deseo,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Acabar con el fascismo.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!
    Acabar con el fascismo.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!

    En los frentes de Jarama,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    En los frentes de Jarama,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    No tenemos ni aviones,
    Ni tanques, ti cañones.
    No tenemos ni aviones,
    Ni tanques, ti cañones.

    Ya salimos de España,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Ya salimos de España,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    A luchar en otros frentes,
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!
    A luchar en otros frentes,
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!

    EL PASO DEL EBRO (Spanish Lyrics)

    El ejército del Ebro,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    El ejército del Ebro,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Una noche el río paso.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!
    Una noche el río paso.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!

    Y a las tropas invasoras,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Y a las tropas invasoras,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Buena paliza les dio,
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!
    Buena paliza les dio,
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!

    El furor de los traidores,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    El furor de los traidores,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Lo descarga su aviación.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!
    Lo descarga su aviación.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!

    Pero nada pueden bombas,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Pero nada pueden bombas,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Donde sobra corazón.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!
    Donde sobra corazón.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!

    Contraataques muy rabiosos,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Contraataques muy rabiosos,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Deberemos resistir.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!
    Deberemos resistir.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!

    Pero igual que combatimos,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Pero igual que combatimos,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Prometemos combatir.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!
    Prometemos combatir.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!

    VIVA LA QUINCE BRIGADA (English Translation)
    Long live the fifteenth brigade,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Long live the fifteenth brigade,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Which has covered itself with glory.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!
    Which has covered itself with glory.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!

    We are fighting against the Moors,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    We are fighting against the Moors,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Mercenaries and fascists.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!
    Mercenaries and fascists.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!

    It’s our sole desire,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    It’s our sole desire,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    To be done with fascism.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!
    To be done with fascism.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!

    On the front lines of the Jarama,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    On the front lines of the Jarama,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    We have neither airplanes,
    Tanks nor cannon.
    We have neither airplanes,
    Tanks nor cannon.

    We’re already leaving Spain,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    We’re already leaving Spain,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    To fight on other fronts.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!
    To fight on other fronts.
    ¡Ay, Manuela! ¡Ay, Manuela!

    EL PASO DEL EBRO (English Lyrics)

    The army of the Ebro,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    The army of the Ebro,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Crossed the river one night.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!
    Crossed the river one night.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!

    And to the invading troops.
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    And to the invading troops.
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    It gave a sound beating.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!
    It gave a sound beating.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!

    The fury of the traitors,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    The fury of the traitors,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    They discharge with their airplanes.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!
    They discharge with their airplanes.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!

    But bombs can do nothing,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    But bombs can do nothing,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Where there’s a lot of heart.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!
    Where there’s a lot of heart.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!

    Very rabid counterattacks,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    Very rabid counterattacks,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    We will owe it to resist.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!
    We will owe it to resist.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!

    But as we have fought,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    But as we have fought,
    Rumba la, rumba la, rumba la,
    We promise to fight.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!
    We promise to fight.
    ¡Ay, Carmela! ¡Ay, Carmela!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lyrics to Jarama Valley :

    by Woody Guthrie


    There’s a valley in Spain called Jarama
    It’s a place that we all know so well
    It was there that we fought against the Fascists
    We saw a peacful valley turn to hell

    From this valley they say we are going
    But don’t hasten to bid us adieu
    Even though we lost the battle at Jarama
    We’ll set this valley free 'fore we’re through

    We were men of the Lincoln Battalion
    We’re proud of the fight that we made
    We know that you people of the valley
    Will remember our Lincoln Brigade

    From this valley they say we are going
    But don’t hasten to bid us adieu
    Even though we lost the battle at Jarama
    We’ll set this valley free 'fore we’re through

    You will never find peace with these Fascists
    You’ll never find friends such as we
    So remember that valley of Jarama
    And the people that’ll set that valley free

    From this valley they say we are going
    Don’t hasten to bid us adieu
    Even though we lost the battle at Jarama
    We’ll set this valley free 'fore we’re through

    All this world is like this valley called Jarama
    So green and so bright and so fair
    No fascists can dwell in our valley
    Nor breathe in our new freedom’s air

    From this valley they say we are going
    Do not hasten to bid us adieu
    Even though we lost the battle at Jarama
    We’ll set this valley free 'fore we’re through
    [ Jarama Valley Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

    ReplyDelete