the friends of durruti - a chronology

8/14/2019 The Friends of Durruti - A Chronology

1/13

Paul SharkeyThe Fr iends o f Durru t i - - - A Chronology

J 6 rnl.ulIo flUe c l 1.9 d e Ju l io 10' t t a b ~ i l l l ( . o r e . fie, ~ l o r ( e J o " a ..... r ~ h ~ l " r f ) " contra. e l fa l lc ienlo n e : g lo . e l 9 d e r f a y o I .. h ic l e r on c : o n ~ r a 148 c:onJura,() ione.

c 1; . ." lq .. . d e 109 p a r t i d o . P C ' l " c i \ o N b l r q u e l e . " , l I ad . , . co nc l capU a ll .. o I n l e r n a d o n a l

Ed i t o r i a l C r i s o l , Tokyo, JapanMay 1984, the f i r s t impress ion of the f i r s t ed i t ionSpainJapanthe r e s t

postage onlydonat ion neededUS $1 or i t s eqp iva len t( inc luding sur face mai l postage)( a i r mai l postage ex t ra )


2/13

Edi tor ia l Cr i so l , Tokyo, Japan, i s a one-man publishingco l lec t ive whose aims are as fol lows; ,( ) t ubl i sh Paul Sharkey, The Friends of Durrut1 - - -a A ~ h ~ O n o l o g y , 1984, in English. ,(b ) to publish the J a ~ a n e s e vers ion of HaC1a una nueva

revolucion, 1985. f h hCr iso l i s composed of only on e rnant' an d t r e ~ ~ s ~ ~ : e ~ ~ y t ' cessary fund, t r an s l a t e , yp e ano ~ h ~ ~ l ~ r s ~ ~ l l a n e o u s business so as to a t t a in th e aboveO b j ~ ~ ; S h e ha s been put t ing Hacia in to Japanese: He takfes

. t from mate r ia l s about th e Fr1ends 0much encouragernen ,D r ru t i which are sen t to h1m.u B th e way during th e S p a n i ~ Revolut ion, some JananesewereYinvolved'in the ac tua l bat t le s . Only on e p e k r s S ~ n h ~ s ,ized He was Ja c 1 ra liden t i ty ha s already been rec )gn ' s t who died a t the(a l iaSt s ~ r a i t ' S ~ ~ I a y i l ~ r f ~ ~ ~ : A b ~ U ~ o ~ ~ ~ l s next matte r .Brune e r o n , ' .', 1 N York 1953(a ) The Volunteers by Steve Ne son' ,e w , (b ) The Book of th e XV Brigade, ~ n d r l d , ,1938 ' s i t edAccording to a ce r t a i n Japanese J o u r n a l l s ~ " w h o ~ l i n S a in those days, seve ra l more J a p a n c p a ~ t 1 C 1 p a t e Bu t asbPoth th e Republican camps and, the Nat10nallst campsh b, th ' ames nor d01ngs ave ee na matter of regx'et, ne 1 ther e lr nknown down to date., t 'I f a body has informat10n, documents or te s 1monlesc o n c e r n ~ ~ g th e above mentioned Ja pan ese, p l e ~ s e s e n ~ d t ~ : m to him. They, even though t r i v i a l or uncerta1n, wouapprecia ted invaluably. many t id ings in not dis tan tHopefully , he could getfu ture . Publisher

contact; ISOYA Takeroclo Tokiwa-soMinami-kase 2516Saiwai-kuKawasaki-shi211 JAPAN

PrefaceMy hope is tha t th e chronology I'lhich follows may go some of th eway towards shedding some l ight upon th e facts about th e FoD group.Because th e fact is tha t , although nearly every textbook on th eSpanish Revolution feels obliged to mention th e group in connectionwith th e May Events of 1937, th e scrupulous reader will be confusedra ther than informed by th e wide variety of assertions encountered.Even historians who mieht be expected to be scrupulously di l i"ent in

the i r research have penned remarks that can easily be refuted orcan ' t be sustained by evidence. One of th e ear l iest misrepresentationsof th e FoD group Came in a pamphlet on th e subject of th e !.In.y Dayswhich was published by Ediciones Ebro. In reply, th e FoD (i n El Amigode l Pueblo, no.7, 31 August 1937) accused th e authors of ' slipshodworlc, poor documentation or an attempt to ex cuse the I'larped attitudeadopted by th e committees concerning our intervention in those daysof f ight ing . ' 'rhose features ar e readily dis covered even in morerecent authors.The principal allegation against th e PoD croup i s tha t , with i tstalk of a 'Revolutionary Junta ' i t was f l i r t ing with Bolshevism, Leninism, Marxism. Some n.cwe seen presumption in th e eetablislunent ofsuc h a Junta. Yet, i t was never se t up , an d a readin/,: of th e Fonmanifesto 'Tol'lards a Fresh Revolution' will show why. The Junta wasto be elected by and accountable to th e union rank and f i l e .[


3/13

\ ~ h o had departed from CN'i' policy? The FoD spoke of seiz ing power an dhave been condemned fo r i t . Ye t Solidaridad Obrera (13 July 1937)approvingly quotes Camillo Berneri as saying; 'Anarchis ts accept theus e of political-power by th e prole ta r ia t , bu t they take thatpol i t ica l power to be th e ensemble of communist management systems,corporative organisms, communal, regional and national inst i tu t ions,f reely constituted outside of and against th e pol i t ica l monopoly ofone pE.rty and vIi th a view to minimal concentration of administrat ion. 'Read the FoD brochure and Balius's ar t icles in 1936 - 37 an d spotth e difference between what he advocated and th e words of Berneri.Where, the,n, did the FoD err? Not in departing from acceptedl iber ta r ian objectives an d practices bu t in clinging stubbornly tothem, in refusing to be seduced by ' c i r c u m s t a n c e s ! ~ They believed,with Evelio G. Fontaura that 'To invoke th e CN'r or even th e FAI isno t enough, i f actions turn ou t to be equidis tant from th erevolutionary t ra jectory which th e l e t te r s in question stand fo r ' (Ideas, 14 January 1937). Even in th e matter of the i r expulsion the 'FoDha'dOccasion to remind th e CN'l'-FAl ' l eadership ' of the accepted normsof the i r organisations an d that sovereignty resided with th e rank andf i l e . Andre Prudhommeaux regarded th e FoD's policies as approximateto th e views advanced by Bakunin af ter th e bat t le of Sedan in 1670***.'rhe chief faul t of the Foll. appears to have been t he i r to o s teadfast revolutionism. They refused to yield to th e argument of'c ircumstance ' . They refused to be bul l ied by their own organisation.'rhey were not deceived by th e Sta l in of th e Populc>,r Front era , no r byth e Moscow t r ia l s . Nor were they afraid to acknowledge th erevolutionary credentials of Marxists. Ye t they sorely resented th edescr ip t ion marxist when applied to themselves. In shor t , they wereunlucky enough to have held that anarchism was and had been and s t i l lwould be the i r goal. In El Amigo de l Pueblo, no.3 (12 June 1937) AdaMarti paid t r ibute to a POUM member, Francisco Jorda Montana, who hadnroven he r revolutionary credentials by he r actions. l"i t t ingly, i twas Ada ~ 1 a r t i , writ ing elsewhere who encapsulated what th e FoD were sopainfully to discover throughout the i r existence and in the i r dealingswith th e CNT's ' c i rcumstanc ia l is ts ' . 'And I t e l l you th is j there areno friends in high places. Fear of losing the i r "dignity" makes themst r ike majestic poses which distance them from remembrance of the i rf r i ends . ' (Esfuerzo, Baroelona, 7 October 1937) Paul SharkeyApril 1984

* Helmut Ruediger, El Anarcosindicalismo en la RevolucionEspanola, Barcelona 1938, p.32. Elsewhere (p.29) Ruediger attemptsto explain away th e emergence of a disaffected l iber ta r ian press(including El Amigo de l Pueblo) py alluding to the ' unduly blandnature of cer ta in off icial organs. ' For Ruediger 's own adherence toth e precepts of anarchism, . se e Manuel Azaretto, Las PendientesResbaladizas (105 Anarquistas en Espana), Montevideo, 19392

** Pavel and Clara Thalmann Combats pour la _L_i berte; ~ ; o s couMadrid-Paris, Quimperle, 1983. 'KU Lette r Union (;ommuniste, dated 17 November 1937 (quoted in H.~ h n z e , ChrgnlQue de la Revolution Espanole, Ed. Srartacus, Paris,9 79). In esar M. Lorenzo's Los Anarquistas ~ s p a n o l e s y e l r O d e ~ , Inr is , 1972, 1orenzo speaks of Union vommuniste speaking on behalf ofth e FoD, th e POUM and some elements of th e Libertarian Youth d~ a l l i n g f? r th e formation' of these groUP!! . into a unit for_the anlab)oratlon 0: t h ~ progamme of th e proletarian revolution. ' (p.219~ . 3 2 ~ o r e n z o lS mlsleading here. He ought to know that Union ',(;O mmunlste ~ a s ,a small group which had grown ou t of the Ligue~ r o t s ~ s t e o l n vrance and was urging this amalgamation ra ther thanp o r ~ l I t , an d also that th e manifesto he quoted was a handbill

d i s t r 1 ~ u t e d at a meeting in th e Velodrome d'Hiver, Paris , 18 June1937! l t s purpose beinG to expose and embar o, ss th e speakers, GarciaOl iv1er a n ~ Feder1ca Montseny, who had 'pac i f ied ' th e anarchists inBarcelona 1n May i937.

*** *** *** *** ***

The Friends of Durruti - - - A Chronology

8.9.36.tha t 'The ~ ~ ! ! ! n ~ f i ~ h ! o ~ ! ~ : r i ~ a d Obrer:,Jaime Baliuq gives hi s opinionB en war mus be borne by th e bou ut in addition to moneys seized from th e enemy we must imrgeo1S ~ ~ ~ p u l h a s o r y charge every township. No one is ' to be e x e m p t ~ ~ S ~ r ~ m 15 c rge. In thlS grave hour ';e u tr ~ f i c e s so that t h ~ socia l r e ~ o l : t ~ O / ~ : ; a ~ ; i ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ l : ~ ~ i ~ r s ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ e r no e forgotten that th e comrades on th e front ar e .conduct of the workers lef t behind in th e r e a r g u a r d . ~ o u n t l n g upon th e

3


4/13

October 1936. 'rhe War Committee of the Durruti Column decides tosend a delegate to th e celebrations on the anniversary of th e OctoberRevolution in Moscow. Sce pt i cal as to the purpose of th e invitationreceived from the Soviet consul in Barcelona, Antonov-Ovsenko .Durruti nonetheless dravlS up an oren l e t t e r add.ressed to sovietworkers. Francisco Carreno, the former teacher who belongs to theColumn's i'la r Committee and has special resp onsib il i ty fo r propagandais ohosen as th e delegate. 'rhe open l e t t e r says 'We have no confidencein politics even i f i t e;oes by th e name demo cr a t ic or an t i f asc i s t . Wet ru s t in ou r class brothers ( ) no t fo r anyth i ng in th e world arewe goi ng to renounce ou r pr in c ip les , th e princ ip l es of th e workingstruggle for l iberat ion . ' Carreno vi s i t s th e Soviet UnionI-li th rJar t in Gudel!. Ca rreno Ivi l l be a FoD member.

Balius who , in 1935 ha d pub l i s hed a book (Octubre Ca ta la n! I)on th e s ubject of t he Oc t obe r 1934 upri s inf, in ca talonia 1,rites in ana r t i cl e in so l idar idad Obrera ent i t led cann ot f orget ; 6 Octobe r 'a pr ouos of Cat a lani s t at te mpt s to mark th e sec ond annivers ary of th er evol t . 'ori th e s e cond a nnivers a ry of t he Oc tober event VIe have t.our ee a l l \-!O rker s to ensu re th a t th e revolution permeates every aspectof l i f e . 'l'he consequence s \"1 i l l be dep lo r abl e i f th e t r a nsformati onin a u [,ur a te d on 19 Ju ly s hould be nothing more than an outward s how 6 Oc tober deserve s to be pas se d ove r in s i lence. a lo ngside th e :feat s of July, there i s no compar ison pos s i b l e . '10 .10.36. A gov ernment de cre e establ ishe s the popular Army and makesprovi s io n fo r mil i t ar i sa t ion of the volunteer mili t ias .15. 10 .36 In sol idaridad Obrera, Jaime Bal iu s compl a in s of th ecounter-revolut ionary und ertone s of th e pe t i t -b our geo i s press a ndwa rn s a gainst ap nlying a brake to the revolut io n. ' The Revolut i on hast o be s erved 'l'Ii thout se l f i s hne ss Le t a ny who fe e l unable to folIous step aside and leave us a c lear path . '

In Solidaridad Obrera, Balius ur ge s decent ral i sat ion anddevolution to d is t r ic t level. 'Let us not forg et that there must bedecentralisation. Let us rem ember tha t should any cent ral i s ing organcome into existence, th e creat ive opportuni t ies which have cost somuch blood and fo r which so much blood has ye t to be shed wi l llargely be l o s t to us . '

4

November 1936.Interviewea by L'E .t h ~ government decrees re la t ive " ~ p a g n e A n t ~ f a s c i s t e , Durrut i says This decision ' b th e 0 regurallsation of th e militias

i 1j,:alJsolutel;r de1}oid ~ f " a n g o v e r n m ~ n t hae ha d a deplorable effec t . I ti r r e o o n c i ~ b l ~ 6 o n t ~ 't -b y s e n ~ e r ~ ~ l i t y . There anm l i t1I:1B ' . ' . 'We k n o : \ h a ~ t w e e n t h a t m ~ n t a 1 i t y an d ' that of the militia:;:rll e of th e other one . ' one of these a t t i tudes h!il:a to vanish in th e') . 11.36. Solidaridad Obrera ' t 'over th e CN 'r-FAI radio s ta t . . prln s a radlo broadcast made by DurrutiOatalo nia. 'The time ha 1.cm , and addressed to th e workers of1 I s come to dem d iving in the c i t ies 'rh an sacr f ices also from thoseworkers in th e rear 'f O er e m ~ s t be effect ive mobilisation of a l lwhat so r t of men we ' c a n r r : ~ w 0 a r ~ already on th e front want to knowlho mi l i t a r i sa t ion decreed ~ y u t P h o n 1.n our re a r I f the object ofr i ' e Generalidad it .o s t a n l ron disc l pll'ne u s 0 In lmldate us andpo n t h a t ' . .rltttho rs of the decree to come o ~ ~ t 1.S a mIstake and we invite th emorale and disc ip l ine . The h the front to ge t a taste of ou rrmd di s cipl ine in th e rearn wedS a go and compare those with moralentrus t th e management of tguhar He who have lef t CataloniaI e economy to yo u Y 1.0 your responsib i l i t ie d d' .. ou a so mtta' l ive ups an lsclpl lne yours e lve s .'?O . 11.36.mil l ion Durruti was ki l led on th e a d r i d f ron t. (Over half apeople attend his funeral in Barcelona.)

Por 108 fucro8 de la "VerdadNo 80lI l08 a g e n t e 8

p r o v o c a d o r e 8por JAIME BALIUS

Hall transcurrido muy pocas horas de las j doidos el fra,or del combate Pa orn!, as de mayo. Aun perdura en nueslrosque, auroleados de una m o ; e d a ; " ~ : d ~ : \ : u : ten,aOlos a nuestro lado aquellos camaradn!N t n , e saron con .u frente el pavimento barcelonesues ro cuerpo y nuestro. nervlos e.tan t d . .Nos sentlmos maltrechos y fatlrad 0 aVlal presos de aquella a,ltacion lilantina.conceptos que se ha n vertldo cont os'1 pero nos scnt mos dolorldos, en Irado sumo, por 105

., a la revoluclon, qulslthos ' d e f e n d ~ : u : : a s c a ; : : ; c ~ : ~ : s q: : C t u b e r ~ n t e s de amor a las Ideasmento y a cada Instante por los s to e as ve am os rasladas a cada 010I\quellos hombres que saivaron ; c ~ e ~ que deberian tencr un poco de conslderaclon aa spana, en las jornadas de julio del predomlnlo fasclsta.

5


5/13

2.12.36. Jaime Balius writes in Solidaridad Obrera , 'The so-calledCatalan question as such ha s been resolved Let us be equal to th edemands of the present moment.'6.12.36. Hrit ing in Solidaridad Obi'era on th e subject of 'Durrut i ' stestament' , Balius asser ts , 'Durruti roundly stated that we anarchistsrequire that th e revolution be of an a l l pervasive ( to tal i tar io)nature, and that th e comrades so s teadfas t ly r es i s t ing fascism on th ef ie lds of bat t le ~ d l l no t tolerate anyone tampering withrevolutionary and l iberating content of the present moment.'December 1936. 'l'he German volunteers in the Durruti Golumn'sIn te rna t iona l Group express the i r objections to mil i ta r isa t ion imposedfrom I'li thout and l i s t a number of factors they ins is t should beincorporated into any n e l ~ military code; they want the delegate systemto be re tained along Idth egalitarian features and want so ld i e r s 'Councils to represent th e army as a I"hole.17.12.36. In Solidaridad Obrera, Jaime Balius says of opportunistsan d upstarts that "rhe revolution must be harsh, we might even sa ybrutal 'l'he time has come to purify th e cadres of the revolution.Unless > ~ e do th i s , Vie r isk making, a superf ic ia l revolution, arevolution in name o!lly. 'rhe parvenus must be stopped. '

Issue number 1 of Ideas th e mouthpiece of th e l iber ta r ianmovement in th e Bajo Llobregat area, an area notorious fo r i t sintransigent revolutioniam. A l i s t of contributors to i t s columnsnames Jaime Balius and Francisco Carreno, both of whom wil l bemembers of th e FoD.

6

El descenso de la revoluci6n de julio ha sido r ~ p i d o . Ninguna.de la s revoluciones que se consideran como el arquetipo de la sconmociones sociales sufri6 un declive tan vertiginoso.No puede teorizarse en torno de la sucesi6n.escalonada de hechosporque la revoluci6n ya no existe. Es forzoso abrir nuevamentebrecha en la cantera inagotable de la Espafia pro1etaria. Hay quevolver a empezar.

I 37.. After th e new year th e government will issue no pay and noqU1pment except to regularised ( i .e . militarised) combat uni ts .

On behalf of the Durruti Column, th e following units I h . no.4 Gelsa detachment, the'Accion y Alegria ' Group, th e Inter1 \ ~ ~ l o n a l Group, th e ar t i l l e ry batteries , . th e machine-gunner secti"nsItld 0 ther centuries issue a statement "1'0 th e comrades, to th e! on f deral columns' protesting a t mi l i ta r isa t ion and offerinc' apnoific structure acceptable to th e fighting men They c l a i ~ to

p(n.k 'On behalf of everyone of th e centuries of ' the Durruti Column'" " A p ~ p a r e n t l y th e government is making the provision of equipment(onditlo na l upon ou r militarisation According to what th e' ( l m m ~ t t e e s themselves say, they cannot give us any as "urances that th eMnd :n d government wil l supply us with th e equipment even i f we doIllllitar ise. That being the case, the trespalls against ou r principlesw n n l ~ be rewarded with nothing more than an empty promise. ' rhisITlIJnU es to is published in the paper Acracia of Lerid.a. In the FoD11 wopaper (El Amigo de l PUeblo, no.5, 20 July IJ37) th is m1'J.nifesto isJ' ( printed and i t is stated 'On th e date given a t th e foot of thE'lII11nifesto, th e Friends of Durruti group, composed fo r th e most part ofn ( ) m r ~ d e s from ~ h e Aragon Front, Durruti Column (Gelsa section)pnbllshed opinlons rec;ard:ing mil i ta r isa t ion which th e passage of timeIII V endorsed against th e 'majority ' \-Iho opposed it ' 'Even fromIII fron t l in e , amid th e mud of th e trenches, amid the cold an d th elh lrs t , watching our comrades f a l l day in day out, we opposed th e\n 't i -revolutionary suicidal course followed b', those l'lho were th eIII ntors of ou r organisat ion. '11l.1.37.

'rhe General idad government of Ga talonia passes 58 de creesverelY 'curta i l ing th e revolut ion.

'1

No..queda ot!O camina que el de una nueva revoluci6n. Vayamos asu .Ilreparac16n. Y en e1 fragor de la nueva gesta nos vo1veremosa e n c ~ h t r a r en la cal1e 105 camaradas que hoy batallan en 105n t e s , 105 .camaradas que yacentras rejas y l o ~ camaradas queen la hora actual adn no han perdido la esperanza de una revoluci6n que rinda just icia a la clase t r a b ~ j a d o r a .

A la consecuci6n de una nUeva revoluci6n que satisfacci6nc ~ m p l e t a a 10s obreros de la,ciudad y de l campo. A la consecuc16n.de una sociedad anar4uista que satisfacci6n a l a s aspiraci ones humanas,IIAdelante, camaradas!(


6/13

5 - 8. 2 .31.Delegates from th e ana r chis t mi l i t i "" IIIIH1t hl oone re s sin Valencia to diRcuss th e question of mi l i nr-hm l. i (1 11 . 'I hn oh,I ectorsfrom the Durruti Column (Gelsa sector) a r e rf'pro""o tlL nd It,Y i'll lllo fl.uiz,who helped Durruti storm th e Ataraza nas barro.okll ,in IIII I'rn lcm:' on 20July 1936. 'rhe Gelsa o.bjectors were se ver a.l r n ~ l I i ,l n d "\ lf1 \. lld to 'adhereto the decision taken reearding milit ar i SCl. t ion. ]n. l l l l1 o l, I " ' 11 10 this

effec t from th e Reeional Committees of th e C N ' ~ 11. 1111 1"/\ I w" ,." I " nored.So Was the order that th e re frac tor ies s h .-, u lcl 1a,V c l ( ) I ~ \ 1, ,, 1I' ' , ~ r oand quit the f ront . Ho s t i l i ty between th e co mpli(1.nL ,,,,d \' 11 " "I) f" 'uc torysections of th e Durrut i Column was so se r i OU G thnL n "I/l II IIII"n lo n fromth e column, headed by Jose Man;o;ana spoke wi t h th(' ) '1)/'.1111111 .) 1'" l11rn i tteeson th e SUbject. As a resu lt , th e milit iamen a t GC]I"l Wil l '" I "v l Lod toresolve th e si tua t ion one way (by mil i ta r i s in p;) or 1 11" p l. II'J I' (h yqui t t ing th e f ront) . 'l'hey a f:reed t o qui t th e f r on t II l1 d ~ l v " 1I p the i r"e a pons wi th in 15 days. Later th e FoD would explain (Ill ISI / \ i I IE..ueblo, no.5, 21 July 1931) ' Our lJithdrawa l ' from th " " "" 1 1. Will' clue toth e f a ct that ~ l e had no de s ir e to assulDe repons ibi l l l v ,1'0 " It 1 I I 1 C 1 ~ a k 4 e i l a t t i tude whose failure we foresaw. Now, back in th e 1'!)/II'/U" II 'II , woremain combatants. '

8

c. N. T.Agrupadon IILos F".A.I.omigos de Durruti'

iTRABAJADORES .iUna Junta revolucionaria, Fusilamiento de los cu lpnbles,

Desarme de todos Ics Cuerpos armados.Socializaci6n de la economia.

Disoluci6n de los Partidos politicos que hayan agredldo C lac!ase trabajadora.No cedamcs la caile. La revoluci6n ante todo.

Saludamos a nuestros , Camaradas del P. O. U. M. que tHIncontraternizado en la calle con nosotros.VIVA lA REVOlUelON SOCIAL... jABAJO lA CONTRAREVOlUCIONI

4.3.31. A decree from th e Generalidad dissolves the control patro ls .In the POUM paper La Batalla, Andres Nin repr ints large extracts froman ar t ic le by Jaime Balius published in th e CN'r eveninr,- paper La Noche.(Balius was director of La Noche which, along \'Iith Catalunya soldaround 45,000 copies daily figures from SOlidaridad Obrera, 2 April1931). In that ar t ic le , welcomed by Nin, Baiius had writ ten ' \ ~ e anarchists have arrived at th e l imits of our concessiong Notanother step backward. I t is th e hour of action. Save th e r ~ v o l u t i o n ' an d ' I f we continue to give up ou r positions there is no doubt that ina short time we sha l l be overwhelmed and th e revolution will simply beanother souvenir . I t i s fo r th is fundamental reason that i t isnecessary to develop a new orientation in ou r movement.' Dalius alsowrote that he was era t i f ied to find tha t 'Our anxiety is now shared byth e evening paper of an organisation ,I i th which we are in fund nmenta.lagreement concerning the present r evolutionary epoch and th e role ofth e working c las s . ' Clearly that organisation was th e pourn.5-3.31. Solidaridad Obrera carrie s an announcement of th e f ormati onof th e FoD group. "rhe Friends of Durruti is no t jus t another c lub. Weaim to se e th e Spanish Revolut ion per va ded by the revoluti onary a c u m e nof ou r DurrutL 'rhe FoD remain f a i thfu l to the l as t words uttered byou r comrade in the heart of Barcelona in denunciat ion of th e wor k ofth e counter-revolution To enrol in ou r association, i t i s v i ta lthat one belong to th e CNT and s h o ~ 1 evidence of a record of st ru gg lea love of ideas and th e revolution. On a tem porary basis , a pplication smay be made at Rambla de Catalun a , 15,principa l ( CNT Journalis t s 'Section) between 5. 00 pm a nd 1.00 pm.'8.3.31. The forma t ion of the PoD is .announced in th e paees of Frente,th e organ of the Durruti Column, printed in Pina de Ebro, Aragon.11.3&31. A FoD meeting scheduled for 9.30 pm that da y in wha t i sdescribed as the group's ' soc ia l Pr emises' at Rambla de la s Flores , 1,1 is announced in ?olidaridad Obrera. The purpose of th e meeting is toe lec t a new steering committee an d la y down th e statutes governin g th egroup. 'A t th e same time we appeal to militants of some standingand various organisms with a view to forming a group that will l ive upent i re ly to th e precepts bequeathed to us by th e martyr of .th e ideal ,th e idol of the People. '20.3.31. Solideridad Obrera c a ~ r i e s notice of a FoD meeting s c h e d u l efo r 11.00 am, 21 March 1931. This notice i " repeated on th e folJowingday.

9


7/13

Issue no.6, vol .I ! of the FOUlil's T ~ n g l i s h language organ,The Spanish Revolution (31.3.37.) notes a move by th e CNT to -cent ra l i se au thori ty in i t s regional committe es . Those committees onlyar e emnowered to decree mobilisations, issue orders and watchwords,etc. ' Al l who do no t ac t accordinG to these ru les and agreements ~ r i l l be publicly expelled from th e organisation. '

The paper The Spanish Revolution from which th e autho::quotes here was th e POUM's English-language o::gan publlshedin Barcelona under th e editorship of the Amerlcan Charles .Orr. And besides , there was another paper ?alled.The S p ~ n l s h Revolution published in New York by ~ h e Unlted Llbe::tarlan_Organisations. Each of them was repr ln ted . I n t ~ r e s t l n g l y , S ~ m Dolgoff (pseud. Sam Weiner), who w a ~ an edlt?r of the.anarchist The Spanish R e v o l u ~ i o n and wrltes ~ h e 1 ~ t r o d u c t l 0 n to the reprint of th e an8Tchlst paper, says ln S011 ofLiberty , vol.8 no.2 , that Russell Blackwell, who writes th eintroduction to the repr in t of ~ h e P?UIVlist paper, was . amember of th e Friends of Durrutl durlng the May Days lnBarcelona in 1937. (publisher)

10

Programade larlo

(/IAllligo~ e v o l u i o n a N Agrupaion

de Durruti .Uoa Jnota ReTolncionaria.El Poder econ6mico a 108 Sio ..

dicdtoll.LOll Mtinicipi08 IibIell.

Queremoll lIenar una etapa.SOIDOI An a . quilltall.

1.4.37. Ruta, th e organ of the Libertarian Youth in Cataloniacarries an ar t icle by th e FoD ent i t led ' On behalf of _he ' anarchistconcept of the revolut ion . ' It says 'l'le point the finger at no one. Wefeel a burning love fo r ou r precepts and ou r organisations. Bilt- asmilitants of them, we have an indisputable r ight to speak out. 'l'hereis s t i l l time fo r us rescue the revolution an d rev ital ise our preceptsbu t \ ~ e must press on with the revolut ion. '

Balius ar t icle 'Le t 's make th e r evolu t ion ' appears in Ideas,no.15. Speaking of - th e presumption of Companys, Balius says ' I t ~ intolerable that an individual without th e s l i ~ h t e s t support in th eworkplaces should tr y to arrogate to himself the power which r ight lybelongs only to th e working people But th e bourgeois poli t i c ia nsar e no t to blame fo r t h i s , fo r af te r a l l t hi s i !?, the i r stock in trade.No. To apportion the blame fo r th e revolution's not having swept as ideth e foes of the working class , one has to look to the workers' ranks . to those whose inde c ision in th e early s tages allowed :_the ' forces,of counter-revolution to erow to the extent that now i t wil l be acostly business to cu t them down to s ize . '

As th e bi r thday celebrations of the Second Republica pproach, th e FoD issues a leaf let addres s ed 'To th e working people ' .I t records the dangers posed to th e revolution by th e Sta te ,pa rl iamentary ' socialism, government-controlled security -forces oand - ana ttempt to sh if t attention away from July 1936 to April 1931. 'A waveof reaction is fe d by those segments of the middle class which r e ~ y u pon th e praetorian corps spawned by the bourgeois stage fo r backing. ' ' I f we re t rea t in th e face of ou r enemies we will be ousted fromt he whole P e n i n ~ l a . Le t us no t waver. ' 'We possess th e organswhich must replace th e s tate which is in ru ins. 'rhe unions and th e _,municipalities must take charge of the economic and socia l l i fe ofth e Peninsula . THE CLEAR AND OBVIOUS SOLlfrION FREE UNIONS Arm FREEI U N I C I P A L I T I E 'parl iamentary socia lism has a content morebourgeois than worker. ' 'We ar e not prepared to tolerate th e shame

f ul si tua t ion ~ I h e r fasc is ts s t ro l l throup;h th e st ree ts and a nes tof place-seekers is respected - whi le our comrades linger in j a i la wai t ing their appears,nee in th e dock. ' . ' Ive want no part of 14Ap r i l . I ts memory is obnoxious. Only the paras i te s of poli t ics cancommemorate it.' '1 4 April is no t a day fo r demonstration s . Weknow th e meaning of th e April masquerade. And because we do not ~ a n t July to en d up like th e hopeless early days of the Republic weresolutely oppose those who espouse th e April anniversD.ry and th ef igure of a lawyer raised to th e heights of presidential o f f ice . ' (areference to Companys)

11


8/13

Solidar idad Obrera ca r r i e s a notice concerning th e fune ra larranr,ements fo r on e Franc isco Garc ia , which, it says, wil l beof espec ia l i n t e r e s t to th e "Friends of Durruti . '"19.4.37. The FoD hold a public meeting in Barce lona in th e Folioramarheat re . It i s at tended by Jaime Bal ius , Pablo Huiz, I"rancisco Pel l ice(o f the Iron Column) an d l"rancisco Carreno (o f th e Durrut i Column's\'/ar Committee). Bal ius , Ruiz an d Pe l l i ce r belonged, along with BrunoLlado , to th e same ana rch i s t group, th e 'Renacer 'group of th e FAI.

12

A l puebloEL MOMENTO ACTUAL

EAI.,..o. 'I'h'ltndo uno 10. I " , hn l n ma ... u l " , l n . n l ~ " d. I. r ...oludOn up ... "I . El F . _ ~ I . d o u " I I . I I ~ h . qUit "ulrlo'nl . rrt. . , t1d. 'armid.bl Irn bit mtmonblt'!! Jnrlllctu dt')ullo, It m.nllltnt 10d'1'I. t" pie pOt I. ohr. l tonln1"",,"oh,(lo". ,I. 011 ,. ptqut' lI. bur,aul . .

Un ' 0".013 It ,,,,nto,, It" .I\",,,nl .d. pflr I" . u ln f ' "dt 1. c ... '''''fU, qll(' .t rt11'1.1dlln tn I"" (11\'1'1''''' f l rt ' ln.r l . not ".ddo. In I, el .p ' bur,lIl '1 ' .Lt ui"l:I de I. Gtn",. lId.d It" l In, d t ' m ' \ ' t : t c i t i " tah"lor lc . d., !lUt ... h. dt t . r v d u r . r un ","ntl" nu. ... "rt,..4:lndltnr ln, POt t n h ro , dt I . fnrn"!! 1' . .1.1\ .

111 1I, . tI" I. hurl doo quco 11 1.."1.,,, ,It :,,..,u,",, h.,,..IU"'(,II. II'"d.'ro" , .-.,.rdl "I:ln hotr d.,,, ,.In , ,/n,1. ;0 "es """ibh' lra,,"hdr cnt! I. Cftnlt. rn \"I I I . :I , i" '1110' ..... :i "'1'un ",a pnr loa hclorl'!O ~ u ! O G , " , i c h n s .

L:a h r3 :1:1"\11 c" .. e \Id ." mu.rh ".ar;, 1";1 tb .. t rai t" .j ..."r'. d ( ' " . " cl ~ 1 O nu."I,"'" ."."i::-, """'mn"dunrhr lG. \ I d,1 :\r .. , ' l ' "' ,,,"ul.r. Nu tlv.i'""h.

L. C:XT la FAt. pqr ur I." nr"lI"i .. d .... , 'IV" rC'c,,'I("n h,lId . pot,IIbr. h" r 0, tI:tr V". ,,,oIj,b r.,,,,,lut;,,,,.,,i,,,I (ali.J,: ... n ~ , I i " . que' mlllbll "1 '''''"'''111" ;1(lu . I'".Ilcol'mo"ltllI u r ~ n " ( I . '1u\, h,I" .Ie .u""IIII,lf ,1 F. llu'n "'I rui" .Ln, lIi"dl(IOI111 r ' I", ~ 1 I " i t l I I I G ~ ho." tit tl.t'!"hO: ur. , , , ,oI. ,'Itt, II"c,.,,,o,,,lca r ,,"dal tit' 1. re'"hllulo. I .. sor.l I l ' fONES CI.AnA Y E , , ' I I J E X T E ~ SISIH(' .\T() y ~ r l l l ' ' ' r t r I O LI Hit E "

El. CASO M,\ROTOEl I"bern.dftf d . Ahnul dhuenlr .1 SGela""",. per

IIml'lIl,,;(I. e" 1'1 ClII' h. , un (u"'enldo ..... tie bu r p "CI 011,1' 1' h. hco\,h. IIn .!! d . e l . r ~ I . " C ! r 1. pn",,,. CO"Ta. qu(' 1.'I1a , ,"a (.",Idad In,C',,11. d. bllla cGnlra ""t l l f .cam ... dc !thrllln. E,. del oo"'lnl" p'blle. q c." ,ar .d .MarGin ful d"I('lIldo "l a d, a" ' "c" ' nl. e. " .1 '011 ...1lI.,for ""cloll,la ~ f n r d " . " ' . I I ~ o d o ,or- I rllclpacl6n d.M.' ' ' In ('11 un ",llln Of" n i l 'do p. , I tomp.ft., d.1."eloond.laa.""I''' e"l(, prI'I .. " falll h. " , . Id . d . . . . . . . . . . . . . paraCl"" to) pnCof SGd.II.lo h. , . 'n',nl.do d, uomo)ar oelf~ I d . d ( ' l fascI,'a, 0 nll .. ", e,mof.d .

l . r n l o I I n . dnco u" , an .. .. I. dru l l lLa pa"do)a lurlbll ' ! !Onn I.s ho",hu l bltn ' ., t" u",onll("nf'n !Ill 11116 . s." 11 u p r e u n l . " l u del .0cl.II."" L. ",."i"ht: ' l (n"lr;a ~ ' " ' ~ I " ... d. all ' e . " u dora e"IG',01. ,\1 " ~ " I I ' f ' i l l h d a r a M., . I . , '1' trot. dt ech::tr clc"u el' ' ' 'Irll I." . ' r l ! l f n h : : t d " " e - , , ~ q l l c ! e""5111111c" I Ica , . r . "Uode ' 1 u ~ I. I'll'"llIcl"" nn , e r ' .hG,.do.

,\I Ihf"n,",,r ~ " ' r n l " , dd .ndl''''G a CNT , I. FAf."11" : ,ltl!!;r :on lib. :r l"", CI""pll",,,. cnn a .. Gblljful4n Inel dlbl .

frabajador.. "ur l iUm , o . : - ; u r " l r n ~ r r r r t ~ f ' , , " " I U ." V.I.",lo I' ..

"" " I. "hllR":JCio" .If' IIh",lar 11 ~ h ' G I G dl",I"r.

I.:\!-l l1'F.TF.:,\TIONES DE VALENCIAY fH: OU-:!- . nE ~ 1 I l : - ; T S E R n : \ T

L r ' l n l nHc " . uclOn "' ",.,,!flu" par dQq"lar. U Incid.,H. .... urd,I .... ,'n Vllltnel. , ." Olu W." I "n . 'h:a . ,,,,,Ii, .,1 . III rtelend.h, d. tin '1" . 4, ......1:"1" .

I_I r.,,t1;:I 1,'-".lIt:l. qu I. "1,," ,, 'al.,0.4. pof I, p . i;, .. u r : : u . " . ~ i .tion of (;Wr unions, the He{;ion cument of any other desc r ip t io nalone; \ ~ i t h th e Horkers ' P


9/13

l iber ta r ian movement; th i s obliges us to disown it in fu l l an d inpub l i c .Le t th i s be noted by a l l comrades an d by th e public in general . liecategor ica l ly disolm t h i s l e a f l e t an d po in t ou t t ha t yes te rday l'Iefound ourselves obliged to disol1n ano the r by t ha t very same body.He of th e regional committees of th e CN'r an d FAI ar e not disposed tol e t anyone speculate with ou r organ i sa t ions , no r may anyone f l i r t withdubious at t i tudes or maybe th e in t r igues of ou t r igh t agentsprovoca teu rs . .Le t everyone adhere to th e speci f ic watchl'lOrd of these comml t t e : s .'rhe Generalidad Council havinG been formed, everyone must accept I tsdecis ions fo r we a l l a re rep resen ted in it . Get th e guns off th es t t ' e e t s . 'Also on 6 May, th e FaD issues a l a rge r manifes to headed with th e' . ords '''NT FAI Friends of Durru t i Group, \ ~ o r k e r s ' . I t reviews th e. v, , )" l' 1 t th e f i gh t i ng , ( then still in progress an d th e FoD sear le r a e r In gof th e Norkers to the imminent a t t ack . I t names th e provocateurs asth e P})uC, Estat Catala , th e Esquerra an d th e General idad-control ledsecur i ty forces with th e Valencia government and Generalidadgovernm'ent in th e background. ' lfe have VIon th e s t r e : t s l'fhich we ha,:,eno vlish to surrender , for they belong to us , \'Ie havlng taken them Inan open an d r e so lu te b a t t l e . ' ;i peaking of the May. f ight ing, th e FoDexplain tha t ".'le have no t taken to th e s t ree t s s lmply to request t ha tth e armed corps be disarmed. No. Ife want th e d u ~ recompense fo r t h ~ blood which ha s been sp i l l e d . ' "rhe General ldad represents nothlng.I ts continued exis tence is a bols ter to th e coun te r - revo lu t ion . ' 'I t i s inconceivable, t ha t th e CNT's committees should have acted socravenly as to order a ce


10/13

p-ssemblies, insofa r as these alone were empowered to judge in suchinstances an d to prescribe what should be done. t (E l Amigo de l Pueblo,no.5)26.5.37. Issue no.2 of. El Amigo de l Pueblo appears. I t r e c o r d B ~ contribution towards th e paper's cost from Group X on th e Aragon front,from Miguel Chueca, Gregorio Jover, th e committee at Bellver de Cincaand comrades a t Pina de Ebro. I t records also th e death of FoD memberManuel Sanchez of Sa l l e n t , a mining town 'l'he paper also notes th eformation of n ~ w branches of th e FoD and th e imminent opening of newFoD locals in Sans,Tarrasa,Gracia an d Sabadell . Issue no.2 is no tcensored and there is an announcement of the 'El Amigo de l PuebloGraphics Workshop at th e disposal of revolu t ionar ies . ' On th e frontpaGe i t is Elnnounced "rhe absurd treatment meted ou t to us by th ecensors obliges us to give them th e s l ip . ' In th e face of threats tothat effec t , th e 1"oD warn 'Plenums of Locals and Comarcals ar e no tempowered to expel any comrade. We invite th e committees to raise th e"Friends of Durruti" case in th e union assemblies, the seat of th eorganisation 's sovereignty. '

In Solidaridad Obrera, th e Regional "ommi t tees of th e CN'rand FAI and Local Federation of CN1' unions note th e decision 'on 22 Mayby th e Plenum of Locals and Comarcals and sta te 'Over double th eperiod of grace given fo r th e .substantive proof to be produced now having elap?ed we not i fy both organisations, confederai -andanarchist that they should proceed to expe l from the i r midst a l lmembers of the "Friends of l lurruti" association who do no t publiclydissociate themselves from th e stance adopted by said grouping. ' (Seenote 3)

11 Grido de l Popolo, th e paper of the I tal ian UommunistParty in France refers to Camillo Berneri ' . one of the leaders ofth e "ii'riends of Durruti" group which . provoked th e bloody upris ingagainst th e Popular Front government in Catalonia go t hi s justdeserts during tha t revolt from th e Democratic Revolution vlhose r ightof self-defence no ant i fasc is t can deny. 'In Solidaridad Obrera, Joaquin Aubi and Rosa Munoz write a.n openl e t t e r to th e paper's di rector stating ' having learned of thedispute that has arisen between th e CN'l' and FAI and th e "}i'riends ofDurruti" group, to \ ~ h i c h I belonged, I find myself obliged publiclyto quit that association,being against the power strugp:le which i t iswaging aeainst th e speci f ic an d confederal bodies I continue tolook upon th e comr2.des belonging to th e "[i'riends of Durruti" ascomra des . but "'rhe CN'r was my womb and i t shal l also be mytomb". '

16

1.6.37. A report from th e CN'r National Committee (dD.ted 29 May' 37)appears in th e Boletin de Informa.cion CN'l'-F'AI relat ine th e proceedinp:sof a National Plenum of CNT Regionals a t which 'Catalonia reported thedecision reached with regard to the "Friends of Durruti" and th ePlenum unanimously resolved to remove from th e organisation th eleading l ights of the "Friends of Durruti" group and tha t , come whatmay, th e fomenting of an y sp l i t as a resu lt , must be averted . ' In ElAmigo de l Pueblo, no.5, the FoD dispute that th e aereement to expe lthem was unanimous ' there wa.s no una.nimity fo r th e Andalusi" .nRegional voted aeainst . '1l .6 .37 . A joint c i rcular from th e regional cOrlmi t tees of the CN'rand th e FAI endorses the order for th e expulsion of members of theFoD from their organisations.12.6.37. El Amigo de l Pueblo, no , ) appears. On page one i t carrie"a retraction ( 'a s agreed at th e Plenum of FAI groups and inanticipation of the . CNT and. FAI committees doine: likelJise') 'We di dnot use th e word "betrayal" in th e sense of se l l -out or bad fai th but.ra ther to signify incompetence and ~ r a r d i c e we re t rac t to day inexpectation that th e committees wil l also re t rac t th e label of "aGent sprovocateurs" they used a Ga in s t us .' TiE papeI' also carr ies a note orsupport from th e anarchis t e;roup 'Marg2.1ef ' , siehed by (former l''UrrutiColumn member?) Antonio Bon i l la expressing sol idar i ty with th e FoDdespite th e disavowals by th e committ ees . I t also notes tha t , in amemo sent to th e CNT and FAI Reg iona l committees as well as to th eLocal l ~ e d e r a t of CNT unions, the Local Federation of th eLibertarian youth and th e youth Defence Gomr,d t tee had both endorsedth e FoD interureta t ion of the May Events. I t notes, too, that th e r organ, Treball . ha.d . reported th e FoD to th e police fo r issuing El A.!!1ie;ode l Pueblo clandestinely. On page 4 there i , a repr int of a reportfrom Cast i l la Libre, th e GN'r daily paper in Madrid, allegine that 'The"Friends of Durruti" , originally se t up as a cultural body whosepurpose was to propagate th e ideas of the people's caudillo, h!'1.8 beenle d astray by provocateur elements formerly active in th e CommunistPa r ty . ' The FoD comment 'This is no t worthy of a reply. Members ofth is group ar e CN'r and FAlmembers of long standine;. Their l ives ar ea rosary of sufferings and deprivation. '

In th e paper Ideas, a Dr' Ludovici writes on behalf of the'Errico Malatesta ' group to refute th e claims made by Il Grido de lPopolo on 29 May 1937 regardinf, Berneri. Ee sta tes that t .. . comradeBerneri did not belong to the "[cri ends of 1)urruti" group, no t thatthere ",ould h,"we been anythinG wrong in that '

17


11/13

22.6 .37.El Amigo del Pueblo no.4 appears . I t repor ts th e a r r e s t ofJaime Balius (a s a resul t of th e information given by ' r rebal l?) .

Replyinp; to an a r t i c l e in La s Notic ias (18. 6. 37 . ) , th e FoD deny tha tthey an d th e Liber tar ian Youth spearheaded th e May f ight ing 'Hadth e Groups named been behind th e revol t , \oIe should not in


12/13

Notes1 . According to Pavel and Clara 'rhalm


13/13

c. N. T. P. A. I.Adrapaclon 101 Amldol de DurruU

TRABAJ"DORE.La proyoucion 4. la contrarrewoiucion

El aul lo .. I . r.t,".",. tv ' ,I loque d. d . d " d, t l t l lu ,r .131 tonlr . rnvoludonar iu. F u ' ,t ( o m l " u . d , un : l1 .que;! fondo (on l r . I, ,I .. !.lIb.J .dor l a fnc:rutiJada hi.t6riu qUI h.m ' l I tnat ,d. d , un " 01;'1_" , r a ' t I . r . y rotund. d, :d , dl .. ha , . tab . de IUr!;, la h,Ivpnrlf;:i, u t a l , " , con r;us d . t r . "d; : ! . El dL1 3 d . Ma.,..u conlum6 I, a"u I6" d. 101 partido. p t 1 u t n o b u r ~ u . ~ u . yd', h . l u . n u dl . ,d ,n J.lublico, qUI sinlit"dOt imp.>hnlUante .1 IVlnn d, I.. IUlr tu r ,,, , , lod.nll. i . . u di 'pu, ;uon ;'I.:111'1.' tn u n , r . n u u l " , ;lnIL . JlJtlU }" d, un (o"I"lIi10alla""nlt human.No '101 .quivoc.mol. cuando d,clJmo' rn .t at t , pulll;coctl, l,r ,do por 101 _Amill't d, Durruli. en :,f !ealro Goy/\, enj" propi. I I l l p ~ r . dl I . ~ , b l ' , In!:ablad,', qUt III ."r l . i ' ;.ncontr" la, trab.j:adaru Ib, praducirll :a{:o usui"'o. I ,,11 h m ~ 1 qUf' 11 tn t l t r ro dt Roldjn Corladll, 1;'1 subltllllti6n d t10' carabintros tn RiJ'lotl, y Oltu ptollocadones ftSisl."d.a,c o n ~ l i l v l a n dilllrt.OI .. ,bon .. dt u n , cadena qve u u taba f"r.jando ." 101 propiOl ~ t n l r o l o l id , lu tn dpndt rHide" ' ' J Ir .p r l l tnh"h . de los ue lo ru .p t l l id .do l /

the friends of durruti - a chronology

Documents