Has communism ever succeeded? The simple answer is, of course, no. Each nation that underwent a revolution and held on to control for long enough to build a solid foundation of power became, sooner or later, completely debased from its founding values. Look at China today: it's about as communist as Autocar is a catalogue for florists.
That doesn't mean that there haven't been brief periods of communites living absolutely by the famous mantra of Karl Marx, 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs'. One of the most famous is Spain, in 1936, not least because it was one of the truest followings of the ideology – albeit lasting for little more than two years.
As in many countries around Europe, revolutionary sentiment had been brewing in Spain for decades. Come the depressed 1930s, there were strikes and riots across Spain, most keenly in Catalonia, an industrialised area had a number of strong left-wing trade unions. The big opportunity to seize control came in July 1936, when a right-wing collective known as the Nationalists made a military coup against the Republican government, sparking a nationwide civil war.
Amid the fighting, the socialist and anarchist trade unions took control over Catalonia, based out of its capital, Barcelona. In the midst of this violent upheaval, foreigners were wise to scarper. One, RJC Barrington, wrote of his motorised escape in a letter to Autocar.
"The consulate had hoped to form an escorted caravan to eacuate British subjects," he wrote, "to which we wanted to add our own car. We were, however, informed on a Thursday morning that they had been unable to obtain the necessary buses or escort, the risk being considered too great. In view of these circumstances, we devided to make our own plans and our own way to the frontier.
"We and three other car owners obtained official police passes authorising four cars to traverse the road to the frontier. At 2.30pm we were ready to start but were strongly advised at the consulate not to attempt the trip, since it had just been learnt that two Englishmen had been shot in their cars. We decided, however, that we would take the chance and make the attempt on a now-or-never basis, but agreed with an idea of one of our company that it would be safer to get our passes authorised by the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI).
"It being now dark, we were ordered to maintain a distance of 100 yards between cars, since the rebels would open fire on any in close formation. After proceeding in this way for about an hour, we were much alarmed to see our escort pulled up in the road with rifles ready, searching the verges. The cause of their anxiety was an abandoned car lying in the road. While the search was in progress, we were approached by another car from behind, out of which tumbled four or five armed peasants, who challenged our escorts. 
There quickly came much in-fighting between the various left-wing factions, before Catalonia was taken in a huge military assault by the Nationalists between July 1938 and January 1939. Catalan autonomy was taken away, and the people's language, names and traditions made illegal, while new ruler Francisco Franco had hundreds of thousands of political prisoners executed over the next few years. He would preside over Spain in brutal dictatorial fashion 
Add your comment