Domingo Ascaso Abadía (10 June 1895 – 4 May 1937) was an Aragonese

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

and

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

leader, brother of Francisco Ascaso Abadía and cousin of Joaquín Ascaso Budria.

Biography

He worked as a baker in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

, where he soon became joined an anarchist

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

group, being credited with participating in 1920 in the assassination of the editor of the ''

Heraldo de Aragón ''Heraldo de Aragón'' is a Spanish language regional daily newspaper published in Saragossa, Spain. The paper has been in circulation since 1895. History and profile ''Heraldo de Aragón'' was first published on 20 September 1895. The owner is ...

'', who was accused of betraying insurgent soldiers in the Carmen barracks. In 1921 he settled with his brother in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, where he was first part of ''

Los Justicieros Los Justicieros, ''"The Avengers"'', was an anarchist paramilitary group created in 1920 in San Sebastián, Basque Region, during the years of pistolerismo. The group was created by Buenaventura Durruti, Suberviola, Ruiz, Aldabatrecu and Marcelin ...

'' and in October 1922 joined ''

Los Solidarios Los Solidarios (“Solidarity”), also known as Crisol (“Crucible”), was a Spanish anarchist armed-struggle group founded in 1922 in Barcelona, as a reply to the dirty war strategy used by the employers and government against trade unions. ...

'', where he met Buenaventura Durruti. When the Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera was proclaimed, he was persecuted (according to some for having participated in the murder of a police commissioner) and hid in the Poblenou cemetery until

Juan García Oliver Joan Garcia i Oliver (1901–1980) was a Catalan anarcho-syndicalist revolutionary and Minister of Justice of the Second Spanish Republic. He was a leading figure of anarchism in Spain. Career Childhood and family Joan Garcia i Oliver was ...

helped him evade the Barcelona police and flee to France. There he was reunited with Durruti and his brother Francisco, who were planning a guerrilla action in the Pyrenees. In December 1924 they organized an expedition to Bera, but it failed. In 1929 he settled in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, where he lived by selling handkerchiefs and stationery. When the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...

was proclaimed, he returned to Barcelona and joined the group ''Los indomables'' of the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI). Under the Law of Defense of the Republic he was arrested and on 21 January 1932 exiled to

Villa Cisneros Dakhla ( ar, الداخلة, Berber: Eddaxla / ⴷⴷⴰⵅⵍⴰ, es, Dajla, Villa Cisneros) is a city in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, currently occupied by Morocco. It is the capital of the claimed Moroccan administrative reg ...

, on charges of having participated in the revolt of Alto Llobregat. He was granted amnesty in September 1932, he then worked as a pastry chef and as a delegate for the

National Confederation of Labor National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(CNT). When the Spanish coup of July 1936 took place, Ascaso took part in the assault on the shipyard barracks. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

he was an assistant to Juan Garcia Oliver in the Committee of Antifascist Militias and marched to the Aragon front, where he was head of the Columna Ascaso, taking places such as Barbastro,

Grañén Grañén is a small town in the Monegros region of the Province of Huesca, Aragón, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' ...

and

Vicién Vicién is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2018 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 116 inhabitants. Geography Neighboring localities *Tribunals A tribunal, generally, is an ...

. When the Ascaso Column was transformed into the 28th Division in early 1937, he left command and returned to

. He was assassinated during the

Barcelona May Days The May Days, sometimes also called May Events, refer to a series of clashes between 3 and 8 May 1937 during which factions on the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War engaged one another in street battles in various parts of Catalonia, ...

and was buried in the

Montjuïc cemetery Montjuïc Cemetery, known in Catalan as Cementiri del Sud-oest or Cementiri de Montjuïc, is located on one of the rocky slopes of Montjuïc hill in Barcelona. History It was opened on 17 March 1883 by the city of Barcelona as its main cemetery, ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{cite book, title=Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Civil War, first=Francisco J., last=Romero Salvadó, publisher=Rowman & Littlefield, year=2013, isbn=9780810857841 1895 births 1937 deaths Spanish anarchists People from Hoya de Huesca Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) 20th-century Spanish military personnel Assassinated anarchists Assassinated trade unionists Spanish trade union leaders