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

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

and

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

leader, brother of

Francisco Ascaso Abadía Francisco Ascaso Abadía (1 April 1901 – 20 July 1936) was an Aragonese carpenter and prominent anarcho-syndicalist figure in Spain. Ascaso lived a life of crime and violence being involved in the deaths of multiple high-profile government ...

and cousin of Joaquín Ascaso Budria.

Biography

He worked as a baker in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, where he soon became joined an anarchist

direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

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

Heraldo de Aragón ''Heraldo de Aragón'' is a regional daily newspaper published in Zaragoza, 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 Heraldo de Aragó ...

'', 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 northeastern coast of 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 c ...

, where he was first part of '' Los Justicieros'' and in October 1922 joined ''

Los Solidarios ''Los Solidarios'' (; or The Solidaristic) was a Anarchism in Spain, Spanish anarchist militant group, established in 1922 to combat the rise of ''pistolerismo'' and company union, yellow syndicalism, which represented the interests of business ...

'', where he met

Buenaventura Durruti José Buenaventura Durruti Dumange (14 July 1896 – 20 November 1936) was a Spanish anarchist revolutionary involved with the CNT and the FAI in the periods before and during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. Durruti played an influe ...

. When the

Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera General Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship over Spain began with a coup on 13 September 1923 and ended with his resignation on 28 January 1930. It took place during the wider reign of King Alfonso XIII. In establishing his dictatorship, ...

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 Juan García Oliver (1901–1980) was a Spanish 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 Juan García 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 Bera may refer to: Acronyms * Bioelectric recognition assay, a method in electrophysiology * Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority, an energy regulatory body in Botswana * Brainstem evoked response audiometry, a screening test to monitor for heari ...

, but it failed. In 1929 he settled in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, 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 democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

was proclaimed, he returned to Barcelona and joined the group ''Los indomables'' of the

Iberian Anarchist Federation The Iberian Anarchist Federation (, FAI) is a Spanish anarchist organization. Due to its close relation with the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) anarcho-syndicalist union, it is often abbreviated as CNT-FAI. The FAI publishes the pe ...

(FAI). Under the Law of Defense of the Republic he was arrested and on 21 January 1932 exiled to

Villa Cisneros Dakhla (, ; formerly known as 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 region Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab. It has a population of 1 ...

, on charges of having participated in the

Alt Llobregat insurrection The Alt Llobregat insurrection was a revolutionary general strike which took place in central Catalonia, in the northeast of Spain, in January 1932. Initially organised as a wildcat strike by miners in Fígols, who were protesting against low ...

. 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 The Spanish coup of July 1936( or, among the rebels, ) was a military uprising that was intended to overthrow the Spanish Second Republic, but precipitated the Spanish Civil War, in which Nationalists fought against Republicans for control o ...

took place, Ascaso took part in the assault on the shipyard barracks. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

he was an assistant to Juan Garcia Oliver in the Committee of Antifascist Militias and marched to the

Aragon front The Aragon Offensive was an important military campaign during the Spanish Civil War, which began after the Battle of Teruel. The offensive, which ran from March 7, 1938, to April 19, 1938, smashed the Republican forces, overran Aragon, and c ...

, where he was head of the Columna Ascaso, taking places such as

Barbastro Barbastro (Latin: ''Barbastrum'' or ''Civitas Barbastrensis'', Aragonese: ''Balbastro'') is a city in the Somontano county, province of Huesca, Spain. The city (also known originally as Barbastra or Bergiduna) is at the junction of the rivers C ...

Grañén Grañén is a small town in the Monegros region of the Province of Huesca, Aragón, Spain. It is at a low elevation on the Monegros Plain, and has 2100 inhabitants. Grañén shares its capital with Sariñena in the subregion of the Flumen. Durin ...

and Vicién. 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 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 cemeter ...

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 Anarchists from Aragon 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