Solidaridad Internacional Antifascista ( en, International Antifascist Solidarity, italic=yes), SIA, was a humanitarian organisation that existed in the Second Spanish Republic. It was politically aligned with the anarcho-syndicalist movement composed of the CNT, FAI and other groups. One of its general secretaries was

Lucía Sánchez Saornil Lucía Sánchez Saornil (1895–1970), was a lesbian Spanish poet, militant anarchist and feminist. She is best known as one of the founders (alongside Mercedes Comaposada and Amparo Poch Y Gascón) of ''Mujeres Libres'' and served in the Conf ...

, an anarcha-feminist activist. It engaged in publicity and fundraising in an attempt to assist the refugee-packed Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. It collaborated with the Mujeres Libres organisation to provide assistance to refugees and wounded soldiers.

Foundation

The decision to create the SIA was made in Valencia on 15 April 1937, but it did not effectively begin until June of that year, after the

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, ...

in Barcelona pit anarchists and anti-Stalinist communists against the

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 King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...

, the Executive Council of Catalonia, and statist communists. It was originally conceived of as a humanitarian organization that would support the Spanish Libertarian Movement and the Spanish Revolution. It served to spread anarchist ideas during the Spanish Civil War and allowed the CNT to gain material support from abroad.

International Solidarity

Between its initial creation in June 1937 through the first months of 1939, several foreign sections were created. The first, created before the end of 1937, were the French, Swedish, British, Portuguese, and North African sections. The Belgian section was founded on 18 May 1946 and brought together anti-Stalinist anti-fascists. The association organized the defence of asylum seekers and was a meeting place for immigrants, including Spanish CNT members in exile.Nicolas Inghels, ''Le mouvement anarchiste en Belgique francophone de 1945 à 1970'', Université libre de Bruxelles, 2002
Solidarité internationale antifasciste (SIA)
Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20190203015155/http://raforum.info/dissertations/spip.php?article13.Jacques Gillen, ''Les anarchistes en Belgique'', in Anne Morelli, José Gotovitch, ''Contester dans un pays prospère: l'extrême gauche en Belgique et au Canada'', Peter Lang, 2007,
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References

* * * Second Spanish Republic Humanitarian aid organizations in Europe {{Anarchism-stub

Foundation

International Solidarity

See also

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