![Affiche SIA 1937-1938](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Affiche_SIA_1937-1938.jpg)
Solidaridad Internacional Antifascista ( en, International Antifascist Solidarity, italic=yes), SIA, was a humanitarian organisation that existed in 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 King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...
. It was politically aligned with the
anarcho-syndicalist
Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and thus control influence i ...
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
Anarcha-feminism, also referred to as anarchist feminism, is a system of analysis which combines the principles and power analysis of anarchist theory with feminism. Anarcha-feminism closely resembles intersectional feminism. Anarcha-feminism ...
activist.
It engaged in publicity and fundraising in an attempt to assist the refugee-packed Spanish Republic 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, link ...
. It collaborated with the
Mujeres Libres
Mujeres Libres ( en, Free Women, italic=yes) was an anarchist women's organisation that existed in Spain from 1936 to 1939. Founded by Lucía Sánchez Saornil, Mercedes Comaposada, and Amparo Poch y Gascón as a small women's group in Madrid, it ...
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
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 ...
pit anarchists and
anti-Stalinist
The anti-Stalinist left is an umbrella term for various kinds of left-wing political movements that opposed Joseph Stalin, Stalinism and the actual system of governance Stalin implemented as leader of the Soviet Union between 1927 and 1953. Th ...
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
The Executive Council of Catalonia ( ca, Consell Executiu) or the Executive Government of Catalonia (Catalan: ) is the Executive (government), executive branch of the Generalitat of Catalonia. It is responsible for the political action, regul ...
, and
statist
In political science, statism is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation and the means of production.
While in use since ...
communists
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
. It was originally conceived of as a humanitarian organization that would support the
Spanish Libertarian Movement
The Spanish Libertarian Movement ( es, Movimiento Libertario Español, MLE) was a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist organization founded at the end of the Spanish Civil War by the CNT, the FAI and the FIJL to develop a joint clandestine activity in ...
and the
Spanish Revolution. It served to spread anarchist ideas 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, link ...
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
Anne Morelli (born in 1948, also known as Anne Mettewie-Morelli) is a Belgium, Belgian historian of Italy, Italian origins, specialized in the history of religions and minorities. She is currently assistant director of the Interdisciplinary center ...
, José Gotovitch, ''Contester dans un pays prospère: l'extrême gauche en Belgique et au Canada'', Peter Lang, 2007,
texte intégral
See also
*
Sara Berenguer, a member of the SIA
*
Lucia Sanchez Saornil, press and propaganda secretary of the SIA
Notes
References
*
*
*
Second Spanish Republic
Humanitarian aid organizations in Europe
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