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, ...

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

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

Notes

References

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

Foundation

International Solidarity

See also

Notes

References