The POUM was formed in 1935 by the fusion of two “communist-syndicalist” groups aligned with Trotsky’s left opposition to Stalin. This session will explore how the centrist politics of the POUM—revolutionary in rhetoric but accommodating to non-revolutionary forces in practice—played a significant role in the revolution’s defeat.

This is part of a stream of sessions about the Spanish Civil War. From 1936 to 1939, Spanish workers and peasants fought a heroic battle against Franco's fascist forces. The revolution and civil war in Spain is one of the most controversial political battles of the 20th century. Across the world, people were divided into supporters of Franco and defenders of the Spanish Republic. Amongst opponents of fascism, though, important political divisions also emerged. Anarchists, dissident socialists, and revolutionaries argued that in order to defeat fascism, workers should take power into their own hands rather than supporting the Republican capitalists. Huge debates ranged amongst them about how to make workers' power a reality. The Communist Party, under orders from Stalin, allied with the Republican leaders and slaughtered those who wanted to extend the revolution, paving the way for Franco's eventual victory.

These sessions will look at the key political debates through the civil war, focusing on the roles played by the revolutionary anarchists, the Spanish Socialists, the POUM, and the Stalinists.