europe

"Fuck it, maybe we'd rather be Norway than deal with this shit."

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/281101

Here's the July post!

MAIN FEED:

• The Spartans (Straight): talking about the AfD , the greek elections and police violence in France
• Good Bye Lenin for the 3rd Reich: Sean from Antifada comes on to talk with us about Zizek and right wing talking points here in Europe.
• DWE & Housing Update (feat. Berta): discussion of what happened to that housing referendum we had
• Help Me! I Want to Destroy Malta: finally, the Gunther episode, with slides up on Youtube. My magnum opus.

PATREON FEED:

• When a Celebrated Children's Author Invades Russia: Julia and Nick talk about the Prigozhin/Wagner attempted coup
• My Big Fat Cinematic Universe: Ciaran and Nick chit chat about the My Big Fat Greek Wedding cinematic universe.
• Corner Späti Guide to Berlin: Food: moving to Berlin? Visiting? Nick give's a cheap eats guide
• Miss Vaca 2023: We catch up on some news but more importantly, Miss Vaca 2023

On this day in 1909, a general strike broke out in Catalonia to protest conscription imposed by the Spanish government. The government declared a state of war and put down the rebellion with the Army, killing more than 100 civilians. The series of clashes between working class radicals and government forces is known as the "Tragic Week".

The uprising's immediate cause was Premier Antonio Maura attempting to bring out reserve troops as reinforcements to bolster Spanish military-colonial activity in Morocco. Many of these reservists were the only breadwinners for their families, while the wealthy were able to hire substitutes.

These actions, coupled with anarchist, anti-militarist, and anti-colonial philosophies shared by many in the city, resulted in the calling of a general strike against Maura's attempt at conscription. By the next day, workers had occupied much of central Barcelona, halting troop trains and overturning trams. Just a few days later, there was street fighting, with a general eruption of riots, strikes, and the burning of convents.

The Spanish government declared a "state of war" and used the national army to put down the rebellion by force. Over one hundred civilians were killed and more than 1,700 individuals were indicted in military courts for "armed rebellion".

The tragic week, Spain 1909 - Murray Bookchin

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Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):

Aid:

• 🌈 LGBTQ+ Resource Post
• 💚 Resources for Palestine

Theory:

• ❤️Foundations of Leninism
• ❤️Anarchism and Other Essays

The Spanish Civil War was a civil war in Spain fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic, and consisted of various socialist, communist, separatist, anarchist, and republican parties, some of which had opposed the government in the pre-war period. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance of Falangists, monarchists, conservatives, and traditionalists led by a military junta among whom General Francisco Franco quickly achieved a preponderant role.

On this day in 1936, the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) and Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), together more than 3 million members, called a general strike, beginning the workers' revolution during the Spanish Civil War.

The strike, revolutionary and anti-capitalist in character, was called in response to a fascist military coup that had taken place on July 17th. During the general strike, civilians acquired weapons by raiding state weapons depots.

The war began after the partial failure of the coup d'état of July 1936 against the Republican government by a group of generals of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, with General Emilio Mola as the primary planner and leader and having General José Sanjurjo as a figurehead.

The government at the time was a coalition of Republicans, supported in the Cortes by communist and socialist parties, under the leadership of centre-left President Manuel Azaña. The Nationalist group was supported by a number of conservative groups, including CEDA, monarchists, including both the opposing Alfonsists and the religious conservative Carlists, and the Falange Española de las JONS, a fascist political party. After the deaths of Sanjurjo, Emilio Mola and Manuel Goded Llopis, Franco emerged as the remaining leader of the Nationalist side.

On July 24th, the first voluntary militia, known as the Durriti Column, named after libertarian communist Buenaventura Durriti, left Barcelona for the region of Aragon. Other regiments formed, such as the anarchist Iron Column and the CNT-affiliated Red and Black Column.

Over the next three years, revolutionary Republicans began reorganizing society and production on anarchist principles and battled with the Nationalist forces, led by the fascist Francisco Franco.

The Nationalists and the Republican government fought for control of the country. The Nationalist forces received munitions, soldiers, and air support from Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany and Portugal, while the Republican side received support from the Soviet Union and Mexico. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, continued to recognise the Republican government but followed an official policy of non-intervention. Despite this policy, tens of thousands of citizens from non-interventionist countries directly participated in the conflict. They fought mostly in the pro-Republican International Brigades, which also included several thousand exiles from pro-Nationalist regimes.

International Brigades

The International Brigades were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed for two years, from 1936 until 1938. It is estimated that during the entire war, between 40,000 and 59,000 members served in the International Brigades, including some 10,000 who died in comba

The International Brigades were strongly supported by the Comintern and represented the Soviet Union's commitment to assisting the Spanish Republic (with arms, logistics, military advisers and the NKVD)

The largest number of volunteers came from France (where the French Communist Party had many members) and communist exiles from Italy and Germany. Many Jews were part of the brigades, being particularly numerous within the volunteers coming from the United States, Poland, France, England and Argentina.

Republican volunteers who were opposed to Stalinism did not join the Brigades but instead enlisted in the separate Popular Front, the POUM (formed from Trotskyist, Bukharinist, and other anti-Stalinist groups, which did not separate Spaniards and foreign volunteers), or anarcho-syndicalist groups such as the Durruti Column, the IWA, and the CNT.

The Soviet Union provided the largest amount of foreign aid to the Republic, supplying artillery, aircraft, tanks, guns, troops, and military advisors.

The Fall

The Nationalists advanced from their strongholds in the south and west, capturing most of Spain's northern coastline in 1937. They also besieged Madrid and the area to its south and west for much of the war. After much of Catalonia was captured in 1938 and 1939, and Madrid cut off from Barcelona, the Republican military position became hopeless. Following the fall without resistance of Barcelona in January 1939, the Francoist regime was recognised by France and the United Kingdom in February 1939.

On 5 March 1939, in response to an alleged increasing communist dominance of the republican government and the deteriorating military situation, Colonel Segismundo Casado led a military coup against the Republican government, with the intention of seeking peace with the Nationalists. These peace overtures, however, were rejected by Franco.

Following internal conflict between Republican factions in Madrid in the same month, Franco entered the capital and declared victory on 1 April 1939. Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards fled to refugee camps in southern France. Those associated with the losing Republicans who stayed were persecuted by the victorious Nationalists. Franco established a dictatorship in which all right-wing parties were fused into the structure of the Franco regime.

The Republicans were defeated in 1939 and General Francisco Franco came into power, ruling Spain until his death in 1975. Many Spanish revolutionaries sought political asylum in the United States, and they would produce the paper "Espana Libre" to connect the scattered community of Spanish exiles until Franco's death. Other anti-fascists would work to undermine Franco's government from outside the country.

"Don't you see why I'll continue fighting as long as these social injustices exist?"

• Buenaventura Durruti

CNT Anarchists and the Spanish Civil War (part 1/3)

Lessons From Our National Revolutionary War Against Fascism, 1936-1969" by the Communist Party of Spain (M-L)

Spanish Civil War and Revolution Subject Archive

Megathreads and spaces to hang out:

• ❤️ Come listen to music and Watch movies with your fellow Hexbears nerd, in Cy.tube
• 💖 Come talk in the New Monthly queer thread
• 💛 Read and talk about a current topics in the News Megathread
• ⭐️ October Movie Nominations ⭐️

reminders:

• 💚 You nerds can join specific comms to see posts about all sorts of topics
• 💙 Hexbear’s algorithm prioritizes comments over upbears
• 💜 Sorting by new you nerd
• 🌈 If you ever want to make your own megathread, you can go here nerd
• 🐶 Join the unofficial Hexbear-adjacent Mastodon instance toots.matapacos.dog

Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):

Aid:

• 🌈 LGBTQ+ Resource Post
• 💚 Resources for Palestine

Theory:

• ❤️Foundations of Leninism
• ❤️Anarchism and Other Essays

(picture of dead body is not shown in article, but it is described)

This year, 289 children have died at sea. This is equivalent to about 11 children dying each week – far beyond what we hear in news headlines. This is nearly double the number of children dying at sea compared to last year – 150, according to UNICEF Global Lead on Migration and Displacement Verena Knaus

We cannot continue to ignore what is happening – stand by silently when nearly 300 children – an entire plane full of children – are dying in the waters between Europe and Africa in just six months, she added.

Conflict and climate change are forcing increasing numbers of children to embark on perilous sea journey from North Africa to Europe, Knaus stated.

In the first six months of this year, we estimate 11,600 children made the crossing – again, nearly twice as many as in the same period in 2022.

Making matters worse, these figures from the first six months of this year are likely to be underestimates. Many shipwrecks on the Central Mediterranean Sea crossing leave no survivors or go unrecorded, making the true number of child casualties practically impossible to verify, she stressed.

And yet, given these numbers and the silence surrounding so many of these preventable deaths, it does seem the world is willfully ignoring what is happening.

Children are drying not just in front of our eyes; they are dying while we seem to keep our eyes closed. Hundreds of girls and boys are drowning in the world’s inaction. This makes the Central Mediterranean Sea one of the deadliest migration routes in the world for children.

In Q1 2023, as many as 3,300 unaccompanied or separated children arrived in Europe via the Central Mediterranean Sea route, or more than 70% of the total, according to the information.

In response to this escalating crisis, UNICEF is supporting countries in strengthening national child protection, social protection and migration and asylum systems to ensure children are safe as they move.

Governments must protect the rights and best interests of children in line with their obligations under national and international law. The rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child do not stop at borders or shores – they travel with children as they cross.

To prevent deaths at sea there need to be safe, legal and accessible pathways for children to seek protection and reunite with family members. This means expanding opportunities to access family reunification in countries of origin or transit, refugee resettlement or other humanitarian visas – – in much greater numbers than what is currently available.

Countries must also strengthen coordination on search and rescue operations and ensure prompt disembarkation to places of safety. The duty to search and rescue a boat in distress is a fundamental rule in international maritime law. States and ships are obliged to assist regardless of circumstances or intentions. And pushbacks at sea (or land borders) are violations of national, EU and international law.

These children need to know they are not alone. World leaders must urgently act to demonstrate the undeniable worth of children’s lives … moving beyond condolences to resolute pursuit of effective solutions.

Background: Sahra Wagenknecht is a former communist and technically a Left Party politician, married to former SPD leader Oskar Lafontaine. She drifted from her ML views towards the Danish form of social democracy with controls on immigration due to the view that it lowers the quality of life of the local working class. Her other infamous policy is staunch opposition to what she calls "lifestyle-left"; the usual class reductionist and "LGBT is bourgeois decadence" kind of view. The Left Party has been on the verge of a split between the radlib party leadership and her supporters for over a year now.

Good news:

• Taking away votes from the AfD, which is hardcore fash in the region (as compared to the other state branches).

• The most probably desired coalition from them is gonna be a government with the Left Party and the socdems.

Bad news:

• The Left party and the socdems would 100% say no

• The other obvious choice for Wagenknecht's bozos is a coalition with the fash

• 47% for openly nationalist forces

• This poll is very likely to embolden Wagenknecht and her bozos to actually go ahead and split the party: The Left Party would fall under full control of the radlib leadership and adopt pro-NATO, anti-communist, social democratic views and make itself a SPD 2. The Wagenknecht Party - reactionary and welcoming to chuds, conspiracy theorists, supporters of German Nationalism, etc. The left wing opposition (various trot groups, the Communist Platform, the miscellaneous anti-reformists of the AKL, etc.) is likely to be completely pushed out by both parties.

Unknown effect:

• Wagenknecht is openly against economic warfare against Russia. Many of her supporters, I presume, are even more supportive of that country.