In late 1936 British author and journalist George Orwell volunteered to fight for the PUAM in Spain, Homage to Catalonia is an account of his experience in one of the more complex 20th century conflicts.
Orwell blended journalism and travelogue in his account, emphasizing the drudgery of everyday life as a soldier, providing the reader with an explanation of the political situation, documenting his harrowing experiences during the "May Days" of 1937, getting seriously wounded, and then having to flee the country.
Married and his 30s, his decision to take up arms in Spain was not taken lightly. Orwell explains the excitement of seeing people finally standing up to fascism as Germany and Italy and Italy were thumbing their noses at the international order. At the same time, Orwell eschews any romantic rhetoric about saving the free world, he's dispassionate and not afraid to portray himself in an unflattering light.
Most of Orwell's time at the front was uneventful. He goes into detail on the drudgery of everyday life in the trenches: enduring bad food, wearing dirty clothes for several days, dealing with lice and rats, contending with the unpredictable climate. He describes taking part in one engagement and chasing a fascist with a bayonet and being repelled at the entire experience.
He got on well with his fellow soldiers. Being socialists, the structure of the army was designed as a model for a classless society. Barriers between officers and volunteers were broken down, if a soldier felt an order was unjust an officer was obliged to explain himself. The spirit was egalitarian and Orwell was inspired by how everyone adapted to the system.
To defeat Franco and his Nationalist army, who had material support from Hiter and Mussolini, it was essential for the left to stay unified. Orwell spends a lot of time on the infighting from within the popular front, a coalition of communists, socialists, anarchists, and liberals. Differences in strategy and ideology boiled over during the "May Days."
Orwell happened to be leave in Barcelona with his wife Eileen O'Shaugnessy when the uprising started, an internecine struggle among the loyalists. His account borders on comical, he was unsure what was exactly going on and why. The communists resented the Trotskyists, while everyone had issues with the anarchists. Orwell criticizes how the news media covered the uprising, often repeating talking points reflecting political bias. The organization Orwell was affricated with, the PUAM, became persona non grata shortly after the uprising.
On returning to the front Orwell was shot through the neck by a sniper. He spent weeks in various hospitals, some of them horrifying - he overheard a man enduring surgery without anesthesia. He lost his voice for a time and dealt with painful nerve damage in his extremities. He was discharged afterwards but was nearly imprisoned during the ensuing crackdown on the PUAM. Many of the volunteers who came from different countries to fight fascism disappeared in the prisons, isn't politics just great!
Homage to Catalonia illustrates how the politics of the 1930s were anything but simple. Imagine you're idealistic person in Europe or North America, you read about heroic struggle of the left in Spain, volunteer only to find just as much dysfunction on the left. It would be easy to become non-political or cynical. Fascism was eventually defeated by a coalition of capitalist and communist countries, but in the 1930s such an alliance seemed unfeasible.
What's remarkable is Orwell avoided letting polemic take over his account. Despite all the infighting, the often-inhospitable conditions, and getting seriously wounded - he never loses sight of the larger picture:
This war, in which I played so ineffectual a part, has left me with memories that are mostly evil, and yet I do not wish that I had missed it. When you have had a glimpse of such a disaster as this - and however it ends the Spanish war will turn out to have been an appalling disaster, quite apart from the slaughter and physical suffering - the result is not necessarily disillusionment and cynicism. Curiously enough the whole experience has left me with not less but more belief in the decency of human beings. (230)
There's much to value in Orwell's account. Homage to Catalonia provides subtle warnings on the dangers of totalitarianism: the control of narratives, the demand for party discipline, crackdowns on political opponents, and bad actors thriving on chaos. Whether Orwell writes 1984 without his experiences in Spain is a compelling question, certainly seeing the machinery of authoritarian systems from the ground was a major influence.
For the 21st century, Homage to Catalonia presents idealism with calm realism. Any political ideology or movement can fall prey to totalitarian impulses. Humanism and a sense of decency are presented as antidotes to those authoritarian impulses. Understanding and putting aside illusions about human nature are also crucial for any democratic movement to prevail.
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