Fighting fascist Spain

Fighting Fascist Spain examines modern Spanish immigrants to the United States in their fight against fascism through the narrative arc of the periodical España Libre. Spanish immigrants represented one of the most radical ethnic groups rooted either in the anarchism or socialism of their homeland. In the United States, these workers continued to participate in vigorous transnational and radical countercultures, which became one of the main strengths of their antifascist sentiment during the Spanish Civil War and the Francisco Franco’s dictatorship. Spanish cultural and mutual aid societies came together in what was known as the Sociedades Hispanas Confederadas or SHC, an organization of about 200 affiliated associations in the United States. The SHC periodical, España Libre articulates how workers’ culture and politics shaped their antifascism. Using extensive and previously ignored literary, visual, and archival sources, this project explores abounding anarchist literature and antifascist humor. Workers’ public protest was fashioned by a system of traditions and institutions: grassroots associations, the alternative press, and the comic and farcical theater that provided opportunities for anarchist practice and humorous antifascism.