Sexual Divisions and Anarchist Collectivization in Civil War Spain

PERHAPS THE LEAST WELL-KNOWN ASPECT of the Spanish Civil War was the broad-based popular revolution which followed the rebellion of the generals against the Spanish Republic on July 18,1936.Drawing on their experiences in labor unions, community groups, and informal cultural and educational centers, anarchist and socialist activists mobilized millions of people to take control over vast areas of the economy and society.In Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, and other major cities, workers took to the streets to squelch the rebellion; soon, popular militias left for the front to combat "the fascists."Within a week-particularly in areas of anarchist strength such as Catalonia-workers took control of many factories and workplaces.Soon thereafter, in rural areas, workers' organizations expropriated large properties, smallholders pooled their lands and animals, and municipalities instituted new cooperative systems of cultivation.Millions of people lived or worked in anarchist-or socialist-inspired collectives (both rural and urban-industrial), marketed through cooperatives, and otherwise restructured their interpersonal relationships.In such a context the potential for transforming personal lives, as well as "public" relations, was enormous.In many areas of Spain conventional Martha A. Ackelsberg is Associate Professor of Government at Smith College.She has long been engaged in study of the anarcho-syndicalist