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Unknown heroes: biographies of Anarchist resistance fighters by Miguel Garcia no

Kate Sharpley Library | 15.07.2005 19:35 | Analysis | Culture

The Kate Sharpley Library has just published a new pamphlet, Unknown heroes: biographies of Anarchist resistance fighters by Miguel Garcia, with information on people from the post-war anti-fascist resistance in Spain.

Meet "Burnt Face," "Bread Swallower" and "The Catalan" – just a few of the Anarchist militants of the resistance to Franco. Having survived the struggle against fascism in occupied France, they took the fight back to Franco's murderous system. They also paid the ultimate price, in ambushes by the ferocious Guardia Civil, facing the firing squad, or in the cells of the secret police.
Miguel García (1908-1981) was not a historian of the Anarchist resistance to Franco, but a participant. He was part of the Tallión ('Revenge') urban guerrilla group which fought in Barcelona until their capture in 1949. Nine members of the group were condemned to death. Of the four reprieved, one was Miguel García. After serving twenty years (to the day) he left Spain in 1969, determined to return to the struggle. He acted as the International Secretary to the newly reformed Anarchist Black Cross and wrote pamphlets like "Spanish Political Prisoners" and "Looking back after Twenty Years of Jail", followed by an autobiography, "Franco's Prisoner".
These biographies first appeared in "Black Flag", the bulletin of the ABC. Here he tells the stories of some of the anarchist militants who – from the end of the Spanish Civil War to the 1960s – never surrendered to dictatorship. They form a tribute to fallen comrades from one who very nearly joined them. They are also testimony to a struggle still scarcely known.

"This pamphlet will become an essential reference for historians. It also makes for a fascinating read."
- Paul Preston, author of ¡Comrades! Portraits from the Spanish Civil War

ISBN 1-873605-83-8 A5 pamphlet, 20 pages.
£3 (£2 post free for direct orders) from
Kate Sharpley Library, BM Hurricane, London, WC1N 3XX, England
or $3 from
Kate Sharpley Library, PMB 820, 2425 Channing Way, Berkeley CA 94704, USA

Contents:
Introduction: Miguel García García, the one that got away
Manuel Lecha Blanch
Lorenzo López Noguero
El Negret and El Valenciá
Santiago García Gasco
El Catalá
Caraquemada (Burnt Face)
José Pérez Pedrero
Carballo Blanco
César Saborit Carrelero
Appendices:
Libertarian Histories [the execution of five members of the Tallión Group, 1952]
Nine Trade Unionists Executed in Barcelona [Protest leaflet]

Also available from the Kate Sharpley Library by Miguel García:
Looking back after Twenty years of Jail: Q & A on the Spanish Anarchist Resistance 1-873605-03-X
Miguel García's Story 0-904564-54-5

www.katesharpleylibrary.net

Kate Sharpley Library
- e-mail: info@katesharpleylibrary.net
- Homepage: http://www.katesharpleylibrary.net