Andrés Nin
Encyclopedia
Andreu Nin i Pérez was a Spanish
Communist
revolutionary
.
shortly before World War I
; he taught briefly in a secular
anarchist
school, but soon became a journalist
and activist. In 1917 he joined the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
(PSOE).
Nin became a leader of the Spanish workers' movement, and was among the founders of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE). He consequently worked for the Comintern
and Red International of Labour Unions
(RILU or Profintern) in the Soviet Union
and was on the staff of Leon Trotsky
for a period. While in Russia
, he was won to the Left Opposition
which confronted Joseph Stalin
's ascending faction within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
.
When he returned to Spain, Nin was instrumental in forming the Communist Left of Spain
(ICE) the self-designated Leninist
group affiliated to the International Left Opposition (ILO). However, the ICE was a small group and largely isolated. Nin had a number of disagreements with Trotsky in this period, specifically when Trotsky advised the ICE leader that entry into the Socialist Youth of Spain
would augment the forces at their disposal, while Nin advocated forming of a united party with the Workers and Peasants Bloc (BOC), a group coming out of the communist movement but seen as being on its right wing
.
Eventually Nin broke with Trotsky and the ILO on this question, and the merger went ahead. He (along with Joaquín Maurín
) formed the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification
(POUM) in 1935, as a communist alternative to the Comintern
-aligned PCE.
After the region of Catalonia
saw its regional government reinstated by the Spanish Republic
in the opening phase of the Spanish Civil War
, Nin joined the devolved government, the Generalitat
, headed by Lluís Companys, as Councillor of Justice. As Spain's communists gained sway in the Republican government, they moved to purge ex-communists and those independent of Moscow
from the government, which would include POUM. Nin left office on December 16, 1936, concluding a controversial tenure.
Following the violent "May Days" of Barcelona
, on June 16, 1937 the government, under PCE pressure, declared POUM illegal. Nin and most of the leadership of POUM were arrested and sent to a camp near Madrid
. Nin was tortured (flayed) and murdered, under the supervision of the NKVD
. Some claim the Republican Government's secret police killed Nin on June 20, with the involvement of "Comandante Contreras" Vittorio Vidali
, and Iosif Grigulevich.
One account suggests German members of the (PCE-run) International Brigades
killed Nin in a fake Nazi "liberation," while others have suggested he was taken to the Soviet Union
for execution. Regardless, Nin's fate was kept secret by those involved, resulting in a clandestine POUM campaign asking Juan Negrín
's new government: Gobierno Negrín: ¿dónde está Nin? ("To the government of Negrín: where is Nin?").
As an answer, the propaganda
launched by the PCE proclaimed: En Salamanca o en Berlín ("Either in Salamanca
[ Francisco Franco
's headquarters] or Berlin
[in Nazi Germany
]"), elaborating the slander campaign alleging that Nin was a fascist
.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
.
Early life
Born to a poor family (his father was a shoemaker and his mother was a peasant), Nin moved to BarcelonaBarcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
shortly before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
; he taught briefly in a secular
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
school, but soon became a journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and activist. In 1917 he joined the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
(PSOE).
Nin became a leader of the Spanish workers' movement, and was among the founders of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE). He consequently worked for the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
and Red International of Labour Unions
Profintern
The Red International of Labor Unions , commonly known as the Profintern, was an international body established by the Communist International with the aim of coordinating Communist activities within trade unions...
(RILU or Profintern) in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and was on the staff of Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
for a period. While in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, he was won to the Left Opposition
Left Opposition
The Left Opposition was a faction within the Bolshevik Party from 1923 to 1927, headed de facto by Leon Trotsky. The Left Opposition formed as part of the power struggle within the party leadership that began with the Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin's illness and intensified with his death in January...
which confronted Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's ascending faction within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
.
When he returned to Spain, Nin was instrumental in forming the Communist Left of Spain
Communist Left of Spain
Communist Left of Spain was a Trotskyist political party during the Second Spanish Republic. Its central leader was Andres Nin, who had been a supporter of the Left Opposition while living in Russia...
(ICE) the self-designated Leninist
Leninism
In Marxist philosophy, Leninism is the body of political theory for the democratic organisation of a revolutionary vanguard party, and the achievement of a direct-democracy dictatorship of the proletariat, as political prelude to the establishment of socialism...
group affiliated to the International Left Opposition (ILO). However, the ICE was a small group and largely isolated. Nin had a number of disagreements with Trotsky in this period, specifically when Trotsky advised the ICE leader that entry into the Socialist Youth of Spain
Socialist Youth of Spain
Socialist Youth of Spain is the youth organisation of the Spanish social democratic party Partido Socialista Obrero Español .-External links:*...
would augment the forces at their disposal, while Nin advocated forming of a united party with the Workers and Peasants Bloc (BOC), a group coming out of the communist movement but seen as being on its right wing
Right Opposition
The Right Opposition was the name given to the tendency made up of Nikolai Bukharin, Alexei Rykov, Mikhail Tomsky and their supporters within the Soviet Union in the late 1920s...
.
POUM
Joaquín Maurín
Joaquín Maurín Juliá was a Spanish Communist politician and revolutionary, leader of the Workers and Peasants Bloc and of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification...
) formed the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification
Workers' Party of Marxist Unification
The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification was a Spanish communist political party formed during the Second Republic and mainly active around the Spanish Civil War...
(POUM) in 1935, as a communist alternative to the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
-aligned PCE.
After the region of Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
saw its regional government reinstated by the Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
in the opening phase of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, Nin joined the devolved government, the Generalitat
Generalitat
Generalitat is the name of the autonomous systems of government of two of the present Spanish autonomous communities: Catalonia and the Valencian Community. The term is also used for the government of the semi-autonomous comarca of Val d'Aran, the Generalitat a l'Aran.Generalitat refers to all...
, headed by Lluís Companys, as Councillor of Justice. As Spain's communists gained sway in the Republican government, they moved to purge ex-communists and those independent of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
from the government, which would include POUM. Nin left office on December 16, 1936, concluding a controversial tenure.
Following the violent "May Days" of Barcelona
Barcelona May Days
Barcelona May Days were a period of civil violence in Catalonia, between May 3 and May 8, 1937, when factions on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War engaged each other in street battles in the city of Barcelona.Clashes began when units of the Assault Guard – under the...
, on June 16, 1937 the government, under PCE pressure, declared POUM illegal. Nin and most of the leadership of POUM were arrested and sent to a camp near Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. Nin was tortured (flayed) and murdered, under the supervision of the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
. Some claim the Republican Government's secret police killed Nin on June 20, with the involvement of "Comandante Contreras" Vittorio Vidali
Vittorio Vidali
Vittorio Vidali , also known as Vittorio Vidale, Enea Sormenti, Jacobo Hurwitz Zender, Carlos Contreras, "Comandante Carlos") was an Italian-born Stalinist.- Early life :...
, and Iosif Grigulevich.
One account suggests German members of the (PCE-run) International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
killed Nin in a fake Nazi "liberation," while others have suggested he was taken to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
for execution. Regardless, Nin's fate was kept secret by those involved, resulting in a clandestine POUM campaign asking Juan Negrín
Juan Negrín
Juan Negrín y López was a Spanish politician and physician.-Early years:Born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Negrín came from a religious middle-class family...
's new government: Gobierno Negrín: ¿dónde está Nin? ("To the government of Negrín: where is Nin?").
As an answer, the propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
launched by the PCE proclaimed: En Salamanca o en Berlín ("Either in Salamanca
Salamanca
Salamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to...
[ Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's headquarters] or Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
[in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
]"), elaborating the slander campaign alleging that Nin was a fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
.
External links
- Andrés Nin Archive on Marxist Internet Archive The Fundación Andreu Nin has a Spanish-language site containing an extensive collection of documents, biographical notes, and links related to the POUM and to Nin himself. Andrés Nin: El crimen que remató la República.
- Struggle of the trade unions against fascism 1923 pamphlet
- La huelga general de enero y sus enseñanzas. 1930s pamphlet