The Fascist Air Force is hammering without pause on Madrid and other cities. The tactic is to demoralize the Spanish population in the government controlled areas.

Many of the victims are women and children, so the government starts to evacuate children from Madrid. Also unstopped is a large government campaign to build up public schools and to maintain the cultural and democratic life of Spain alive. Throughout the whole war in the Spanish Republic, the number of books published is higher then before the war and increasing every year. Even though the money is desperately needed for buying armament in the Soviet Union, the legal Spanish government is willing to fight against illiteracy (in the countryside up to 75 % of the population can not read or write) and the loss of culture caused by the war necessities.

The Fascist army's are attacking constantly in the north. The Republican northern army's and the Basque army are defending themselves desperately, without significant support by air planes and cut off from the rest of the Republican controlled Spain.

The World Exhibition opens in Paris, France, and the Spanish Pavilion is together with the Soviet and the Nazi German Pavilion one of it biggest attractions.

The inner war in the Republic between Communists and Anarchists escalate in Catalonia into a streetfight with several hundreds of dead. Unable to eliminate the mass movement and organization of the Anarchists, the small Marxist party P.O.U.M. is crushed by the Communists during the next weeks, the Anarchist organizations have to subordinate themselves to the Spanish Communist party P.C.E.

The incidents reveal the power of the Communist structures build up since the outbreak of the war. Throughout the whole war the Leaders of the P.C.E. seems more interested in fighting what they see as rivals then to fight the Fascist enemy itself. While the P.C.E. is preying unity in their publications, they open up the "inner front-line".

Without knowledge of the Catalonian government, the Catalonian councilor for public order, the Communist Rodriguez Salas, tries to take control over the Barcelona telephone central. The telephone central is controlled since the beginning of the war by C.N.T. and U.G.T.. Salas got this order directly from the Catalonian minister for inner affairs, Ayguade, also a Communist.

A company of Assault Guards is storming the building around 3pm and shouting "hands up", arresting everybody they can. The armed guards on the machine gun post at the stairs on the second floor are not informed, as nobody in the whole building is, about this takeover. When they see armed uniformed men coming up the stairs and hear the yells and shouting from the first floor they shout "stop there and don't come up" at which a gunfight break out. The Anarchist guards can resist their attackers and keep control of the upper floors of the telephone central.

This skirmish leads to fighting's all over the city. Several hundreds of Barricades are build, Communist controlled police units occupy high buildings and church towers, shooting at everything that moves. The Communists attack not only the C.N.T., they also start to arrest P.O.U.M. members. The actions are obviously well planned.

Some police units and the Republican army are staying neutral to the fighting's, even though army officers, if members of C.N.T./F.A.I. or P.O.U.M., are also arrested if catched at Communist controlled check points.

The police director of Barcelona, member of the C.N.T., together with the leader of the "control patrols" comes to the telephone central in an attempt to move the occupying police forces to leave the central peacefully. They have no success, instead Catalonian prime minister Companys declares that he was not informed by his minister for inner affairs, as none has been, but that he agrees all in all with the police action.

The radio stations of the C.N.T. an F.A.I. are calling hourly their members to maintain public order and keep calm.

The coastal batteries, under CNT command, turn around and aim at the building of the "Generalitat", the regional government..

Catalonian prime minister Companys obtains a fragile truce between the different fighting groups, on the basis of which Rodriguez Salas, now blamed for the police action against the telephone central, has to resign.

Communist commandos are still arresting people and the Communist/Socialist official Antoni Sese is murdered, probably by Anarchist gunmen.

5000 Assault Guards (chosen more or less carefully by their political opinions, to ensure a "neutral" force and the trust of both sides) arrive today in Barcelona, they occupy several strategical points throughout the city, the workers abandon the barricades and the telephone central is handed over to the government.

When the Assault Guards entered the city and passed by the central building of the Anarchist CNT, several hundreds of them salute the black and red Anarchist flag on the building. Nevertheless reprisals are starting against the anti-Stalinist left in the whole Republic.

13 May *The Communist ministers demand the suppression of the POUM

Largo Caballero resigned. After fighting against Communist domination of Spain, as much as against the Anarchists and left Socialists, Caballero is left alone with no one on his side.

Juan Negrin is presented as the man of the hour, leader of the "Government of the Victory", as the press is presenting him and his cabinet. There are no ministers of the CNT participating in this government any more.

[ World Exposition 1937, Spanish Pavilion ] 344 KB, opens in new window

Today opened the World Exhibition in Paris. The Spanish pavilion, one of its most awaited attractions, is located nearby the Nazi German pavilion and the pavilion of the Soviet Union.

Sensational is Picasso's "Guernica". When Picasso is presented to a Nazi German army officer, the army officer asks Picasso: "So, you made Guernica?" - Picasso's dry reply: "No. You made it!".

The Spanish Pavilion is still builded up in the inside and therefore closed for the public. Opening will be the 12th of July.

Especially the Nazi German air planes piloted by members of the Legion Condor are technically more advanced than the Russian air planes used by the Republic. Nevertheless the Republican pilots are fighting brave and without any respect to their own lives.

Spanish pilots are invited to Russia for being trained on the Russian air planes.

Cause the incident with the "Deutschland", Germany and Italy leave the meetings of the Nonintervention committee. The German battle ship "Admiral Scheer" shells the port and the city of Almeria with 200 Grenades. The Bombardement causes 19 casualties, 55 wounded and destroys 150 houses. German and Italian battle ships are concentrated in the Mediterranean sea next to Spain.

The open outbreak of a world war is at hand.