Catalonia's Remembrance Day

Homage to Catalonia, written by George Orwell (1903 — 1950) from his personal experience participating in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republicans, is one of the most truthful accounts of that war. In late 1936, George Orwell went to Spain as a correspondent for the BBC and the Observer newspaper. As part of the militia of the left-wing Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM), he fought on the front against the Francoists for several months.

In the spring of 1937, in Barcelona, where his wife Eileen had joined him, Orwell found himself in the confrontation between communists and the anarcho-syndicalist National Confederation of Labor. Along with POUM, he sided with the anarchists. After the clashes ended, Spanish communists blamed POUM for everything, banned it, and began repressions. Orwell and his wife themselves narrowly escaped becoming victims of secret reprisals by NKVD agents. George was wounded in the throat and lost his voice for a whole year.

The couple managed to escape from Spain, and in 1938, Orwell published the book, written from anti-fascist and anti-Stalinist positions. The writer protested against the political repressions carried out by Spanish communists, the total lies and slanders spread by the Comintern against its opponents.