Mothers without Fathers or Nothing More than a Woman: Gender and Anarchism in the Work of Federica Montseny, 1923–1929 by Andrew Hamilton Lee A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History New York University January, 2012 __________________ Mary Nolan © Andrew H. Lee All Rights Reserved, 2012 DEDICATION In memory of my father who first told me about the Spanish Civil War and those who died to preserve liberty. For Liz, Malcolm, and Isabel “A las barricadas” Valeriano Orobón Fernández, 1936 Negras tormentas agitan los aires Nubes oscuras nos impiden ver Aunque nos espere el dolor y la muerte Contra el enemigo nos llama el deber. El bien más preciado Es la libertad Hay que defenderla Con fe y valor. Alza la bandera revolucionaria Que llevará al pueblo a la emancipación Alza la bandera revolucionaria Que llevará al pueblo a la emancipación. En pie el pueblo obrero a la batalla Hay que derrocar a la reacción. ¡A las Barricadas! ¡A las Barricadas! Por el triunfo de la Confederación. ¡A las Barricadas! ¡A las Barricadas! Por el triunfo de la Confederación. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As with any dissertation, I owe an enormous debt to people and to archives and libraries. As a librarian myself I have a profound appreciation of both sides of the inquiry and I hope it has made me both a better librarian and researcher. Working on Spanish anarchism I came to rely on a wide network of colleagues and institutions to find material that was scattered after the Spanish Civil War. Meetings of the International Association of Labour History Institutions (IAHLI) are chances meet with colleagues and see new cities, plus a chance to conduct research and learn about gender and the left in their respective countries. Marianne Enckell of the Centre International de Recherches sur l’Anarchisme (Lausanne, Switzerland) continues to answer questions. Marianne was a very gracious host when I visited, and took me to a squat. Urs Kälin of the Schweizerisches Sozialarchiv (Zürich, Switzerland) kindly allowed me to browse their Spanish Civil War materials and provided me with a photograph of Montseny and the Brupbachers. Anne–Marie Blanchenay and Franck Veyron of the Bibliothèque de Documentation Internationale Contemporaine (Nanterre France) help me use their collections and Franck’s sharing of his apartment has made me as comfortable in Paris as I am in Amsterdam and Barcelona. The Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) deserves a special mention for all the work it has done for v more than seventy–five years in preserving social history. It became my Mecca, and whenever I was there I felt welcomed and completely at home. Just some of the staff who helped me were Heiner Becker, Marien van der Heijden, Meike IJzermans, Frank de Jong, Jaap Kloosterman, Ella Molenaar, Irina Novichenko, Monique van der Pal, Jenneke J. Quast, Kees Rodenburg, Margreet Schrevel, Angelie Sens, and Willeke Thijssen. It was an honor and a privilege to work there and to get to know them over the years. Marien and Angelie were exceptional hosts and I owe Marien a great debt for the Ajax game. Additionally, Marcel van der Linden, Astrid Veburg, and Jan Lucassen made possible my partipation in the IISG’s week–long seminar on Global Labour History in November 2010, the fruits of which are evident in the discussion of Turkish feminism. I am very grateful for the assistance of my Turkish classmates at the Workshop: Burcu Cingay, Emre Erol, and Yelda Kaya. Burcu also followed up with more information which improved my understanding of the Turkish context of Montseny’s article. Karen Englund, formerly of the Arbetarrörelsens Arkiv och Bibliotek (Stockholm, Sweden), made it possible for me to see the murals of the male worker and his wife in the headquarters of the Landsorganizationen i Sverige, the Swedish trade union confederation, and to take photographs. Knut Einar Eriksen of the Arbeiderbevegelsens Arkiv og Bibliotek (Oslo, Norway), provided me with a slide of the Norwegian version of the Spanish Civil War poster “What Are You Doing to Prevent This?,” adding to the ones I had in English, French and Spanish. Gerd Callesen, while he was the head of the vi Arbejdermuseet & Arbejderbevægelsens Bibliotek og Arkiv (Copenhagen, Denmark), invited to me to stay and then together with his wife Lena Fluger gave me a tour of Zealand. Finnish archivists also shared information with me and Pontus Blomster always greeted me warmly, we miss him. David Bidussa, Stephen Bird, Françoise Blum, Christine Coates, Jone Garmendia, Lars Ilshammar, Wouter Steenhaut, Richard Temple, Rossana Vaccaro, and Rüdiger Zimmermann have been good IALHI colleagues and friends. Lluís Claret of Digitalia has been very helpful, and it is exciting to see so many radical Spanish journals in his database. He started as a vendor but has become a friend. Aurelio Martín Nájera of the Fundación Pablo Iglesias (Alcalá de Henares, Spain) sent me copies of Fundación publications that I found invaluable. Ester Ramos and Nuria Franco of the Fundación Francisco Largo Caballero gave me the full tour of their impressive collections and facilitated my access to Emilia Pardo Bazán’s translation of Bebel. Piera Tachis, librarian of the Centro Studi Piero Gobetti in Turin, Italy confirmed a reference for me. Hugh Stevenson of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (Glasgow, Scotland) and Anne Dulau of the University of Glasgow Museums helped me properly identify a painting reproduced in La Revista Blanca. While it ended up not appearing in the thesis, I do intend to make use of it later. On this side of the Atlantic, I used institutions across the country. Julie Herrada of the Labadie Collection at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and I tried to figure out Ética. Sarah Shoemaker, Special Collections Librarian vii at the Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections of Brandeis University (Waltham Massachusetts), made a copy of an important pamphlet. David Jacobs of the Hoover Institution (Stanford, California) facilitated my visit there and the use of Burnett Bolloten Papers and the Joaquín Maurín Papers. Closer to home, The New York Public Library’s Map Division found me a 1930 map of Barcelona which I found very useful in visualizing the spatial geography of Montseny’s city. Artis Wright, Eric Robinson, Esther Taubman and Kate Cordes were very helpful and I am elated to have a color copy of the map to use as a reference. I appreciate the effort of Diana Barnes and the Politics Department in getting me Adobe Acrobat Professional, which eased my research. The Robert F. Wagner School awarded me a Stephen Charney Vladeck Junior Faculty Fellowship and Dean Carol Mandel of Bobst Library made it possible for me to take that fellowship. Michael Stoller and Evelyn Ehrlich supported my sabbaticals. Tim Johnson and Jason Phillips covered my subject responsibilities while I was on leave. Susan Jacobs gave me important early guidance on the Health Sciences databases. Jerry Heverly was always being willing to help with Latin and for several important referrals to resources in Classics. Tom McNulty, Diana Greene, and Peter Magierski helped with references and book schlepping while I was on leave. Nancy Cricco and Gail Malmgreen have been good friends. I owe an immense debt to the ILL staff who got me materials from around the world: the late Mike Hannon, Robert viii Platt, Lowell Accola, and Jennifer Salvo–Eaton. A.J. Muhammad helped with the recalcitrant microform machines in Reserves. Academics on both sides of the Atlantic have been very helpful. In London, Rick Halpern first put me in touch with Chris Ealham. Helen Graham opened up her home and kitchen to me when I was in town. Paul Preston provided assistance, fine meals, and even finer books. In Spain, Mary Nash, Susanna Taverá i Gracia, and Soledad Bengoechea Echaondo were helpful in giving me copies of publications. Mary Nash and Susanna Tavera both spent important spaces of time with me and provided me with invaluable information. In Barcelona, Xavier Diez is the person who first alerted me to the importance of Iniciales. Lisa Berger and Albert Álvarez for years of friendship and reference help. Joan Casanovas was always helpful in many ways. Esteve Carames answered questions about the urban structure of Barcelona. From Zaragoza, Julián Casanova keeps me in touch while Ángela Cenarro gave me important recommendations. Irene Lozano was also gracious on her replies to my queries. Frank Mintz spoke to me about the dispute between Puente and Montseny. Isabelle Mille put me in touch with French Hispanists while Margaret Childers shared information from Rosa Laviña’s privately printed Memoires. Alison Sinclair graciously shared an unpublished essay on Hildegart. In the United States, Carolyn Boyd inspired me to study Spanish history. Jesus Cruz was always encouraging and hopeful as only an Atlético fan can be. Vicki Geduld gave me guidance on Isadora Duncan and her ix significance. The scholarship of Laura Hapke, Cary Nelson, and Alan Wald, and their support, were important at the conception of this project. Fiona Griffiths and Allyson Poshka assisted in verifying the falsity of an anticlerical myth. Sasha Pack helped me verify that a Marañón quote was correct and in the English translation. Victoria Blacik got scans from the national library in Madrid. Ben Anderson was encouraging at an early stage. Rose Calimano tried to help me make sense of some of Urales’ diatribe. Alex Greenspan loaned me his MAC book power cord at a crucial time. Adrienne Basso, librarian and romance novelist herself, read and copyedited this before it was sent to my committee. James Fernández early on recommended I read Brooks.