In October 1934 the northern Spanish region of Asturias was the scene of the most important outburst of revolution in Europe between the early 1920s and the Spanish Civil War. Thousands of left-wing militants took up arms and fought the Spanish army in the streets of Oviedo while in the rear-guard committees proclaimed a revolutionary dawn. After two weeks, however, the insurrection was crushed. The widespread repression that followed was central to the polarization and fragmentation of Spanish politics prior to the Civil War (1936–9).

Unite, Proletarian Brothers!...