SPANISH CIVIL WAR POSTER.

Aixafem el Feixisme [Smash Fascism]. [Barcelona]: Editat per la Comissaria de Propaganda de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Fot. Catala), [1936].

Aixafem el Feixisme [Smash Fascism]. [Barcelona]: Editat per la Comissaria de Propaganda de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Fot. Catala), [1936]. A black and white photo-montage poster by Catala-Pic, of a woman's foot wearing a catalan sandal, an espardenya, poised to stamp down on a cracked concrete swastika. Old fold lines, and some other crease lines, a few small tears at margins, partially laid down on card. 22 x 31.5 inches (560 x 800 mm.)

A rare survival of an early Spanish Civil War anti-fascist poster emanating from the Catalan Government's Comissaria de Propaganda, which was established in October 6th 1936 in Barcelona. Catala-Pic was a avant-garde photographer, experimenting with photomontage techniques and wrote an essay on the use of photography in propaganda. There is a story of the Australian surrealist poet, Mary Low, coming to Barcelona in 1936 writing "We stood outside the columned portico, in front of us a poster flapped in the rain- a foot in a Catalan sandal crushing a swastika with negligent, unquestioned strength." It was in Barcelona in the early days of the Civil War, when the Nationalists rose up against the established city government, that the people's militias successfully resisted the Nationalists as they attempted to take control of the city. This poster reflects that determination to fight.
The Spanish Civil War was a barbaric and messy war, with the Generals and other armed forces opposing the Republican Government, taking control of the cities in the south and west, while the Republican Government held on to the other principal cities, including Barcelona, and the Province of Catalonia. The war swayed to and fro for 3 years, the Nationalists being supported by fascist Italy and Germany, who also provided munitions and troops. The Republicans fought bravely, but Catalonia was taken in 1938, and Barcelona fell in January 1939, with Madrid finally fell in April 1939.