Joaquin Maurin papers, 1870-1976

Collection context

Summary

Creators:
Maurín, Joaquín, 1897-1973
Abstract:
Correspondence, writings, clippings, photographs, and printed matter relating to communism and socialism in Spain, the Spanish Civil War, and the American Literary Agency.
Extent:
32 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box, 3 envelopes (13.7 Linear Feet)
Language:
Primarily in Spanish
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Joaquin Maurin papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

Correspondence, writings, clippings, photographs, and printed matter relating to communism and socialism in Spain, the Spanish Civil War, and the American Literary Agency.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1896, January 13
Born in Bonansa, Huesca (Spain), of Aragon mother and Catalan father
1914-1918
Member of "Juventud Republicana", Lerida Writer for El Ideal, the daily mouthpiece of "Juventud Republicana"
Teacher of geography and history at Lerida high-school
1919, December
2nd Congress of the "Confederacion Nacional del Trabajo" (C.N.T.) in Madrid during which it decided to affiliate itself with the Communist International
1919-mid 1920
Stationed in Madrid during his tour of duty in the Spanish army
mid 1920
Joined the C.N.T.
fall 1920-1921
Member of the regional committee of Catalonia of the C.N.T., representing the province of Lerida
Secretary of the "Confederacion Provincial del Trabajo", Lerida
1920-1922
Editor of Lucha Social, Lerida, a trade-unionist weekly founded by Pedro Bonet in 1919
1921, May
Left with Andres Nin, Arlandis and Ibanez for Moscow
1921, June-August
Delegate of the C.N.T. to the 3rd Congress of the Communist International and to the Founding Congress of the Red International of Labor Unions (Profintern)
1921, October
National plenum of the C.N.T. in Lerida at which the report of the delegation, written by Maurin, was unanimously approved
1921, October-end of February 1922
Provisional secretary of the executive committee of the C.N.T.
1922, June
National conference of the C.N.T. in Saragossa at which it rejected the Communist International and the Profintern (triumph of the anarcho-sindicalist position within the C.N.T.)
1922, December
Co-founder at a meeting in Bilbao of the "Comites Sindicalistas Revolucionarios" (C.S.R.), minority within the C.N.T., close to the "Partido Comunista de Espana" (P.C.E.) and which wanted the C.N.T. to reaffiliate itself with the Communist International
1922, December 21-December 1924
Founder and editor of La Batalla, Barcelona, a trade-unionist communist weekly, mouthpiece of the C.S.R., around which gathered a group of Catalan communists and which was subsequently incorporated into the P.C.E. in 1924
1923
Left the C.N.T.
1924, May
Author, L'anarcho-syndicalisme en Espagne (Anarcho-sindicalism in Spain), Paris, Librairie du Travail; 47 p.
1924, June-July
Delegate to the 3rd Congress of the Profintern sent by the executive committee of the C.S.R.
1924, mid November
Plenum of the regional federations of the P.C.E. in Madrid at which Maurin and his group (the "Federacion Comunista Catalano-Balear", F.C.C.B.) criticized the policy of the executive committee, forcing it to resign
1925, January 12
Arrested as he was coming out of the Ateneo of Barcelona
1925, January 12-October 4, 1927
Political prisoner, first in the prison "Modelo" in Barcelona, then in the fortress of Montjuich, then again in Barcelona
1926, November 23
Acquitted, but not released immediately
1927, November-June 1930
Correspondent for Tass and Izvestia on Spanish issues
Worked for Le Monde
Resided in Neuilly s/Seine (Paris)
1927, November 26
Married Jeanne Lifchitz (sister of Boris Souvarine)
1928, March-May
Went to Moscow to justify his position to the Control Commission of the Communist International; whitewashed and offered to be member of the executive committee of the P.C.E.: refused
1928, December 22
Birth of son Mario in Paris
1929, August
3rd Congress of the P.C.E. in Paris. The F.C.C.B. had to send its proposals, Maurin and Bonet not having been allowed to attend as delegates
1930, June
Returned to Spain after the fall of Primo de Rivera
1930, Summer
Maurin expelled from the party. The F.C.C.B. sided with him and was also expelled, and started seeking contacts with the "Partit Comunista Catala" that Jordi Arquer and other members of the F.C.C.B. founded in the years 1928-1929, refusing to follow the discipline of the Communist International any longer
So-called Conference of Pamplona of the P.C.E. to which the F.C.C.B. was not invited
1930, October 24
Author, Los Hombres de la Dictadura (The men of the dictatorship), Madrid, Cenit; 241 p.
1931, March 1
Founded the "Bloque Obrero y Campesino" (B.O.C.) as a rallying platform and framework for communist sympathisers and as a propaganda organization. The F.C.C.B., in effect, was converted into being the administrator of the B.O.C. Maurin was secretary-general
1st Congress of the F.C.C.B. at Tarrasa. Incorporated the "Partit Comunista Catala" which had agreed to the fusion at its congress in the beginning of November 1930
1931, April 12
The B.O.C. participated in the municipal elections which brought about the end of the monarchy and the proclamation of the Republic on April 14
1931, June
Visited by a delegation of the Communist International which wanted the B.O.C. to be incorporated into the P.C.E.; Maurin refused and was expelled from the Communist International in July
1932, January 25
Author, La Revolucion Espanola. De la Monarquia Absoluta a la Revolucion Socialista (The Spanish revolution. From absolute monarchy to the socialist revolution), Madrid, Cenit; 196 p.
1932, April 4
2nd Congress of the F.C.C.B. in Barcelona. Changed its name to "Federacion Comunista Iberica" (F.C.I.)
1933, February
Working classes conference convened by the B.O.C. in Barcelona
1933, March
The B.O.C. suggested the formation of the "Alianza Obrera Antifascista" which organized the October 1934 uprising
1933, end of June
1st Congress of the F.C.I.
1934, April
2nd Congress of the F.C.I.
1935, April
Author, Hacia la Segunda Revolucion (Until the second revolution), Barcelona, Alfa; 253 p. Translated into French in 1935 and published in Paris by Rieder under the title Revolution et Contre-revolution en Espagne; 367 p. Reedited in Spanish in 1966 and published in Paris by Ruedo Iberico under the title Revolucion y Contrarrevolucion en Espana (Revolution and counter-revolution in Spain); 289 p.
1935, September
Founded the "Partido Obrero de Unificacion Marxista" (P.O.U.M.) through the fusion of the B.O.C. and the "Izquierda Comunista" that Nin founded in 1932
1936, February
Elected Deputy to the Cortes for the city of Barcelona under the "Front d'Esquerres", the Republican coalition of Catalonia, in which he was politically active since the end of 1935
1936, July
Wife and son left for Paris Found himself in insurgent territory (Bisquaye, Galicia) at the outbreak of the civil war. Hid under false names
1936, September 3
Arrested. Detained in Panticosa, Huesca, and then in the provincial prison of Jaca, Huesca, under the name of Joaquin Julio Ferrer
1936, September
Various newspapers announced his capture and execution
1937, early September
Released. Tried to reach France
1937, September 6
Recognized at the border. Arrested under his real name and transferred to Saragossa
1937, October 8
Brother Manuel died in the prison "Modelo" in Barcelona
1937-May 1942
In solitary confinement in the provincial prison of Salamanca
1941, August 30
Wife and son arrived in New York (American citizens in April 1953)
1942, May-November
Provincial prison of Barcelona
1942, November-March 1944
Central prison of Burgos Wrote draft of En las Prisiones de Franco (In the prisons of Franco) under the title of "Los Siete Circulos"
1944, March-October 1946
Provincial prison of Barcelona
1944, August 19
His case came up for trial; sentenced to 30 years
1946, October 1
Paroled under an amnesty for some political prisoners, but confined to Madrid where he worked as a translator for Jose Janes Publications
1947, July 4
Was given a passport to visit his family in New York, provided he returned to Spain. Left for Neuilly s/Seine
1947, September 30
American embassy in Paris granted him a temporary visitor's visa
1947, October 16
Arrived in New York (his visa was extended twice, the second time until April 16, 1949)
1947
Held a position with Dana Perfumes of Buenos Aires, which wanted him to undergo a 6-months training period in New York
1948, end of February
Injured his back: immobilized for a few months and incapacitated for a year and a half. Unable to return to Spain, he thus forfeited his conditional liberty
1948, March-March 1950
Commercial representative in the U.S. of the Spanish firm PRADESA
1949, July
Founded the American Literary Agency (A.L.A.), a newspaper agency which distributed articles written by him and others to some 35 Central and Latin American newspapers
1949, September-July 1952
Commercial representative in the U.S. of the Spanish firm Jose Collado Herrero
1951, January-April 1954
Chief writer for the Boletin de Informac on de Dana, New York
1953
The F.B.I. asked him to leave the country
1954, April September 1957
Press attache to the Costa Rican delegation to the United Nations in New York
1961, April 24
American citizen
1973, November 12
Died in New York
1974, May 5
Author, En Las Prisiones de Franco (In the prisons of Franco), Mexico, B. Costa-Amic; 210 p.
Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1977.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Box 29 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Joaquin Maurin papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563