“Save the children!”: The Comintern Narrative of Victimization in Spain as the Cornerstone of the Popular Front Platform

Resumen

In this paper we examine the carefully orchestrated effort of the Communist International (Comintern) to craft, divulge and rally left wing forces around a victimization narrative that reversed the roles of the October 1934 armed insurrection in Spain and became the cornerstone of its Popular Front campaign. To this end, the Comintern leveraged the abundant resources of its front organizations, especially International Red Aid and the World Committees, financed and led from Moscow and Paris and supported locally as needed by its Spanish section. Starting in early 1935, the Spanish socialist party, many of whose leaders became dependent on Red Aid funding, embraced the narrative and their strategy became indistinguishable from that of the communists. Contrary of the dominant interpretation of these events, this paper demonstrates the Popular Front in Spain cannot be understood without a history from above perspective that takes full account of the leading role of the Comintern in them.