Catalogue Number
NMLH.1992.507
Object Name
Cup
Title
POUM: Party For Organization Of Marxist Unity
Place
Spain
Events
War & Spanish Civil War
Date
1936-1939
Description
Militia beret, in navy blue with red tassle. The beret includes the acronym P.O.U.M, - the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification.
The P.O.U.M. was a far-left party, founded in 1935, and was anti-Stalinist. The party fought on the side of the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War; Eric Blair (better known under his pen name 'George Orwell') was a member of this militia during the war, fighting on the Aragon Front. Blair was also involved in the May Days of 1937, when the P.O.U.M. fought alongside anarchists against the Communist and Government loyal forces in Barcelona, the result of severe factionalism between pro-Republican and pro-Revolution forces fighting against Franco.
The May Days resulted in the anarchists losing power in Catalonia and the recovery of Government control in Barcelona and Catalonia, which had been under the control of workers' militias since 1936. P.O.U.M. lost its position in the Republican institutions to the Communist Party, which increased its power.
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