February, 1946

There are posters and flyers and flags-- the hated flags of Catalonia, the FAI, and the Republic-- scattered through the city, on the walls, in the streets, everywhere. They advertise an end to Francoism, an end to oppression, and say that it is near. It’s an unavoidable spectacle.

Ven y Ve, the posters say, Come and See. Soon unleashed against the Spanish State will be an apocalypse of liberation. Like the angels of hell and the horsemen of the Book of Revelation, they call all to look directly at them, and weep long and loud if they do not understand.

Ven y Ve! A fasces, they say, cannot be broken over one’s knee. It must be chopped with a hatchet, or set alight until it becomes ashes. It is the appearance of strength, but all you must do is untie the bundle, and it all falls apart.

Ven y Ve! The posters and pamphlets and all of them seem to say; the end is coming soon, friends! Look to the skies with joy, and for once, smile!

Harassing Franco in Barcelona.