Customer Reviews

They Shall Not Pass: The Autobiography of La Pasionaria

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"They Shall Not Pass" is the autobiography of Dolores Ibarruri ("La Pasionaria" of the Spanish Civil War, known for her ability to make rousing speeches and come up with great little phrases "No Pasaran - They Shall Not Pass" being her most well known). Ibarurri was one of the leaders of the Spanish Communist Party and her autobiography is perhaps an unintentionally revealing self-portrayl of the sheer banality of evil. As other reviewers have mentioned, Ibarruri tells us a little about herself, but only a little. The remainder of the book is a sad illustration of the moral bankruptcy of Ibarurri and her ilk and perhaps also somewhat illustrative of why the Republicans lost the Spanish Civil War - and even more illustrative of just why Franco and the Nationalists were so much more determined to win unconditionally, being well aware of their fate if Ibarurri and her cohorts gained the victory.

The book's really worth reading as an example of just what the Nationalists were fighting against - as another reviewer mentioned,it's full of revolutionary songs, Ibarurri goes on and on about how the Republican forces were betrayed by the other non-Communist parties within the Republican grouping (conveniently forgetting perhaps that it was the Spanish Communist Party who launched the CivilWar within the Civil War, and that it was the Spanish Communists in military command positions who launched attacks which could only be described as insanely suicidal for purely political reasons).

Ibarruri comes across as an unrepentant Stalinist of the worst sort (keep in mind also that she was one of the architects of the Red Terror at the start of the Civil War, where some 55,000 people were excecuted in the best of Stalinist traditions) and the book provides very little information other than what the Stalinist line was and a good amount of repetition of Communist propaganda lines from the War along with invective and criticism of pretty much every other political party ot grouping on the Republican side.

Most amusing is the description of the Anarchist rule in Catalonia as "Sodom and Gommorah" with no explanation as to why - for a better description of the Anarchists, read Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, a far more credible writer than Ibarruri. While perhaps not intended, Ibarruri's autobiography is a classic example of the Stalinist / Communist mindset at work - and shows how the Spanish Communist Party was openly attacking their "allies" in the Civil War in an attempt to gain sole power in the Spanish Republic. It's a sad and illustrative account of the banality of evil and the unrepentant mind-set of a Stalinist-era mass-murderess, for that's all Ibarruri was. Victory would have only made her more so, and from the tone of her book and her invective against the Anarchists and POUM, one can imagine what the fate of their supporters would have been under Ibarurri and her fellows - Franco looks positively angelic by comparison and after reading this book, one can well understand what the Nationalists fought for.

OK -I give this book 5 stars, not for the style or brilliance of the content but for the sheer fascination of looking into the mindset of a person who, while not responsible for the sheer volume of deaths, pain and suffering as Mao or Stalin, certainly shared the same intentions.

They shall not pass is both a sad and informative commentary on the communist propaganda surrounding the Spanish Civil War. What begins as a sometimes touching autobiography soon descends into shameless promotion of the position of the communist party, and vicious slander against the anarchists and POUM. It is interesting if only as a testement to the lengths the communist party was willing to go in attacking their allies, in order to consolidate power in Republican Spain.