'Hommage to Catalonia'?

Despite it being one of George Orwell's most famous work, I have never read Homage to Catalonia and so wondered where the title for his work came from! I thought I'd do some research, and will do a bit of a mini-biography on Orwell and his connections to Catalonia.

Orwell went to Spain in December 1936 to fight in the Civil War on the side of the Republicans, and much of his service and time spent in Spain centered on Barcelona and Catalonia. Being of communist persuasion, he was much impressed on his arrival by the fact that Barcelona was a a "town where the working class was in the saddle", declaring when he signed up "I've come to fight fascism". His preliminary training took place on the hill of Montjuic (now the site of the olympic stadium and facilities) and he learnt the skills required for Geurilla warfare. He fell in love with the Catalan people, writing; “I defy anyone to be thrown as I was among the Catalan working class and not be struck by their essential decency; above all their straightforwardness and generosity."

He was then sent to the front in Arragon where, given his previous training as a police officer and in the cadet corps, he was rapidly promoted to the post of Corporal. The months spent in Arragon saw little action and much hardship, given the lack of supplies and equipment and hostility of the mountainous terrain, and he returned to Barcelona in April hoping to join the International Brigades with the intention of seeing more action around Madrid. However, the revolutionary atmosphere Orwell had so admired on arriving in Barcelona had disappeared by the time he returned, and in its place he discovered a far more politicised and polarised city with frictions between various groups. The in-fighting that broke out has become known as the "May Days" and the accusations that the communist group POUM (with whom Orwell had felt most affinity) had betrayed the cause and collaborated with Franco's forces were to have a major effect on the author. He was so put off by the situation that he decided to abandon his plan to join the International Brigades and to return to Arragon.

This was, however, to be his last action in the conflict. Orwell was far taller than most of his Spanish comrades and had been warned against standing on trench parapets. He seems to have forgotten this, however, when he stepped up to address his men and was shot in the throat by an enemy sniper. He was transported back to barcelona and, although his life was saved, he was declared unfit for service. by this time the POUM had been outlawed in the city and Orwell's connections with the group meant that him and his wife had to lie low until they were able to escape the country.

Despite his experiences and disenchantment with the Civil War, Orwell was clearly enamoured with the Catalan area and people and speaks highly of them in his work, lamenting the fact that so many great men and women died for nothing. His affection was evidently reciprocated by the Catalan people, and the Placa de George Orwell is now a popular square in Barcelona.

Chris