Historical Archive of the City of Barcelona

One of the most important writers of the 20th century, George Orwell, had a special relationship with Catalonia. In his honour, Barcelona City Council has placed a plaque in the foyer of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona (RACAB) dedicated to him. The unveiling ceremony was attended by Orwell’s son, Richard Blair, the president of the RACAB, Jordi Isern, and the Pompeu Fabra University lecturer, Miquel Berga.

Eric Arthur Blair, known by his literary nickname of George Orwell, joined the International Brigades in December 1936 to fight against fascism in Spain. With the militias of the Workers’ Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) he joined the Aragon front and, in April 1937, returned to Barcelona. Shortly afterwards, conflict broke out between the CNT-FAT and the POUM and the Government of the Generalitat, which had the support of Esquerra Republicana and the communist-oriented Partido Socialista Unificado de Cataluña (Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia).

During the May Events of 1937, George Orwell spent three nights on the roof of the Academy, as part of a guerrilla defending the POUM headquarters, located in the building on the other side of the Rambla, today’s Hotel Rivoli Rambla. After the May Events, Orwell returned to the Aragon front, where he was wounded. He was treated in Tarragona and Barcelona, where he and his wife decided to return to England, stopping in Banyuls. Once in England, he wrote down his entire experience in a book entitled Homage to Catalonia, published in 1938 and received with scepticism for its criticism of Soviet-influenced communism. The events in Barcelona also inspired the author in the creation of his famous work 1984. 

Nowadays, the George Orwell Society organises a tour of the places where Orwell spent the Civil War every two years. This route, led by his son, Richard Blair, and Quentin Kopp, son of Orwell’s commander (Georges Kopp), begins in Barcelona, recalling the events of May 1937, and ends in Aragon.