Education
Find out how posters helped the Republican government in its fight against illiteracy, and to establish a universal education system.
When the Second Spanish Republic was declared on April 14, 1931, one of the new government's main objectives was to eliminate the country's high levels of illiteracy (around 40% of the population). To do so, the government began a comprehensive reform of the education system. It created schools in both cities and rural areas, where they were in short supply, and trained high-quality teaching staff to work in them.
Ministry of Public Instruction: [In] the years 1935-1936... (1937) by Cristino MalloPablo Iglesias Foundation
Teaching
The Ministry of Public Education was responsible for primary and secondary education, and for organizing a system to ensure that these institutions functioned properly, both in terms of staff and materials.
Through the FETE Cooperative... (Circa 1937) by Fried-FeldPablo Iglesias Foundation
The Spanish Federation of Education Workers (Federación Española de Trabajadores de la Enseñanza) was founded in 1931, in Madrid's Casa del Pueblo, which was the headquarters of the General Union of Workers (UGT). It was hugely successful in its promotion of universal education, and was instrumental in rolling this out to Spain's rural population.
War on illiteracy... (1937) by F. BrionesPablo Iglesias Foundation
A professional newspaper published since 1867, El Magisterio Español was handed over to the Spanish Federation of Education Workers (attached to the General Union of Workers) as a press arm.
In 1935-1936, the Radical-Cedist government spent... (1937) by F. PerisPablo Iglesias Foundation
It took an interest in how to supply school canteens …
We ask the government for industrial apprenticeship schools (Circa 1937) by FerguiPablo Iglesias Foundation
… and new industrial schools that were opening.
Relentless war against illiteracy!... (Circa 1937) by UnknownPablo Iglesias Foundation
The fight against illiteracy
Posters were another weapon in the fight against illiteracy. This policy managed to bring the rate of illiteracy down from 47% of the population in 1930, to 39% by late 1936.
Public Education budget... (Circa 1937) by F. BrionesPablo Iglesias Foundation
Mundo Obrero was the official publication of Spain's Communist Party (PCE) from August 23, 1930, and saw a sharp increase in its distribution during the Spanish Civil War.
Teacher: Like the other workers... (Circa 1937) by UnknownPablo Iglesias Foundation
The militias of culture... (Circa 1937) by Mauricio AmsterPablo Iglesias Foundation
As part of its efforts to combat illiteracy, the Ministry of Public Education published the Cartilla Escolar Antifascista (Antifascist Schoolbook), aimed at Republican militias. The book aimed to teach reading and basic arithmetic to Republican soldiers.
It also disseminated ideas about the democratization of culture and the fight against fascism. The book's illustrations were the work of Mauricio Amster, one of the Republic's most prominent poster artists. Examples of his work can be seen in some of our other stories.
Let us redeem the peasants from illiteracy... (Circa 1937) by UnknownPablo Iglesias Foundation
Peasants: By being learned you will be completely free... (Circa 1937) by UnknownPablo Iglesias Foundation
Rural areas were one of the main targets of this educational policy, whose aims included the dissemination of culture, teacher training, and citizens' education. The Pedagogical Missions (Misiones Pedagógicas) program during the Second Spanish Republic played a key role in this.
With physical exercise... (Circa 1937) by MorellPablo Iglesias Foundation
Sport and physical training
Sports and fitness were promoted by the Republican government during the civil war. These kinds of campaigns to promote sports, together with other literacy campaigns, supported the militarization and discipline of new soldiers.
To be more fit for fighting... (Circa 1937) by Hernanz - MelendrerasPablo Iglesias Foundation
Physical training known as Swedish gymnastics, involving light and moderate exercises without the need for equipment, was used to promote discipline by arranging those practicing it in columns or rows while they performed the exercises.
With physical exercise... (Circa 1937) by MorellPablo Iglesias Foundation
As well as improving combatants' fitness, physical activity was also aimed at keeping activities or vices that were considered detrimental to soldiers' concentration under control (such as alcohol, sex, and gambling).
Physical culture... (Circa 1937) by Taller FCDOPablo Iglesias Foundation
This allegory of an Olympic athlete references the People's Olympiad (Olimpiada Popular), which was due to take place in Barcelona from July 19 to 26, 1936, in protest at the Nazi Olympic Games in Berlin. The coup d'état meant that it could not go ahead.
