. "Jos\u00E9 D\u00EDaz"@en . "CNT/FAI"@en . "10000"^^ . "Clashes began when units of the Assault Guard (Guardia de Asalto) \u2013 under the control of police chief Eusebio Rodr\u00EDguez Salas and under the influence of the USSR-backed Communist Party of Spain and its local wing, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC) \u2013 attempted to take over an anarchist-run telephone building in Barcelona. This was part of a series of similar appropriations by the Catalan government of worker-controlled industries at the behest of the USSR to crush anti-Stalinist labor forces In this case, the workers fought back: holding the telephone exchange was not only a matter of prestige for the anarchists, but also a strong-point in any struggle for power in the city. A call to arms was issued, and conflict spread throughout Barcelona. Five days of street fighting ensued with workers of various labor designations, many of whom were sympathetic to the anti-Stalinist POUM, built barricades against and exchanged fire with the guardias de asalto, stormtroopers and PSUC. Confederaci\u00F3n Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) workers were eventually persuaded into a compromise by Juan Garc\u00EDa Oliver, amongst others. The Republican government, heavily influenced by its main international benefactor, the USSR, sent 10,000 Assault Guard troops to Barcelona to take control of the city. British author George Orwell describes these events, in which he took part, in Chapter 10 of his book Homage to Catalonia. Other first hand accounts include German anarchist Augustin Souchy who wrote of the May Days in his book The Tragic Week in May and the Swedish socialists Ture Nerman and August Sp\u00E5ngberg who were also present in Barcelona and wrote about their experiences in their autobiographies. The events were also illustrated in the award-winning film Land and Freedom."@en . "Barcelona May Days"@en . . . . . . "Barcelona and wider Catalonia"@en . "--05-08"^^ . . "*Beginning of Counter-Revolution\n*POUM activities clamped down on\n*Consolidation of state power in Barcelona and Catalonia"@en . "500"^^ . "Spanish Republic\n*Guardia de Asalto\n Generalitat of Catalonia"@en . "Barcelona May Days"@en . . . "the Spanish Civil War & the Spanish Revolution"@en . "Juan Negr\u00EDn"@en . . . "Clashes began when units of the Assault Guard (Guardia de Asalto) \u2013 under the control of police chief Eusebio Rodr\u00EDguez Salas and under the influence of the USSR-backed Communist Party of Spain and its local wing, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC) \u2013 attempted to take over an anarchist-run telephone building in Barcelona. This was part of a series of similar appropriations by the Catalan government of worker-controlled industries at the behest of the USSR to crush anti-Stalinist labor forces"@en . "POUM"@en . "1500"^^ . "Manuel Aza\u00F1a"@en . . . "Friends of Durruti Group"@en . "FIJL"@en . . "Communist Party of Spain\n*Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia"@en . . "Eusebio Rodr\u00EDguez Salas"@en .