R.L. Chacon

Por Que Hice Las Chekas de Barcelona: Laurencic Ante El Consejo de Guerra [Why I Built the Chekas of Barcelona: Laurencic Before the Court Martial]

Barcelona: Editorial Solidaridad Nacional, 1939. In illustrated wraps. 8 1/2 x 6 in. 102, [1] pp. Illustrated throughout in black-and-white. Very good. Item #284

An incredible account of the Francoist show trial of artist and architect Alphonso Laurencic in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, providing supposed evidence of the "Chekas", Surrealist-inspired prison cells apparently built by the Republican forces in Barcelona.

The book recounts the tale of their construction as outlined during the fascist trial, and the design of the cells, which included a sloped bed and unevenly placed bricks in the floor to make rest impossible, and bright and surreal paintings across the prison walls -- all, apparently, an attempt to drive prisoners to madness, thus curing them of their fascist ideologies, utilizing Kandinsky's color theory. One example of the alleged cells is illustrated to the cover, and other examples are illustrated in black-and-white throughout the book.

After the war, the cells were toured by high-level Nazis and Franco regime figures including Heinrich Himmler and Sagardía Ramos - one of the few examples of photographic documentation of the prison cells. The prisons received some attention from the international press in the early 2000s, after the publication of an essay by Spanish art historian Jose Milicua, though we have been unable to locate little contemporaneous records of the prisons besides this book.

It is perhaps worth noting that the torture beds depicted in this book bear remarkable resemblance to 21st century anti-homeless slanted benches now found in New York City's MTA and other public spaces.

An extraordinary document of fascist propaganda, describing the alleged modern art-inspired prison cells of the anarchist and Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War.

Price: $250.00