George Orwell's 1937 essay on the deceptions in the British press which obscured the revolutionary character of events in Spain in favour of a simple story of 'democracy vs fascism', written after his participation in the revolutionary militias and his narrow escape from the Stalinist purges.
He concludes ominously with a prediction that such an ignorance of the real struggle can only lead to more slaughter, and predicts World War Two as the 'war against fascism', a cover for implementing a 'fascism, British variety' at home - with hindsight the British wartime economy could indeed be quite accurately labelled fascist (3,000 words).
Spilling the Spanish beans
