The Amsterdam Archives (2011)

In January 1939, the CNT-FAI special services secured 22 boxes of the CNT’s archives just prior to the occupation of Barcelona by the fascist forces of General Franco, and transferred them across Europe to the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam. This Catalan TV3 documentary (with English subtitles) weaves a thrilling visual tapestry of the CNT’s relations with the international anarchist movements of the day, including the Makhnovists in the Ukraine and the revolutionary movement in Patagonia. It not only talks about anarchism and its history—as well as a sort of anarchism 101—but it looks at the role of records management for social causes. It also shows us through some amazing archives!