Émile Vandervelde in Barcelona

The photograph shows the leader of the Belgian Socialist Party (POB) Émile Vandervelde (1866-1938) and his wife in the gardens of the monastery of Montserrat where the Republican parliament moved in early 1938 to escape the aerial bombardment of Barcelona.  

Vandervelde’s visit was another show of support for the Republic. From the moment the war began, the charismatic Socialist politician had been an unyielding advocate of aiding the Republic, a position he sustained until the day of his death at the height of the “Burgos question”, a controversy within the POB over whether the Belgian government should send a commercial representative to the rebel zone. Vandervelde led the successful opposition to the proposal at a party congress, but he failed to convince the party to reject the “Free hands” foreign policy advocated by the prime minister, and fellow Socialist, Paul-Henri Spaak. In protest, Vandervelde announced he would accept another term as president of the party. He died only weeks after getting another POB congress to back his position on the “Burgos question”. 

This was the final political battle of a man who had played a crucial role in the Socialism of the first half of the 20th century. Within Belgium, he served as a government minister a number of times between 1916 and 1937. In his ministerial posts, he always gave POB policies priority, something which led him into conflict with Paul-Henri Spaak, who downplayed party positions when it came to dealing with foreign policy and the war in Spain. 

Émile Vandervelde was also an important figure beyond the world of Belgian politics. He was a respected Socialist theorist. As president of the Socialist International between 1900 and 1918, he fought for the spread of universal suffrage. In 1923, he played a role in creating the Socialist and Workers’ International, of which he was president until 1935.