On this day, 11 July 1918, Jewish Ukrainian anarchist mechanic Simón Radowitzky escaped from the Ushuaia concentration camp on the island of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (content note: sexual violence). Radowitzky was serving an indefinite sentence for assassinating the chief of Buenos Aires police, who had ordered the Red Week massacre of workers during a May Day demonstration in 1909.
Previously, Radowitzky had become a spokesperson for prisoners, and had led hunger strikes and protests. In retaliation, prison authorities first tried to torture him with sleep deprivation, then the governor and three guards raped him in 1918.
This enraged the anarchist movement in Buenos Aires, which began a campaign for his freedom, and songs about him were sung in workers’ meetings and assemblies around the city. In addition to the campaign, some anarchists decided to try to break out of prison, and used a smuggler’s ship to rescue him.
But after 23 days he was recaptured by the Chilean navy and returned to prison. He was eventually released in 1930, then deported to Uruguay. He was then deported from Uruguay for his role in the struggle against the dictator, so he travelled to Spain to join the fight against general Francisco Franco in the civil war.
He survived the war, only to be interned in a concentration camp in France, after which he moved to Mexico, where he spent the remainder of his life, working in a toy factory and remaining active in the revolutionary movement.
Pictured: Radowitzky between three police officers, 1930 https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2032122096972930/?type=3
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