Issue 46 / 3-2017www.international-brigades.org.uk

INTERNATIONALBRIGADE MEMORIALTRUST

IBMTMagazine

AttheannualIBMT

PICTURED (clockwise fromtop left):Wreathsand flowersat thememorial; cyclists fromtheNationalClarionCyclingClub1895settingoff forNewhavenandonward toBarcelona to rememberClarionCyclingClubmemberswho fought inSpain, including fourwhogavetheir lives;Meirian Jump,managerof theMarxMemorial Libraryandgrand-daughterof InternationalBrigader James Jump, layingawreath;Na-maraplaying to thegathering.

Photos, including thoseon facingpage:AndrewWiard

IBMTMagazine 3-2017

HundredsgatheredattheInternationalBrigadememorialonLondon’sSouthbankonSaturdayI Julytorememberthe2,500volunteersfrom

BritainandIrelandwhofoughtfascismintheSpanishCivilWar–includingthe526whodiedinSpain.TheyheardspeechesfromLenMcCluskey,General

SecretaryofUnite,andToshMacDonald,Presidentofthetraindrivers’unionASLEF,whobothpraisedtheinspirationalexampleofinternationalismandsolidarityset80yearsagobytheInternationalBrigades.Amovingcontributioncamefromanotherguest

speaker,HerminioMartínez.Agedsevenatthe time,hewasoneof thenearly4,000child refugeeswhoarrivedinSouthampton80yearsagoon23May1937toescapethe terrorbombingofSpain’sBasqueCountrybyHitlerandMussolini, Franco’sallies in theSpanishCivilWar.HerminionotedthattheBritishgovernmentatfirst

refusedtogivesanctuarytothechildren,andonlyconsentedtodosofollowingapublicoutcryinreactiontothedestructionofGuernicaon26April1937.Thegovernmentinsistedthatnopublicfundswouldbespentontheupkeepoftheniñosvascos (Basquechildren),astheywerecalled.MostofthechildrenwhoarrivedinEnglandonboard

theHabanawereeventuallyreunitedwiththeirparents,whetherinSpainorinexile.ButforHerminioandsome400othersBritainbecametheirhome.‘Iwanttoexpressourdeepestthanksandgratitudeto

theBritishpeople,’hesaid. ‘Theywerewonderful inthesupporttheygaveus.Somepeoplegaveyearsoftheirlivestosupportandlookafterus.’IntroducingHerminio,SpanishCivilWarhistorian

PaulPreston–whoistheIBMT’sFoundingChair–praisedtheBritishseacaptainsandcrewswhodefiedtheblockadeofBilbaothathadbeenentrustedtothe

commemorationonLondon’sSouthbankONDECK:HerminioMartínez,withaphotooftheshipHabana thatbroughthimandnearly4,000otherchild refugees toBritain in1937.

RIGHT (fromtop): LenMcCluskey,MaddyCarty,ToshMcDonald,PaulPrestonandNa-mara.

Talesofexileandinspiration

RoyalNavybytheinternationalnon-interventiontreaty.Hecontrastedtheirbehaviour,andthatofGeorge

Steer,thereporterwhobrokethestoryofthebombingofGuernicatotheworld,withthepusillanimousattitudeoftheBritishgovernmenttowardsthefascistdictators.MusicatthecommemorationwasprovidedbyMaddy

CartyandNa-mara,wholedthesingingof‘ValleyofJarama’,oftencalledthe‘SongoftheBritishBattalion’.Unite’sLenMcCluskeysingledouttwovolunteers

whowenttoSpainfromtheT&G,aforerunnerofUnite,asexamplesforthelabourmovementtoday.JackJones,formerGeneralSecretaryoftheT&G,was

‘apersonalfiendofmineandaheroofmine’.WoundedattheEbro,hecamehometofightforworkingpeople.‘HeneverforgotthoseformativeexperiencesinSpain,workingtokeepthespiritoftheInternationalBrigadesaliveandtheirexamplefreshforanewgeneration.’TheUniteleaderadded:‘BillBriskey,anEastLondon

busdriverwhowaskilledatJarama,saidbeforethebattle:“Atleastifthefascistsgetmetheywillnotgetmyunioncard”–he’dleftitwithhisT&Gbranchsecretary.’Lencontinued:‘Ourmovementisstrongertodaynot

becauseithastheoccasionalextraordinaryindividuallikeJackJones,butbecauseithasthousandsofBillBriskeys,whowilldowhateverittakesfordemocracyandjusticeandwhoarethebackboneofourmovement.’ForASLEF,ToshMcDonaldexpressedtheviewthat,

justastheSpanishCivilWarhadbeenthegreatcauseofyoungpeopleinthe1930s,orthattheanti-apartheidstrugglehadbeenthegreatcauseofhisgeneration,theplightofthePalestinianpeoplewastheequivalentformanyyoungpeopletoday.Hisremarkswerewarmlyapplauded,butpromptedawalk-outbytherepresentativeoftheAssociationofJewishEx-Servicemen&WomeninprotestatthecriticismofIsrael.�

FortheIBMTstatementonthereactiontoToshMcDonald’sspeech,seetheNews&BlogpageoftheIBMTwebsite:[www.international-brigades.org.uk].AvideoofLenMcCluskey’sspeechcanbefoundontheIBMT YouTubepage:[www.youtube.com/user/IBMTnews].

International BrigadeMemorial Trust

ONSTAGE:Schoolstudents(right)aged15-18fromtheArchbishop

SentamuAcademyinHullhaveperformed‘Ocho’,anewplayabouttheeightInternationalBrigadevolunteersfromHull.

Writtenbyaward-winningplaywrightJaneThorntonandfeaturingmusicbyDaveRotheray,

leadguitaristforTheBeautifulSouth(both

picturedabove), ‘Ocho’–whichmeanseightin

Spanish’–wasstagedatvenuesinBeverley,

Goole,HullandBarcelonainJuneandJuly.

TOGETHER AGAIN:Therewereeightniñosvascos(right)attheannualreunionofthe‘Basque

children’whoarrivedinBritainasrefugees80yearsagoinMay1937.

TheymetforlunchatLondon’sMeliáWhiteHouseHotelon28May.Nearly4,000wereontheHabanawhenit

sailedfromBilbaotoSouthamptontoescapeFranco’soffensiveandterror

bombingcampaignagainsttheSpanishRepublic’snorthernenclave.Mostwereeventuallyreunitedwith

theirparentsinSpainorabroad,whileotherssettledinBritain.

NEWPLAQUE:Amemorial (left)totheInternationalBrigadevolunteersfromRenfrewshirewasunveiledon13May.LocatedoutsideRenfrewshireCouncil’sofficesinPaisley, itwasraisedwithhelpfromPaisley&DistrictTradesUnionCouncil,RenfrewshireCouncilandothers.

IBMTMAGAZINE

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Registeredcharityno.1094928

The IBMTMagazine(formerlythe IBMTNewsletter) ispublishedthreetimesayearandissentfreetoallmembers.BacknumberscanbedownloadedfromtheIBMTwebsiteon[www.international-brigades.org.uk/newsletter.htm].Allcontentisthecopyright©oftheIBMTandcreditedcontributorsandcannotbereproducedwithoutwrittenpermission.

EditorJimJumpIBMT37aClerkenwellGreen,LondonEC1R0DU02072538748secretary@international-brigades.org.uk

CoverpictureAmongthoseattendingtheunveilingon10Juneofthe

newmemorial inOxford(seepage9)wasDavidCarr,picturedhereholdingaphotoofhisuncleGeorgeTurnill,ofWorksop,Nottinghamshire,whowaskilledintheBattleofTeruelinJanuary1938,aged25.ThebannerwasmadespeciallyforamemorialmeetingforTurnill inWorksopinFebruary1938and,accordingtoDavid,hasnotbeenpubliclydisplayeduntiltheeventinOxford.

6 GrahamDaviessurveystheWelshinvolvementinthe SpanishCivilWar

9 Oxfordmemorial isunveiled

10 Secretarialnotes

12 Franco’smausoleumandSpain’sstruggletocometotermswithitsrecentpast

14 WomenforSpain:abiographicaltribute

17 GerbenZaagsmalooksatthemotivesofJewswhojoinedtheInternationalBrigades

18 Books,includingstudiesofRobertCapaandGerdaTarot,JewishvolunteersandthebombingofGuernica

22 RememberingHughSloan

Issueno.463-2017

BANNERSBRIGHT:Aspartoftheprogrammeofeventsforthe‘BannersfromSpain’exhibition(above),whichranatIslingtonMuseuminLondonfrom5Mayto8July,aspecial‘IslingtonBannerforSpain’wasmadebyavolunteerworkshoprunbyrenownedbanner-makerEdHall.Picturedbelowaresomeofthebanner-makersatitsunveilingon19June.ThebannerwasdisplayedattheIBMT’scommemorationonLondon’sSouthbankon1July,withworkshopmembersvowingtobringittotheeventeveryyear.TheexhibitionshowcasedsixnewlyrestoredbannersfromthearchivesoftheMarxMemorialLibrary

(MML),whichhadbeenmadeforHammersmithCommunistPartyduringtheSpanishCivilWar.A24-pagebooklet, ‘IslingtonandtheSpanishCivilWar’,waspublishedbyIslingtonMuseumand

theMMLfortheexhibition.WrittenbyRozCurrie,SusanHahnandMeirianJump,alimitednumberofcopiesareavailableonrequestfromtheIBMT(withastampedaddressedA5envelope).

TheIBMTsaidthankyouandfarewell toTownsendProductionsfollowingthesuccessof‘DareDevilRidestoJarama’,theirplaycentredonthelifeofspeedwaysuperstarandInternationalBrigadevolunteerClemBeckett.ThelastscheduledperformancesendedinMay–eight

monthsaftertheplay,whichwascommissionedbytheIBMT,begantouringvenuesaroundtheUK.InfactthefinaltwoperformancescameattheTolpuddle

Martyrs’Festival inDorsetinJuly,whereitwasstagedintheGMBunion’smarqueeontwoconsecutivenights.‘DareDevilRidestoJarama’wonpraisefromaudiencesand

criticsalike,withtheMorningStar reviewerdeclaringitwas‘quitesimplythebestpoliticaltheatreproducedforalong,longtime’.TheIBMThasformally

thankedNeilGore,scriptwriterandactor,fellowactorDavidHeywoodandLouiseTownsendofTownsendProductions.TownsendProductions

nextturntheirattentiontothefamousGrunwickstrikeofthe1970s.Theirnewplay, ‘WeAreTheLionsMrManager’,beginstouringinOctoberthisyear.

ANTIFASCISTAS: THE IBMT EXHIBITIONTHATTELLSTHESTORYOFTHE VOLUNTEERS

ToborrowtheexhibitionfordisplayatalocaleventcontactourExhibitionCoordinator:president@international-brigades.org.uk/tel:02072538748

Whatarideit’sbeen!

ALLSMILES:DavidHeywood(left)andNeilGoreintheMarxMemorialLibrary’smemorialgarden,nexttotheplaquenamingtheBritishBattaliondeadattheBattleoftheEbro.

WELSHMENATBRUNETE:PicturedinAugust1937,backrowfromleft:AlwynSkinner(killedattheEbro,1938),FredMorris,BenDavies,CEPalmer;middlerowfromleft:ArchieCook,HectorManning,HarryDobson(killedattheEbro,1938),ArthurWilliams;frontrowfromleft:JackRoberts,TedEdwards,MorrisDavies.

Welshatwar

MyengagementwiththethemeoftheWelshintheSpanishCivilWarbeganafewyearsagofollowingamesmerisingassaultonthesensesfromthemasterpiecebyPabloPicasso–his‘Guernica’–

afteravisittotheMuseoNacionalCentrodeArteReinaSofíainMadrid,Spain’snationalmuseumof20thcenturyart.Notlongafter, IdiscoveredinthecorridoroftheBurryPortInstituteinCarmarthenshireaplaquecommemoratingthosemenfromSouthWaleswhowerekilledinSpainfightingagainstfascism.

ThisengagementhasnowproducedmybooktargetedatthegeneralreaderontheWelshvolunteers–‘YouareLegend’,publishedbyWelshAcademicPress.

TheclassicdescriptionsoftheWelshinSpainwerewrittenbyHywelFrancisin19841andRobStradlingin20042.Botharerigorouslyresearchedbycompetenthistorians:theformerreflectsthefirst-handknowledgeofthevolunteersextrapolatedfromextensivepersonalinterviews;thelatterhastheadvantageoffurtherreflectionandaccesstotheRussianarchivesontheInternationalBrigades.

TheWelshinvolvementintheSpanishCivilWarbeganalittleearlierthansomerealise.AsthelastdramaticactsofthedeathoftheSpanishRepublicunfoldedwiththemurdersofCastilloandSoteloandthecryptictelegramfromGeneralMolawhichsignalledtheuprisinginMorocco,anotherpieceofthejigsawwasemerging.

At07.15onthemorningof1July1936,CaptainCecilBebb,acommercialpilot,tookofffromCroydonAirport,London,inaDragonRapideaircraft,boundfortheCanaryIslands.HismissionwastomakecontactwithGeneralFrancoandflyhimtoTetuáninSpanishMorocco,wherehewouldmeetupwithSpain’sArmyofAfrica.

BebbwasfromChurchVillage,nearPontypridd,inWales,andsoitseemsthefirstactionofaWelshmanintheSpanishconflictwastofacilitateFranco’srole.TowhatextentMI6wascomplicit inthissecretjourneyisacontinuingmatterofconjecture.IthasbeenallegedthatFrancowasaccompaniedbyoneoftheiragents,MajorHughPollard,withtwootherwomenandthattheplotwasplannedoverlunchatSimpson’sintheStrand3.

Ironically,thereisanotherstorytotellaboutthefirstWelshvolunteertoengageinbattleintheSpanishCivilWar.FrankThomaswasborninPontypriddandbroughtupinCardiff.BoredwithlifeasatravellingsalesmanheadmitshewasattractedtoSpaininathirstforadventureandglory.Politicallyright-wingandstronglyanti-communist,hewritesthathewastouchedbythesacrednessofGeneralFranco’scauseandjoinedElTercio,theSpanishForeignLegion,linkingupwiththeminOctober1936beforetheattackonMadrid.

TherewouldnothavebeenmanyofThomas’scountrymenwhowouldhaveappreciatedhispresenceinMadrid’sCasadeCampo,theParquedelOesteortheUniversityCity,throwingbombsatthe

membersoftheInternationalBrigadeswhowerebravelydefendingthecity.TheywouldnothavebeenimpressedtohearthathiscompanyattheBattleofJaramahadtakenthevillageofSanMartíndelaVega,astone’sthrowfromtheBritishatMoratadeTajuña.

NorwouldtheWelshintheBattleofBrunetehaveenjoyedknowingthatatVillanuevadeCañadaFrankThomashadbeenstrengtheningthebarbedwiredefencesbeforetheirattack.ThomaswasaWelshvolunteerfortheFrancoistcausewho,byhisownadmission,desertedandreturnedhome

withO’Duffy’sIrishBrigade.Hisideologyhadlittletocommenditthenandhasevenlesscurrencytoday4.

BeforetheInternationalBrigadeshadbeensetuptherewerealreadyhundredsofvolunteersfromoutsideSpainwhohadattachedthemselvestovariousmilitias. JamesAlbrightonwasayoungstudentfromSalisburywhoenrolledintheRepublicanArmyon2October1936.Hewroteadiary(ofwhichIobtainedapersonalcopy)ofthoseearlyexperiencesandmentionsaWelshmannamedSydneyLloydJones,whojoinedacoupleofdayslater.

TheybecamepartoftheSpanishMM(MuerteesMaestro)Centuriawhowereinvolvedin‘specialduties’,whichincludedsearchingoutandexecutingthefascistspiesofMadrid.TheyfoughtintheattempttostemtheNationalistadvancefromToledotoMadridatSanMartíndeValdeiglesiasandNavalcanero.

AccordingtoAlbrighton,SydneyLloydJonesdiedon14OctoberinactionsagainsttheMoorsandtheSpanishForeignLegionatChapinería,about

30mileswestofMadrid.Hedescribeshowthreeofthemen,SidneyLloydJonesamongthem,werekilledwhilerepulsingafascistattackontheirflanks.Hewrites:‘Theirbraveryandcourageincontinuingtheirfighting,despiteallbeingwoundedwasnotinvain–itgavethenewCenturiatimetoreachus.’

SydneyLloydJones,aboutwhomnothingelseseemstobeknown,wasthefirstWelshmantodieincombatagainstfascisminSpain.Hewasburiedwithhiscomradesinaditchthatranthroughthegrovewheretheywerefighting.

OftheotherearlyarrivalsweknowthatatleastWillLloydandBobCondonofAberamanandPatMurphyofCardiffhadlinkedupwithabattalionofFrenchvolunteersandwereinaunitthatwassentonChristmasDaybytraintotheCórdobafrontandinJanuarytoLasRozas.

However, itwasnotuntilDecemberof1936thatthegroupbegantoexpand.Indeed,whenthenewlyformedBritishBattalionwentintoactionattheBattleofJaramaitwaslikelythattherewereabout30Welshvolunteersamongthe600British.OtherWelshvolunteersfailedtogetintoserviceinSpainforanumberofreasons,includingbeingcapturedorfailingamedical.

AlsoamongtheseearlyarrivalswereDavid Joseph JonesofLlwynypia,WJDavies, JohnWilliamsandSamMorrisofAmmanford,Bill ColesandJackTaylorofCardiff,TomDaviesofBedlinog,MichaelO’Donoghue

IBMTMagazine 3-2017 7

Continued overleaf

AstheIBMTpreparestoholdits2017AnnualGeneralMeetingandCommemorationWeekendinCardiffon13-15October,GRAHAMDAVIES,authorofanewbookonWalesandtheSpanishCivilWar,surveystheinvolvementofWelshvolunteersintheconflict–fromearlyFrancosupportersandfightersinRepublicanmilitiasthroughtohowtheInternationalBrigaderswereregardedontheirreturnhome.

SydneyLloydJones,aboutwhomnothingelseseemstobeknown,wasthefirstWelshmantodieincombatagainstfascisminSpain.Hewasburiedwithhiscomradesinaditchthatranthroughthegrovewheretheywerefighting.

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International BrigadeMemorial Trust8

THEWELSH INTHESPANISHCIVILWARof MerthyrVale andWilliam Foulkes ofTreorchy.

Ihavelistedalmost200‘Welsh’volunteerswhoservedinSpainintheappendixofmybook.TheyaremenandwomenwhoservedontheRepublicansideinSpain,forwhomIfoundarecognisablefootprintandwhowereeitherborninWalesorhadstrongWelshconnections.

About70percentoftheseweremembersoftheCommunistPartyandoverhalfofthetotalwereminers.Myestimateisthat35ofthesedied,twomorethanthenumberusuallycited.DespitetheviewexpressedbysomethatitwasallegiancetotheCommunistPartyasopposedtoRepublicanSpainthatmotivatedmostofthevolunteers,thestronganti-fascistmotivesoftheWelshvolunteerswereechoedbythecommentsofsocialist leadersandpoliticians,andreplicatedinthedebatesanddiscussionsofpoliticalgroupingsintheUK.

Forexample, inalocalcouncilmeetinginLlanellion10September1936CouncillorBrinleyJonesarguedthatthevictoryofItalyandGermanyinSpainwouldmeanthedownfalloftheBritishEmpireandtheendofademocraticchamberinLlanelli.

TheviewsoftheWelshvolunteersfollowedacommonpattern.Typically,JimBrewerwasconvincedoftheneedtofightfascismaspartofaninternationalmovement.OutragedbyHitler’smilitaryinterventioninSpain,forhimsilencemeantacquiescence.MorienMorganhadinterruptedthelastyearofhishonoursdegreeatuniversitytovolunteerforSpain.Aradicalandintelligentthinker,hewasappalledthatMussolini’sactionswentunchallenged,amazedatmilitarymightwhenhewasvisitingtheRhineandfelthelplessatgrowingGermanmilitaryexpansion.

Anothervolunteer,WillPaynter,wenttoSpaininitiallyastheCommunistPartyorganiserforWalesinordertolookaftertheBritishBattalion’sinterestsattheInternationalBrigadeheadquarters.Heregardedhimselfaspartofabattle,notmerelytodefendapeoplefromasavageaggressor,buttodestroysomethingthatcouldeventuallycrushthepeopleofalldemocraticcountries.

WhatthenwasthelegacyoftheWelshvolunteers?CertainlytheCominternregardedtheBrigadesasahighlydisciplinedforcethatplayedahugepartinresistingfascistaggression,andtheir

contributionwaspossiblydecisiveinsomebattlesforthesurvivaloftheRepublic.Theywereseenastheembodimentofinternationalandproletariansolidarityandfuturerevolutionarywarriors,aswellaspotentialSovietspies.Formanytheirsacrifice‘standsasaneternalrebuketothoseinpowerinWesternbourgeoisdemocracieswhosepreferenceforcollaboratingwithfascisminthe1930sratherthanconfrontingitmadeinevitablethehorrorsoftheSecondWorldWar…’5.

BritishBattalioncommanderBillAlexanderarguedthatthevolunteersunderstoodthatfascismledtowar,andthethree-yearresistancegavetimeforpeopleeverywheretolearnlessonsandpreparefortheirownstruggleagainstfascism.Hebelievedthatthelessonstobelearnedwerethatfascismmustbeexposedandthatitcouldonlybedefeatedbystruggleandthatordinarypeoplehadthepotentialtoberealisedinatrulyfreeanddemocraticsociety6.

It istruethatcomparedwiththeIrishcontingentofvolunteerstheWelshdidnotdevelopastrongcorporateidentity,althoughtheytendedtofindtheirplacetogetherinNo.1Company.YetWillPaynterwasalsokeenthatthereshouldbenoseparationbynationalities,onlyclosecohesionandbetterrelationshipswithSpanishcomrades.

TheWelshdidnotgetmuchofamentionintheXVthBrigade’snewspaperTheVolunteerforLiberty,nordidtheyfeaturemuchin‘TheBookoftheXVBrigade’,whichwaswrittenbylotsofdifferentvolunteersandeditedbyIrishmanFrankRyan.YettherewereWelshmenwhowerecompanycommanders,politicalcommissarsandwhohadattendedofficers’trainingschools,andcertainlytheir largelymilitantcoalfieldbackground,diggingexperienceandsingingabilitylefttheirmark.

FredCopemanspecificallymentionsthatonthewaytoBrunetetheliftgiventothemultinationalgroupbythesingingoftheWelshminers7,and

MilesTomalincomposedalimerickabouttheconfusioncausedbysimilarWelshnames:TherewasayoungfellownamedPrice.AndanotherfellownamedPrice.AndafellownamedRoberts.AndanotherfellownamedRoberts.AndanotheryoungfellownamedPrice.HywelFrancispointsoutthatthespecialregard,evenreverence,inwhich

WelshInternationalBrigaderswereheldisillustratedbyboththenumerousmemorialmeetingsandthekindofwelcomesorganisedintheircommunitiesforthosewhoreturned.Hestates:‘TheywereinthesametraditionastheChartistsatNewportandweretobecelebratedinspiteoftheirrespectivedefeats,becausetheywereallmenbeforetheirtime.’8

However, it is ironicalthatwhiletheWelshDeanofChichesterdeclaredthattheBrigadershadgiventheir livesforsomethingofeternalvalueandthatGodwouldnotforgetsuchsacrifices,PopePiusXIIhadsentatelegramtoFrancoattheendofthewargivingthankstoGodforthelong-desiredCatholicvictoryinSpain.

ForAlunMenaiWilliamshehadbeenpartofa‘trulyinternationalforceofvolunteersspurredontoactionbytheheartfeltcriesof“NoPasarán”ofabeleaguerednationanditspeople’9.Theyfoughtforanidealbutlostouttosuperiorforce.

In2009CarlesCasajuana,SpanishambassadorinLondon,toldthegroupofveteransreceivingSpanishcitizenship:‘Youreffortswerenotinvain.YouridealsarepartofthefoundationsofourdemocracyinSpaintoday.’10

ThereisnomorefittingtributetotheWelshmenoftheInternationalBrigades,aswellastoallothers,thanthememorablewordsfromthespeechofLaPasionaria,fromwhichthetitleofmybookderives:‘Youarehistory.Youarelegend.Youaretheheroicexampleofdemocracy’ssolidarityanduniversality…weshallnotforgetyou;and,whentheolivetreeofpeaceisinflower,entwinedwiththevictorylaurelsoftheRepublicofSpain–comeback.’�1Francis,Hywel,‘MinersagainstFascism’(London:Lawrence&Wishart,2012).2Stradling,Robert,‘WalesandtheSpanishCivilWar’(Cardiff:UniversityofWalesPress,2004).3ForthestorytoldbyjournalistPeterDay,see‘Franco’sFriends’(London:BitebackPublishing,2011).4SeeRobertStradling,‘BrotherAgainstBrother’(Stroud:SuttonPublishing,1998).5Morning

Star,18February2004.6Alexander,Bill, ‘BritishVolunteersforLiberty’(London:Lawrence&Wishart,1982)p259.7Copeman,Fred,‘ReasoninRevolt’(London:BlandfordPress,1948)p123.8Op.cit.,p258.9Williams,AlunMenai,‘FromtheRhonddatotheEbro’(Pontypool:Warren&Pell,2004)p180.10Baxell, JacksonandJump,‘Antifascistas’(London:Lawrence&Wishart,2010)p103.

‘YouAreLegend:TheWelshVolunteersintheSpanishCivilWar’byGrahamDaviesispublishedinOctober2017inCardiffbyWelshAcademicPress(£19.99).

JimBrewer (left) andWill Paynter’sapplication to join theSpanishCommunistParty.

Frompreviouspage

9

UNVEILINGOFOXFORDMEMORIAL

CarmanNegrín (left),grand-daughterofSpanishRepublicanPrimeMinister JuanNegrín,beside thememorial to the31InternationalBrigadevolunteers fromOxfordshire.Thenamesof thesix

whodied in theSpanishCivilWarareinscribedononesideof thememorial,whichwasunveiled inOxfordon10 June.SculptorCharlieCarterused theclenched fistandscorpionmotif toaccompanythenamesafterseeing itonacap-badgewornbyInternationalBrigadersandothersduring thewar.A largecrowdofsupporters (above)heardspeeches from

CarmenNegrínand,amongothers,ColinCarrittof theOxfordInternationalBrigadeMemorialCommittee, IBMTChairRichardBaxell andOxfordDeputyLordMayorChristineSimm. (Seealso‘Secretarial notes’ onpage11.)

¡Salud! Toast the memory of the International BrigadeswithacanofBrigadistaSpecialEditionGoldenAle

IBMT

Brigadista Special Edition Golden Ale is brewed, sold and distributed by Three SodsBrewery in association with the International Brigade Memorial Trust.Located in Bethnal Green in the heart of London’s East End – home of many InternationalBrigaders – the brewery has crafted a full flavoured classic golden ale, rich in barley andhops and with an ABV of 4.1%.Sales of Brigadista Special Edition Golden Ale, which has been created in partnership withHope Not Hate, help fund the commemorative and educational work of the InternationalBrigadeMemorial Trust.£44 per case of 24 x 330ml cans plusdelivery charge of £10 in mainland Britain,with delivery discounts for larger orders.To place an order or for more information goto www.brigadistaale.co.uk or phone07393 489 103.

International BrigadeMemorial Trust10

TheIBMTisplanningto increasemembershipsubscriptionrates from1Januarynextyear,

withaflat-rate£5additiontoannual rates.Thiswillmakethe individual rate£25.Thehouseholdmembershipcategory– foruptofourpeopleatoneaddress–will rise to£30.

Theconcessionarycategory for theunwaged,standingatpresentat£12.50ayear,wouldbescrappedundertheseplans.

Subscriptionrateshaven’tbeenraisedfor fiveyears,andthis isonly thesecondtimetheyhavebeenadjustedsincethe IBMTwasestablishedin2001.Sincethentherangeandqualityofouractivitieshaveexpandedconsiderably.

In thepastcoupleofyears, forexample,wehave launchedthenew IBMTeNewsletter,commissionedtheacclaimedplay ‘DareDevilRidesto Jarama’andmovedintoourownbadly-neededrentedofficespace incentralLondon.

Weareallawarethatmanypeopleare feelingtheeffectsofwagefreezesandausterity,sothedecisiontoset thenewrates,whichwastakenin

Junebythe IBMTExecutiveCommittee,wasnotaneasyone.

However, the IBMT’srunningcostsandfinancialcommitmentsaregrowingandsubscription increasesarenecessary just tokeeppacewithourexpenditure.

Scrappingtheconcessionarycategorywasanespeciallydifficultdecision.But,at£12.50ayear,thecurrentratedoesn’tevencoverthecostofproducingandsendingoutourmagazinethreetimesayear.AndanymoderatelyhighersumwouldstillbarelycovertheIBMT’soverallrunningcostswhensharedoutamongourmembers.

On the subject of the IBMTMagazine, theExecutive Committee also agreed that from nextyear the printed magazine should only beavailable to IBMTmembers. Currently weproduce many more copies than there aremembers and distribute the surplus at meetingsand events. However, the feeling amongTrustees was that the magazine should revert tobeing an exclusive benefit of – and incentive for –IBMTmembership.

It’s essential that our work continues.Thestory of the men and women who went to Spainis still not properly known or understood.Theirexample of international solidarity and anti-fascism must be passed on to futuregenerations.With everyone’s loyal support wecan help make sure this happens.

HistoricalrevisionismisnotjustaprobleminEasternEuropeHere’sanextract fromtheJune2017 issueofFIRNews,newsletterof theVienna-basedInternationalFederationofResistanceFighters(www.fir.at),whichkeepsalivethememoryof thepartisansandotheranti-Naziandanti-fascistfightersduringtheSecondWorldWar .Idon’t think I’llbealone in findingthecontent

of thereportdisturbing.Apart fromanythingelse itunderlineshowimportant it is for the IBMTandoursisterorganisations inSpainandaroundtheworldtocontinuetotell thestoryof theInternationalBrigadesandtheiranti-fascistfight inSpain.

Thesubjectof ‘historical revisionism’youcanfindmostly inCentralandEasternEuropean

countries, in theBalticStates,Poland,Ukraineand formerYugoslavia.Sometimesonecanforget, forexample, that therearealsopoliticallyinfluential forces in ItalyandSpainwhicharefamiliarwith the ideasofMussoliniandFrancoandcommemorate thempublicly.

Thiswasmadecleara fewweeksago in the

SWASTIKA: Insignia (left) of theBlueDivision,which comprised 50,000 troops sent by Franco to fight alongsideGermanandotherAxis forces on the Eastern Front during theSecondWorldWar; and (right) the sign for the squareinAlicante that commemorates them.See ‘Historical revisionism is not just a problem in Eastern Europe’.

SECRETARIALNOTES

InternationalBrigadeMemorialTrust37aClerkenwellGreenLondonEC1R0DU02072538748www.international-brigades.org.uk

Emailenquiries@international-brigades.org.uk

PresidentMarleneSidawaypresident@international-brigades.org.uk

ChairRichardBaxellchair@international-brigades.org.uk

SecretaryJimJumpsecretary@international-brigades.org.uk

TreasurerManuelMorenotreasurer@international-brigades.org.uk

IrelandSecretaryManusO’Riordanmmanusoriordan@gmail.com

ScotlandSecretaryMikeArnottscotland@international-brigades.org.uk

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OtherExecutiveCommitteemembersPaulineFraser,CharlesJepson,NinaLondragan,DoloresLong,DannyPayne

FoundingChair:ProfessorPaulPreston

Patrons:RodneyBickerstaffe,ProfessorPeterCrome,HywelFrancis,ProfessorHelenGraham,KenLivingstone,LenMcCluskey,ChristyMoore,JackO’Connor,MaxinePeake,BaronessRoyallofBlaisdon,MickWhelan

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TheInternationalBrigadeMemorialTrustkeepsalivethememoryandspiritofthemenandwomenwhovolunteeredtodefenddemocracyandfightfascisminSpainfrom1936to1939

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�Whywe’reincreasingmembershipsubsandscrappingtheconcessionaryrate

11IBMTMagazine 3-2017

BECOMEAMEMBERSpanishcityofAlicante inadisputeabout therenamingofpublicplacesby the rulingPP(PartidoPopular/People’sParty),whichemerged fromthe formerFrancoistpoliticalparty.

A local courthasoverturnedadecisionbytheprevioussocialist-ledcitycouncil torenamethePlazade laDivisiónAzul (BlueDivisionSquare) toPlazade la Igualdad(EqualitySquare).

ThePPcannowchangethenameback toPlazade laDivisiónAzul inmemoryof theSpaniardswhofoughton the fascist sideagainst theSovietUnionduring theSecondWorldWar. Inaddition, some50otherstreetnames linkedtoSpain’s former fascist regimewillbe restored, replacingstreetsnamesafter,amongothers,CarmendeBurgos,RosaLuxemburgandClaraZetkin.

Thecitycouncil invitedSpanishPrimeMinisterMarianoRajoy,alsoof thePP, toattendthe renamingceremony–buthedidnottakepart.

Thisprocess issymptomaticofapoliticaltendency inSpainamongreactionary forces,andnot justopen fascists,notonly toblockRepublicanmemoryof theSpanishCivilWar,butalso to rehabilitate the fascistperpetrators.

In thecontextofEuropeanremembrancepolicy, it isnecessary tocountersuchtendenciesasawhole.AnyonewhorightlyprotestsagainstSSveterans’meetings inLatviashouldalsokeepaneyeonSpain.

CongratulationstotheOxfordactivists

A fter fouryearsofcampaigningandfundraisingourmagnificentnewmemorial

inOxford(seepage9)hasfinallybeenunveiled.Thanksmustgotothesmallgroupof

dedicatedsupporters inandaroundOxfordwhohaveworkedtirelessly toerectamonumenttothe31menandwomenfromOxfordshirewhowent toSpain.Thenamesof thesixwhodiedare inscribedonCharlieCarter’ssculpture.

TheOxfordshire InternationalBrigadeMemorialCommitteefacedconsiderabledifficulties in findingasuitable locationandweretwiceforcedtochangetheproposedsite inthefaceof localobjections.Theyalsohadtoraisemorethan£20,000,whichtheydidbyproducingasuperbbook– ‘NoOtherWay:OxfordshireandtheSpanishCivilWar1936-39’byChrisFarman,ValerieRoseandLizWoolley–byorganisingconcertsandrafflesandbygoodold-fashionedtin-rattling.

Alreadythememorial isa landmarkfor thelabourmovement inOxford.On1 July the localNHScampaigngroupchose itasarallyingpointforamarchtothecitycentre,wherethespeakers includedfilmdirectorKenLoach.

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CanSpainfaceBELOW: ImagesfromPicasso’s‘Guernica’werepaintedoveroneofSpain’semblematicroadsidehoardingsadvertisingOsbornedrinksinMaythisyear.ThisTorodeOsborne standsoutsidethetownofSantaPola, inAlicanteprovince,andthepaintingistheworkofMurcia-basedartistSam3.

FateofFranco’scontroversialmausoleumemergesas

touchstoneinargumentsoverhistoricalmemory

IBMTMagazine 3-2017 13

Wik

imed

iaCo

mm

onsByMaríaDomínguez

In April 1940, just one year after Franco’s triumph in the Spanish CivilWar, his government announced the building of a monument andmausoleum to bury and commemorate those who died in the war.

TheValley of the Fallen (Valle de los Caídos) would be set in themountains of Guadarrama, near Madrid. Franco said it would become‘a national act of atonement’and reconciliation.

At first, workers were hired for the construction of the monumentand basilica. However, soon it was obvious that there was a lack ofresources to finish the work on time. So Franco decided to sendRepublican political prisoners to the site as forced labour.

On 30 May 1958 the Spanish press reported government plans totransfer the remains of many of those who died during the civil war totheValley of the Fallen, whether from the Nationalist or Republicanside.The only condition was that they must have been Spanish andCatholic – which is why there are no International Brigaders in thesanctuary. Nor are there any of Franco’s Moroccan soldiers, who wereburied in Catalonia in the Muslim cemeteries of Prades and Manresa.

In 1959 Franco inaugurated theValley of the Fallen, and after hisdeath on 20 November 1975 he was buried inside the basilica, wherehe remains to this day, beside the remains of the founder of Spain’sfascist party, the Falange, José Antonio Primo de Rivera.

More than 30,000 others are also buried there, from both sides ofthe civil war, along with many of the political prisoners who worked atthe site.These were transferred or buried there without the consent oftheir relatives. Indeed, for the families of the Republican dead it wasdone mostly against their will.

Nowadays theValley of the Fallen is the responsibility of Spain’sNational Heritage (Patrimonio Nacional) state agency, with annualmaintenance costs of 750,000 euros. In the eyes of many, as long asthe body of Francisco Franco is buried there, the government ismaintaining and honouring a memorial to a dictator.

The decision to bury Franco at theValley of the Fallen was made byKing Juan Carlos I and the government of the time. His remains were

thus handed over to the protection of the Benedictine order who runthe site. But the state cannot unilaterally exhume Franco from thisresting place, since the site belongs to the Catholic Church. Strictlyspeaking, only the Church and the family of the deceased dictator canremove his remains.This is set out in article 16 of the 2007 Law ofHistorical Memory.

However, the government could call on the Benedictines to opennegotiations, including with the relatives of Franco, on allowing theexhumation to take place.

On 11 May this year the Spanish parliament (Congreso de losDiputados) approved a non-legislative proposal presented by the

PSOE socialist party calling both for the removal of Franco’s remainsfrom theValley of the Fallen and for the ‘revitalising’of the Law ofHistorical Memory.This would include the recommendations made bya group of United Nations experts in 2011, who were sharply critical ofthe way that the victims of Franco and their families had been treatedby the Spanish state.

T he motion was passed with 198 votes in favour, one against (cast‘by mistake’by a deputy of the right-wing Popular Party) and 140abstentions by the PPand Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya.

However, the resolution is non-binding, and therefore sets no date forits implementation. Moreover, the government has no obligation totake action on it.

There are 16 measures being proposed in the PSOE plan approved bythe parliament.They include:� Redefining theValley of the Fallen, so that it can no longer be a placein memory of Franco, and instead reconverting it into a space forreconciliation, democratic collective memory and the honouring of thevictims of the civil war and the dictatorship.� A comprehensive survey and census of the infrastructure and workscarried out with forced labour at theValley of the Fallen.� The removal of any type of subsidy or public aid to any organisationor entity that extols or defends the dictatorship or the figure of thedictator Franco.� The creation of aTruth Commission, in line with the recentrecommendations of the United Nations.� Reopening and strengthening of the Office of Assistance toVictimsof the CivilWar and Dictatorship.

What is the current government’s position?The spokesperson forthe PPgovernment, Íñigo Méndez deVigo, has stated: ‘[This] is an olddebate.The government is in favour of complying with the law, notallowing acts of propaganda and maintaining that place [theValley ofthe Fallen] as a place of worship, without reopening old wounds of thecivil war.’�

MaríaDomínguez lives inMadrid,where sheworksasapublicaffairs consultant.

uptoitstroubledpast?MONUMENTAL: ThebasilicaoftheValleyoftheFallenistoppedbya150-metrehighcross.

Francowasburiedinsidethebasilica,whereheremainstothisday,besidetheremainsofthefounderofSpain’sfascistparty,theFalange,JoséAntonioPrimodeRivera.

�

14 International BrigadeMemorial Trust

Our fatherAdolfPreissler fought in the InternationalBrigades inSpain.Spainwasaconstantpresence inourparents’homeandhasstayedwithus throughoutour lives.

Webecamemembersof theGermanKFSR(AssociationofFightersandFriendsof theSpanishRepublic), convincedthat thosehistoricalevents

andtheprogressivepeoplewhocommitted their lives toanti-fascism,solidarity, internationalism,peaceandfreedominSpainmustnotbe forgotten.

Thewar inSpainwasnot justamaleaffair,but inmanyareaswomenwereequallyprominent.This iswhywebelievethatwritingabook in recognitionof thewomenfromSpainandelsewherewhowereactive in theglobalmovementofsolidarity for theSpanishRepublic isso important.

We have chosen the biographical

format, and the result is ‘Frauen und der Spanische Krieg 1936-1939’(‘Women and the SpanishWar 1936-1939’), which runs to some500 pages.*

Todayweknowthat thewar inSpainwas the firstbattleof theSecondWorldWar.Thevoluntariosde la libertad, thevolunteers for liberty, cametoSpain fromover50countries todefendtheRepublicagainst thefascists.Today, inmanyof theirhomelands, thereareorganisationsorassociations thatmaintainclosecontactswitheachother.Wereceivedmuch international support fromtheminour research.

Thenumberofpublicationsonwomen in thewar inSpainhasbeenincreasing in recentyears.Wewantedtomakeamodestcontribution tothisgrowing interest.

Evenbefore theestablishmentof the InternationalBrigades inOctober1936, foreignandSpanishwomenfoughtagainst theFrancoistsin themilitiasof thevariouspoliticalpartiesandtradeunions.Someforeignwomenwerealready livingasexiles inSpain,otherscameto thePeople’sOlympiad,whichwas to takeplace inBarcelona in July 1936.Somefollowedtheirhusbands toSpain.Oftenonlytheirnamesremain.

Anewbookpublished inGermanyaims togive recognition to themanywomen,bothSpanishand foreign,whochampioned thecauseof theSpanishRepublicduring theSpanishCivilWar.Manycontinued theanti-fascist fight in theSecondWorldWar, asauthors INGRIDSCHIBOROWSKIandANITAKOCHNOWSKIdescribehere.

ThewomenwhofoughtandcampaignedforSpain

MARCHING:EncarnaciónHernándezLunainthe

SpanishRepublicanarmy

Othersweknowmoreabout.Manycontinuedtheanti-fascist fight intheSecondWorldWar.

Wehopethatfromourbriefbiographiesitcanbeseenthatwomenplayedanimportantrole inthecreationanddefenceofanewanddemocraticSpain,andwithouttheircourageanddedicationtheresistanceagainstFrancowouldnothavebeenpossibleforsolong.

Herearesomeexamplesofourbiographies…

HEDWIGRAHMEL/ROBENSwasbornin1896intheGermantownofRosslau. InBerlinshejoinedtheSpartacusGroupandtheCommunistParty.From1933shewasactiveintheanti-Nazi resistance, thenin1935escapedtotheUSSR.

Withagroupoffellowcommunistsshesetoff in1937forSpainfromLeningrad,viaHelsinki,Stockholm,CopenhagenandParis. InAlbaceteshebecameanurseinafieldhospital.ShemarriedInternationalBrigaderChristianRobensandin1939theyleftSpaintogetherwithherfriendLisaOst,whohadalsoworkedasanurseinSpain.

Hedwig,alongwithChristianandLisa, joinedtheFrenchresistance, inthegroupBirHakeim,whichoperatedintheCévennes.Sheservedasamessengerbetweendifferentgroupsandlookedafterthewounded.ChristianwasarrestedandexecutedinMay1944.

HedwigandLisawerearrestedbytheFrenchpolice in1944andhandedovertotheGestapo.Bothwereseverelytorturedandon26Junetheywereexecuted.Their remainsandthoseof80otherswerethrownintoamine-shaftnearPuitdeCélas.

Localpeople laterorganisedafuneralatthecemeteryofAlès.Theirgravestonessaid: ‘Germanpartisans,diedforfreedom,murderedbytheGestapo.TheybelongedtothegroupofGermanswhoprovedthatnotallGermansareNazis.’

GERDAGREPPwasborninNorwayin1907.DuringtheSpanishCivilWarshewasacorrespondentfortheWorkers’PartynewspaperArbeiterbladet.ShereportedfromBarcelonainOctober1936,andwitnessedthebombingofMadrid laterthatyear,whensheaccompaniedGermanInternationalBrigaderLudwigRenntotheToledofront.Shealsoworkedasatranslator.IncommonwithotherNorwegianjournalistssuchasNordahlGriegandNiniGleditsch,shefeltastrongsympathytowardstheSpanishRepublic.

GleditschandGrepphelpedorganiseshipmentsofaidfromtheNorwegianlabourmovement. InJanuaryandFebruary1937theyvisitedMálagatogetherwithArthurKoestler,whowasworkingasareporter fortheNewsChronicle.DuringtheBattleofMálagatheymanagedtoescape,whereasKoestlerstayedinthecityandwasarrested. InMay1937GerdaspentsomeweeksintheBasqueCountry.

While inSpain,shebegansufferingfromtuberculosisandwasforcedtoreturntoNorway.Shediedon29August1940,only33yearsofage.

KATIDEUTSCH/HORNAwasborninBudapest in1912.ShewasachildhoodfriendofRobertCapa,whowasalsoborninHungary.Politicallyshefeltclosetotheanarchists.WithherfirsthusbandPaulPartos,shewasforcedtoleaveHungaryforParis,astheyhadtakenpart intheresistanceagainsttheHorthyregime.

DuringtheSpanishWarsheworkedintheforeigndepartmentoftheCNT-FAIanarchist federationasaphotographerandlater forvariousanarchistnewspapers.Hermost importantworkswerepublishedinthemagazineMujeresLibres. In1939sheandhersecondhusband, JoséHorna,emigratedtoMexico,whereshediedinOctober2000.

ADAGROSSIwasbornin1917inNaples.Herfather,CarmineGrossi,wasafamousdefencelawyeraswellasawealthylandownerandcommittedsocialist.Hermother,MariaOlandese,wasanoperasinger.

In1926thefamilywent intoexiletoBuenosAires,whereAdastudiedsingingandmusic. InAugust1936thefamily leftArgentinaforBarcelona.BrothersRenatoandAurelioGrossi foughtatthefront.Hermothercaredfor thewounded inahospitalandorganisedconcerts forRepublicansoldiers.Adaandher fatherworked forFreedomRadio inValenciaand

IBMTMagazine 3-2017

Continued overleaf

CLOCKWISE (fromtop):GerdaGrepp inSpain;KatiHorna;memorialplaque inBerlin forHedwigRahmel; LoreKrüger;GeorgetteKokoczinski;NeusCataláPallejáasaprisoneroftheNazis;AdaGrossi;KatharineMarjoryRamsay (DuchessofAtholl).

Photoscourtesyofauthors

Barcelona,whichCarminehad founded.Adareadnightlybroadcastsin Italian.

With the fascist victory, the familymanagedtocross theborder intoFrance.Adaandhermotherwere interned in thecampsatSaône-et-LoireandArgelès-sur-Mer. In January1941AdamarriedEnriqueGuzmán,aformerRepublicancivil servant.Thecouple returnedtoSpain,butEnriquewasarrestedandsentencedtoa longprison termbyamilitarycourt.Adawasdeported to Italy,wherealongwithher fatherandmothershewasarrested inNaples, interrogatedand imprisoned.Adadied in2015.

GEORGETTEKOKOCZINSKI,borninVersailles in1908andknownas‘LaMimosa’(theaffectionateone), joinedaParistheatrecompanyin1928,whichperformedatfestivalsorganisedbyanarchists.Shewasalsoactiveinanarchistandanarcho-syndicalistgroups.

InSeptember1936shedecidedtogotoSpaintofightonthesideoftheRepublic.SheworkedasanurseintheDuruttiColumnandwithotherwomenorganisedafrontlinehospital inAragón.Shealsofoughtasaguerillera in ‘Loshijosdelanoche’(childrenofthenight)andothergroupsthatoperatedbehindenemylines.On17October1936,afterabattleatPerdiguera,northeastofZaragoza,shewasarrestedalongwiththe

GermanAugustaMarxandotherfemaleinternational fighters.Theyweretorturedandthenexecuted.

LOREHEINEMANN/KRÜGERwasborninMagdeburg,Germany, in1914.In1933sheandherJewishfamilyhadtofleefromtheNazis.HerparentsemigratedtoSpainandshefirst travelledtoBritaintoworkasamaid. In1934shejoinedherparents inMallorca, thentrainedasaphotographer inBarcelonaandParis,wheresheestablishedlinkswiththeGermanCommunistParty inexile.

InAugust1936Lorewaswithherparents inMallorca,whichhadbeencapturedbythefascistsattheoutsetofthecivilwar.Republicantroopslandedontheisland.But,sufferingseverelosses, theyweresoonforcedtoevacuate.Morethan240ofthemdidnotmanagetoreachtheirships.TheFrancoistsshotsomeofthemonthespot;otherswereexecutedlater.

LorewasabletophotographthebodiesoftheRepublicansoldiersatthemilitarycompoundofPortoCristo: ‘Iwillneverforgetthesmellofdeadbodies,whichfilledthiscompletelydesertedplace.Theinhabitantshadallleft, thedoorsofthehouseswerestillopen.Onthestreetstherewerethedeadbodiesofyoungmen.Theywereallburned.Franco’stroopshadpouredgasolineonthemandsetthemonfire.’

Back in Paris, she became active in the solidarity movement forRepublican Spain.Then after the victory of the Francoists in the springof 1939, her concern focused on the members of the InternationalBrigades who were interned in France. One of them, the Germancommunist Ernst Kruger, was later to become her husband.

After Hitler invaded France in 1940, she was interned as an enemyalien, but managed to escape.With a visa for Mexico, she arrived on a

freighter in NewYork in June 1941. She was once again interned. Butthanks to Kurt Rosenfeld, a left-wing émigré lawyer, whom she knewfrom her Paris years, she was soon released.

With the help of the anti-fascist German American EmergencyCommittee (established by Rosenfeld), Lore helped found a newspaper,TheGermanAmerican, first published monthly and later daily. Sheworked for the newspaper as a translator, writer and photographer.

In December 1946 she returned to Germany, passing through Odessaand Moscow. She worked as a literary translator and freelanceinterpreter and died in Berlin in 2009.

KATHARINE ‘KITTY’MARJORYRAMSAYwas born in Edinburgh in1874. On marrying John Stewart-Murray, who succeeded his father asthe 8th Duke of Atholl, she became the Duchess of Atholl. In 1924 shewas elected as the Conservative MPfor Kinross andWest Perthshire.

In 1937 she joined fellow MPs EllenWilkinson (Labour) and EleanorRathbone (Independent) on a visit to Republican Spain. She saw theeffects of the fascist bombing ofValencia, Barcelona and Madrid, inparticular the dire consequences for women and children.

On their return from Spain the trio, joined by Charlotte Haldane andJB Priestly, established the Dependents Aid Committee to help thefamilies of International Brigaders. Kitty also chaired the National JointCommittee for Spanish Relief. Her book ‘Searchlight on Spain’ (1938)and opposition to Britain’s policy of ‘non-intervention’won her thenickname of the ‘Red Duchess’.

In 1938, inprotestat thegovernment’spolicyofappeasement towardsthe fascistpowers, she resignedherseat inParliamentand forcedaby-election,whichshenarrowly lostasan independentcandidate.

After 1945 she was an active member of the anti-Soviet British Leaguefor European Freedom. She died in 1960.

ENCARNACIÓNHERNÁNDEZLUNA, born nearValencia on anunknown date, was a member of the 5th Regiment, in the 11th Divisionof the Spanish Republican Army, which was led by the legendaryEnrique Lister.

She was the wife of the Cuban Alberto Sánchez Menéndez, who waskilled at the Battle of Brunete. Pablo Neruda wrote a poem dedicated tothe couple. In the Battle of the Ebro she fought so bravely that she wasappointed brigade commander. In exile she lived in France and theSoviet Union, and died in Canada in 2004.

NEUSCATALÁPALLEJÁwas born in 1915 inTarragona province, thedaughter of farm workers. After the fascist uprising in 1936 she movedto Barcelona, where she joined the Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas(UnitedYoung Socialists) and was a founding member of the UnifiedSocialist Party of Catalonia. In 1937 she began working as a nurse.

When Catalonia fell early in 1939 she was caring for 180 orphans inthe Colonia Las Acacias in Premià de Dalt. She took the children over theborder into France.Together with husband Albert Roger – who wasarrested and killed in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp – shewas active in the French resistance, delivering messages andtransporting weapons and documents.

She too was arrested by the Nazis in 1943, and deported to theRavensbruck concentration camp, where she was forced to work inweapons manufacture. Later she was transferred to Holleischen, whichwas part of the Flossenburg concentration camp.

Liberated in 1945, she returned to France to continue the fight againstFranco, this timewithhernewpartnerFélixSancho.Neusbecamechairof theAmicalRavensbruck remembranceorganisationand joinedtheCommunistPartyofCatalonia. In2005theGeneralitatofCataloniahonouredherwiththeCrossofStGeorge.Shewillbe102on6October.�

*‘FrauenundderSpanischeKrieg1936-1939:EinebiografischeDokumentation’byIngridSchiborowski (Berlin:EditionOst,2016)30euros.

16 International BrigadeMemorial Trust

Frompreviouspage

WOMEN FORSPAIN

WehopethatfromourbriefbiographiesitcanbeseenthatwomenplayedanimportantroleinthecreationanddefenceofanewanddemocraticSpain,andwithouttheircourageanddedicationtheresistanceagainstFrancowouldnothavebeenpossibleforsolong.

�

IBMTMagazine 3-2017 17

FightingfascismandthepassivitymythIn2001IstudiedYiddishinLondon.Duringoneofmycourses

entitledYiddishforHistorians,wewerediscussingtheso-calledyizkerbikher,memorialbookswrittenaftertheSecondWorldWar

thatdescribethehistoryandultimatedestructionof local Jewishcommunities inEasternEurope.Afellowstudent,whohadstudiedthememorialbookonBełchatówinPoland,toldusthat itcontainedthestoryofaJewishvolunteerfromthatcitywhohadleft tofight intheInternationalBrigades.

SoonafterwardsIdiscoveredthatLondonUniversity’sSOASlibraryheldcopiesofseveralYiddishmemoirsof Jewishvolunteers. Idecidedtodevotemyself tostudyingthistopic, inparticulartheNaftaliBotwinCompany,aJewishunit foundedon12December1937withinthePolishDombrowskiBrigadeontheinstigationof Jewishcommunists inParis,mostofthemmigrantsfromPoland.

Researchingthetopic, twothingsstruckmeinmostwritingsonthesubject: theemphasisonthehighnumberof Jewish-bornvolunteers intheInternationalBrigades,andthewaythattheHolocaust isthemainprismthat isusedtoexplainandevaluatetheirparticipationintheSpanishCivilWar.

Thestruggleofthevolunteersof Jewishdescent isoftenpresentedasthefirstactof Jewishresistanceagainst fascistantisemitismand,ultimately,againstHitler(Franco’sally inSpain)andtheNaziexterminationpolicythatculminatedintheHolocaust.

MuchofwhathasbeenwrittenaboutJewishvolunteersthereforeplacesthemwithinalarger Jewishresistancenarrativethataimstocounterthemythof Jewishpassivity inthefaceoftheNazionslaught.

Thelargeproportionof Jewishvolunteers isofteninterpretedasindicativeofaspecific Jewishmotivationtofight inSpain.However, thismainlyreflectedtherelatively largeproportionof Jewsactive inthesocialistandcommunistmovementsatthetime.

Iexpandedmystudiestoanswertwokeyquestions.TowhatextentdidJewishnessandJewishconcernsmatterduringthewarinSpain?AndwhywasaJewishcompanyfoundedintheInternationalBrigades?

Afterseveralyearsofresearchtheresult isabook, ‘JewishVolunteers, theInternationalBrigadesandtheSpanishCivilWar’, inwhichIexplorethemeaningoftheparticipationof Jewishvolunteers inSpainbothduringandaftertheconflict.

Whatdoesitactuallymeantospeakabout ‘Jewishvolunteers’?AsI

argue,thisphraseisuseful todenotedescentbutcannotbeusedtodescribeaspecificcategoryofvolunteerswhofought inSpainwithaspecific Jewishmotivationorconsciousness.FormanyJewishvolunteers, thiswasnotthecaseandtheirswasanideologicalchoice.

Why,though,wastheBotwinCompanyformed?GiventheimportantrolethattheBrigadesplayedintheComintern’spropagandaforthePopularFront,propagandawasan

importantfactor:aJewishmilitaryunit facilitatedsupportcampaignsconductedbyJewishcommunists inParisamongJewishmigrants.

Yettherewasanothercrucial reasonforthecompany’sformation:theexistenceofantisemiticstereotypesabout ‘Jewishcowardice’thathadsurfacedintheInternationalBrigadesaswellas inthePolishmigrantpressinFrance.Thesestereotypeshadalonghistoryandwerefounded,amongotherthings,onallegationsof Jewishdraftevasion.

TheBotwinCompanyservedtoemancipateJewishvolunteersasworthysoldiers,equaltotheirPolishcomradesinarms. Its formationwasawaytopropagateJewishequality inbattle,andthusaboutinclusionandemancipation.

It is impossibletospeakoftheexperienceof Jewishvolunteers,duringoraftertheSpanishCivilWar,withoutaddressingthetwogreatmythsthathaveloomedsolargeovertheirparticipationandlegacy:thatof Jewishcowardice,andthatof JewishpassivityduringtheHolocaust.

SpainmightnothavebeentheplacewhereasingularcategoryofJewishvolunteersfoughtabattleagainstthefuturemurderersoftheirpeople,asmanycontemporaryobserverswouldhaveit.But itwastheplacewheretheyfoughtoneoftheclassicantisemiticstereotypesofthe19thand20thcenturies: thatoftheJewasacoward,ofsomeonewhowillshyawayfromaction.

Inthatsense,theexperiencesof Jewishvolunteers,asrecountedinmybook,whethertheywereself-consciously Jewishornot,constituteoneofthemanychapters intheongoingprojectof Jewishmodernityasitunfoldedfromthelate18thcenturyonwards.�

GerbenZaagsma(http://gerbenzaagsma.org) isaseniorresearchscientistattheCentreforContemporaryandDigitalHistoryattheUniversityofLuxembourg.Seeoverleafforareviewof‘JewishVolunteers,theInternationalBrigadesandtheSpanishCivilWar’.

YiddishlanguageBotwinCompanynewsletter(above)andareplicaoftheJewishcompany’sbanner(right)beingcarriedatacommemorationinWarsawlastyear.

GERBENZAAGSMAwritesabouthisnewbookexploringtheengagementofJewishvolunteersintheInternationalBrigades.

18 International BrigadeMemorial Trust

DidtheygoasJewsorpoliticalactivists?‘JewishVolunteers, theInternationalBrigadesandtheSpanishCivilWar’byGerbenZaagsma(London:Bloomsbury,2017)£85.

ReviewedbyFreddyShaw

Of the thousandsofbookspublishedabout theSpanishCivilWarandthe International

Brigades,agoodproportionareaboutvolunteers innationalbattalions.Withinthesenarrativescommemoration isgiventogroupswithpoliticalorsub-national

identities, forexample theWelshandScottish.Onegrouphowever– the Jewishvolunteers–hashadrelatively little

exposure in thesubstantial literatureabout the InternationalBrigades. Inparticular the topic isalmostnon-existent inEnglish languagepublications,with thenoticeableexceptions in theUKofMartinSugarman’sheftydocument, ‘AgainstFascism: Jewswhoserved in theInternationalBrigade in theSpanishCivilWar’andRichardBaxell’s‘UnlikelyWarriors’.

InBillAlexander’sbook, ‘BritishVolunteers forLiberty’,hedevotesonesmallparagraphto Jewishvolunteers,stating: ‘Littleattentionwaspaidtoreligiousorculturalbackground,andnoonethoughtofkeepinganyspecial recordof Jewishvolunteers.’Hedoesunderstand,however,whyJewsvolunteered in the faceofNaziatrocitiesandfightingMosley’sfascists inLondon.

Thisessentially is thebigquestionposedbyGerbenZaagsma’sbook.Whywasthereadisproportionatenumberof Jewishvolunteersanddidtheyvolunteerbecause, tosomedegreeorother,of their senseof Jewish‘consciousness’?There ismuchrigorousdetail fromsubstantial researchwhichat timesreads likeanacademic treatise.

Themainbulkof thebook isgivenuptothe involvementof Jews fromCentralandEasternEuropeanbackgroundsandthehubof Jewishrecruitmentactivity inParis.There isvery littlewrittenaboutBritishJewishvolunteers,wherea link,however, ismadeaboutheightenedJewishawarenessof the threatof fascisminEuropefollowingtheBattleofCableStreet,whichwasthetrigger formany Jewsto fight inSpain.

ContributionMuch ismadeabout thecontributionofPolish Jews,whoaccounted for

anestimated40percentofvolunteers in thePolishDombrowskiBrigade.Manyof thePoleswere livingoutsidePoland,especiallycommunistswhowerepersecutedbytheauthoritarianregime inPoland.Pariswasthemaindestination for theseexiles,andmany ifnotmostwere Jewish.

Inalmostmicroscopicdetail theauthordescribes the internal conflictinParisofdifferent leftistgroups.Thiswasexemplifiedbythepublicationof threeYiddishnewspapers,onebackedbytheFrenchCommunistParty(at thebehestof theComintern),oneby left-wingZionistsandonebytheJewishBund.

Althoughthethemethroughout thebook is that themajorityof Jewishvolunteers inSpaindidnotgooutofasenseof Jewishconsciousness, inParis theFrenchCommunistPartyhada Jewishsection.Again theauthor’sdescriptionofPolish Jewishcommunistsdemonstrates that theywereadistinctculturalgroup:Yiddish-speakingandveryawareofEuropeanantisemitism,andwilling to takeuparmsagainst fascism.Asaconsequence, thisgroupofvolunteerswhoprovedthemselvesonthebattlefieldhadthedesire to formtheirownfightingunit.

Thereareotherexamples throughout thebooktomymindof

demonstrable Jewishnessamongstvolunteerswhichareatoddswith themaindebate.

Thebookdescribes indetail thesettingupof the JewishmilitaryunitknownastheBotwinCompanyin late1937.ThiswasacompanywithinthePolishPalafoxBattalionof theDombrowskiBrigade.Afewof thechapterheadings indicatesomeof the issues involved:–Nationalitypolitics:acknowledging Jewishvolunteers intheInternationalBrigades;–Betweenpropagandaandfightingthemythof Jewishcowardice.

IconicTheBotwinCompanyhasbecomethe iconicexampleof Jewisharmed

resistancetofascism. Itwastheenthusiasmfrompersonalexperienceofthe Italian InternationalBrigades inspectorLuigiLongothatpersuadedAndréMarty,secretaryof theCominternandcommissarof theInternationalBrigades, tosetupaJewishmilitaryunit.

Thiswasdonepartlyoutofadmirationfor JewishBrigadersbutalsosubstantially forpropagandareasons.Anti-semitismexistedwithintheInternationalBrigades,especiallyamongstPolishvolunteerswhotendedtobelievethemythof Jewishcowardiceandmeekness.Abookletwaspublishedat thebehestof theComintern’sHistoricCommissionentitled‘Los Judios:Voluntariosde la libertad’.However, itwasonlyprinted inSpanishanddistributedwithintheRepublicanArmy.ThiswasdonetocounterNationalistantisemiticpropaganda.

Thefinal thirdof thisbookaddressespostwar (bothcivilwarandtheSecondWorldWar)attitudeswithinthe Jewishandwidercommunitiesabout Jewish involvement in theSpanishCivilWarandarmedresistanceduringtheHolocaust.

Changing attitudes encompass the situation in Israel when in 1986 agathering of veteran Jewish volunteers was addressed by then

President of Israel Chaim Herzog. His speech honoured the Jewishveterans and all those who fought in Spain. It was hailed as a belatedrehabilitation for those whose narrative had been sidelined during thePalestine Mandate period.

Thisbookisawelcomeandimportantadditiontothesmall libraryofEnglish languagebooksabout Jewswhofought inSpain. It is rich indetailandhonest insofar thatat times itmilitatesagainst itsmainpremise.�

Thebook’s introductioncanbedownloadedat: [http://gerbenzaagsma.org/sites/default/files/Zaagsma-Jewish_volunteers_Introduction.pdf].

FreddyShawisaretiredEastLondonGPandthesonof InternationalBrigadevolunteerandBattleofCableStreetveteranJackShaw.

BOOKS

Theauthor’sdescriptionofPolishJewishcommunistsdemonstratesthattheywereadistinctculturalgroup:Yiddish-speakingandveryawareofEuropeananti-semitism,andwillingtotakeuparmsagainstfascism.

�

IBMTMagazine 3-2017 19

Many of the most familiar and strikingimages from the Spanish CivilWarare featured in ‘Eyes of theWorld’, a

new survey of the lives of Robert Capa andGerdaTaro and their impact on modernphotojournalism,writes Jim Jump.

Though Capa went on to work in battle zonesof the SecondWorldWar and other conflicts,the Spanish CivilWar defined his work andindeed that ofTaro, who was killed 80 yearsago during the Battle of Brunete in July 1937.

Both were young Jewish refugees fromCentral Europe, drawn together by love and ashared commitment to anti-fascism. In Spainthey were among a small group ofphotographers – Spanish as well as foreign –who depicted modern warfare as eyewitnessesto events, creating a style that was to set thestandard for war photojournalism for the restof the 20th century.

They were able to do so thanks to the adventof lightweight cameras that could be carriedeasily into battlefields or bomb-sites.Theirpowerful photographs went straight from thefront line, from the ruined city and from thecolumn of refugees fleeing the enemy advanceto news magazines around the world.

Capa andTaro were no mere dispassionatechroniclers of events – although this they didsuperbly well. They were also activists, deeplycommitted to the cause of the SpanishRepublic and anti-fascism.They woulddoubtless have agreed with Martha Gellhorn,the great war correspondent in Spain, wholater remarked: ‘I never believed in thatobjectivity shit.’

‘Eyes of theWorld’brings together many oftheir well-known photos – Capa’s ‘FallingSoldier’ is an iconic image of the war (see thebook cover pictured above) – as well as thoseof their close colleague in Spain, David ‘Chim’Seymour.

The book includes a written commentary on

their time in Paris and Spain and a usefultimeline of the war itself.

There is also an appendix discussing thecontinuing controversy over the ‘FallingSoldier’photo.Was it staged or was it real?Where was it actually taken?Whatever thetruth, the authors conclude, Capa andTaro inSpain ‘risked everything, gave everything, tobe as close as possible to the action’.

Though the couple tooks shots of eachother, it was Fred Stein – another young Jewishrefugee and photographer – who captured

them together in a Paris café in 1935.This is themain image on the book’s cover (see below).

Perhaps the only jarring note in the text is anunnecessary and contentious appendixdiscussing the Spanish CivilWar and thecurrent conflict in Syria. Here the authors seeparallels between ‘non-intervention’by theWestern democracies in Spain and their‘stalemated’stance towards Syria. ‘Should theworld intervene in Syria?’ they ask, seeminglyoblivious to the fact that the US, Britain andFrance have between them spent billions ontraining and equipping anti-government rebelsin Syria.They have also bombed opposingsides in the conflict and soldTurkey, SaudiArabia and the Gulf States arms that end up inthe hands of Al-Qaeda and Isis rebel groups.

All this is a far cry from non-intervention inSpain, whenWestern governments enforcedan arms embargo on the Spanish Republic.‘Intervention’then didn’t euphemisticallysignify invading or bombing a country.�

‘Eyesof theWorld: RobertCapa,GerdaTaroand theInventionofModernPhotojournalism’byMarcAronsonandMarinaBudhos (NewYork:HenryHoltandCompany,2017)£17.90.

Capa,Taroandtheimagesthatshapedmodernwarphotography

TakenintheaftermathofaFrancoistbombingraidonMadrid, this imagebyRobertCapawasusedonthecoveroftheFrenchweeklyRegards.

International BrigadeMemorial Trust20

BOOKS

ByJimJump

Publishedonthe80thanniversaryofoneofthedefiningincidentsinmodernwarfare,anewdescriptionofthebombingof

GuernicaanditsaftermathhasbeenwrittenbyPaulPreston,theleadinghistorianoftheSpanishCivilWar.

Hisconcisebookappearsintwoformatsandlanguages: inEnglishasadownloadablee-bookandinSpanishasagraphicstorybookwithillustrationsbyJoséPabloGarcía.

‘TheDestructionofGuernica’recountshowthesmalltownofGuernicawasruthlesslyandrelentlesslyfire-bombedbyLuftwaffeplaneson26April1937.Terrifiedinhabitantsweremachine-gunnedastheytriedtoflee.

ThesametexthasbeentranslatedintoSpanishandappearsin‘LaMuertedeGuernica’,Preston’ssecondcollaborationwithJoséPabloGarcía.Lastyeartheyproduced‘LaGuerraCivilEspañola’,acomic-bookSpanishversionof‘AConciseHistoryoftheSpanishCivilWar’.

TheancientBasquecapitalofGuernicawastargetedbyHitler’sCondorLegionduringtheFrancoistoffensiveinnorthernSpaininthespringof1937.Atleast1,650peoplearenowknowntohavebeenkilledinanaerialassaultthatwasmethodicallyplannedbyWolframVonRichthofeninconsultationwithFranco’shighcommand.

ThoughnotthefirstexampleofterrorbombingofciviliansbyFrancoandhisallies,Guernicaalmost instantlyachievedspecialnotoriety.

This isbecausetheSouthAfrican-bornreporterGeorgeSteerrushedfromnearbyBilbaotoseethestillsmolderingruinsofthetown.HeestablishedbeyonddoubtthatGermanplanesandbombshadperpetratedthecrime.HisaccountwaspublishedinTheTimesandreproducedinnewspapersaroundtheworld.

Steer’sreportwentontoinspirePabloPicassotocreate‘Guernica’fortheSpanishRepublic’spavilionattheParisworldfair in1937. It remainstheSpaniard’smostfamouspaintingandisnowauniversalsymbolforthehorrorsofwar.

MeanwhileFranco,sensingtheinternationaloutcry, immediatelyattemptedacover-up.Denyinganyresponsibility fortheatrocity–despitetheconclusiveevidencetothecontrary–heblamedretreatingRepublicanforces.This liewaskeptaliveduringhisdictatorshipandwas

stillbeingrepeatedbysomeofFranco’sapologistsevenafterhisdeathin1975.

‘Steer’saccountofthebombingofGuernicaperhapshadmorepolitical impactthananysinglearticlewrittenbyanycorrespondentduringtheSpanishCivilWar,’writesPaulPreston.

Tounderinethebombing’scontinuedaftershocks,Preston’sbookfinisheswithadescriptionofhow,on18September1970, Joséba

Elosegi,aBasquenationalist,set fire tohimselfwhileFrancopresidedover theworld jai-alai(pelota)championships inSanSebastián.

Elosegihadbeenincommandof theonlyBasquemilitaryunitpresent inGuernicaon26April 1937.Byhurlinghimself in flames infrontof thedictator,Eloseguihopedtomakehimunderstandwhat theBasquepeoplehadsuffered intheir flesh. ‘Itwastonoavail. Francoremainedcoldly impassiveasthebadlyburnedElosegiwastakenaway.For thedictator…hisdisregardfor thefateof theBasqueswasasharsh in1970as ithadbeenin1937.’�

� ‘TheDestructionofGuernica’(e-book)byPaulPreston(London:HarperPress,2017)£0.85(Kindleedition).� ‘LaMuertedeGuernica’byPaulPrestonandJoséPabloGarcía(Barcelona:Debate,2017)19.95euros.

TellingthestoryofGuernica

Many years ago now, I was a young(ish)undergraduate history student, excited at

the prospect of taking a course in the SpanishCivilWar. At the time, like many in Britain, myknowledge of one of the 20th century’s mostseismic events was based primarily, if notsolely, on two works; one a memoir by a British

novelist; the other, a novel by an American journalist and writer.Yetneither ‘Homage to Catalonia’nor ‘ForWhom the BellTolls’,important though they may be, can in any way be seen as historiesof the conflict. Consequently, like many students before me andsince, I immersed myself in the encyclopaedic study, ‘The SpanishCivilWar’.The author was HughThomas, who died on 7 May 2017 atthe age of 85.

Published in 1961 to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the war’soutbreak, ‘The Spanish CivilWar’was generally well received by

critics. Smuggled into Spain during the Franco dictatorship, it becamea clandestine best-seller. Eminently readable and packed full ofentertaining anecdotes, the book has become seen as thehistory ofthe civil war. It has now run to four editions and sold more than amillion copies across the world.The book still appears onundergraduate reading lists today and I know that I am not the onlyhistorian of the civil war to consult it regularly.

However, it is by no means faultless; there are many errors of factand judgement andThomas has rightly been accused of occasionallyvaluing narrative style above factual accuracy. Fortunately, revisionshave gradually been made during later editions, such as the removalof the following offensive description of the International Brigaders:‘Many of the British volunteers appear to have been persons whodesired some outlet through which to purge some private grief ormaladjustment.’

In 1966Thomas was made Professor of History at the University ofReading.When he took a sabbatical in 1974 to concentrate on hiswriting, his research assistant, a promising young historian calledPaul Preston, took over his teaching duties.

Thomas’s other books included ‘History of Cuba’(1971), ‘AnUnfinished History of theWorld’(1979), ‘The Conquest of Mexico’(1993) and a trilogy about the Spanish Empire: ‘Rivers of Gold (2003),‘The Golden Age’(2010) and ‘WorldWithout End ’(2014).�

IBMTChairRICHARDBAXELLmournsthedeathoftheauthorofagroundbreakinghistoryoftheSpanishCivilWar.

HughThomasAnappreciation

In this sample page from ‘LaMuerte deGuernica’ the captions say…

� To a world which has witnessed the slaughter unleashed by Hitlerand Stalin, to say nothing of the Korean, Vietnam and Iraq wars, theSpanish Civil War might well seem small beer.� After Dresden and Hiroshima, the destruction of Guernica couldappear to be no more than a second rate piece of thuggery.� Yet, for all that, the bombing of the sleepy Basque market town on26 April 1937 has probably provoked more savage polemic than anysingle act of war since and much of that polemic has revolved around[George] Steer’s article.

� This is partly because what happened at Guernica was perceived asthe first time that aerial bombardment wiped out an undefendedcivilian target in Europe.� In fact, the bombing of innocent civilians was a well-establishedpractice in the colonies of the Western powers and had mostrecently and most thoroughly been carried out by the Italians inAbyssinia.� Even in Spain, the bombing of Guernica had been preceded by thedestruction of nearby Durango by German bombers at the end ofMarch 1937.

22 International BrigadeMemorial Trust

FINALWORD

By Jim Jump

Bornon21August1912 inDenbeath,Fife,HughSmithSloanwasthesonofElizabethandRichardSloan,apitsinkerandminer.Theeldestof five, fromanearlyagehedevelopedatalent forart.But

likehis father,hebecameacoalminerandmineworkers’unionactivist,takingpart inmanycampaignsforbetterwagesandconditions intheFifecoalfield.

In the1930stheCommunistPartywasaninfluential force inFife–WillieGallacherwastheCommunistMPforWestFife from1935to1950–andHughsoonbecameapartymember. Itwasn’t longeitherbeforehewasproducingsatiricalsketchesfor theDailyWorker,aswellas forTheSparkandTheFlame,pitpapersrespectivelyof theWellesleyandMichaelcollieries. Itwasalsoat this timethathebeganwritingpoetry.

Hughwasanavidreaderandaself-taughtMarxist.Hewould joketodaughterBetty thathewasabitofa freak: ‘aworkingclass intellectualandthere’ssupposedtobenosuchthing’.

GoingtoSpainwasthe ‘logicaldevelopmentofmypolitical ideas’,hesaidmanyyears later,adding: ‘In1936,whenFrancorevoltedagainst thedemocraticallyelectedRepublicangovernment inSpain, itwas likeaninspirationtoyoungsters likemeallover theworld.’

Hughleft forSpain inApril 1937.Arrested inCalaissoonaftersettingfoot inFranceandpromptlydeportedtotheUK,hefinallyenteredSpain inMayonhissecondattempt.He joinedtheBritishAnti-TankBattery,actingasrunner,secretaryandpaymaster,andtakingpart inactionsatBrunete

andQuinto in1937andTeruel in thewinterof1937/38.WiththeBritishBattalionhecrossedtheEbro inthesummerof1938at thestartof theBattleof theEbro.

Repatriated inDecember1938withtherestof thebattalion,HughreturnedtoScotlandtowork inthemines,wherehestayeduntil 1964whenhewasadvisedtoquitonhealthgrounds.Hethenworkedasaganger, layingapipelinetocleantheRiverLeven,andlaterasacaretakeratKirklandHighSchool.

‘WhenI returnedhomeI foundthat Icouldn’tbear totalkaboutSpainandthesenseof lossthat I feltabout it,’hetold interviewershalfacenturylater. ‘Thesenseof losswasequal tothecontributionthatyoufeltyouhadmade,andthatwastremendous.’

Henever tiredofexplainingthat thewar inSpainonlyarosebecauseof the ‘treachery’of ‘non-intervention’bytheBritishandFrenchgovernments,apolicy,hewouldpointout, thatevenwithheld

financial interestontheSpanishRepublic’s reserves intheCityofLondon.‘Non-interventionwasas ithadalwaysmeant tobe–adeadduckthat

wasmerely topreventanyvictory for theRepublicangovernment inSpain,’he insisted.

HughSloandied inDecember1994,aged82.Theanonymouseulogy inhis funeralbrochurenoted: ‘Althoughsmall instaturehewas large in life,intellectandcourage, fortifiedbyhisMarxistphilosophyandhisunquenchable loyalty tohisclass…Therewasneveraneedforapoet totellhimthatnomanisan island;heknewthat frominfancyanditguidedhis life.’�

HughSloandescribeshis experiences inSpain in ‘Voices from theSpanishCivilWar:Personal RecollectionsofScottishVolunteers in theSpanishCivilWar’ by IanMacdougall (ed), Edinburgh: Polygon (1986). Hewasalso interviewed for the ImperialWarMuseum’ssoundarchive of InternationalBrigaders.Othersources canbe found inthearchivesat theMarxMemorial Library in London.

HughSloan lived longenoughtobeoneof thosevolunteers

whowasable to return to ademocraticSpain.Hewrote thispoemafteronesuchvisit. Itwasfirstpublished in ‘Poems fromSpain: British and IrishInternational Brigaderson theSpanishCivilWar’ by Jim Jump (ed),Lawrence&Wishart, London (2006).

ATributeJumpingtheskiesandtimein

searchofourfutureTheplaneslipsevenlyforward

throughthedarknight.Justashortflipandwearethere.Yesterday,whenwewereyoung,

thetripwaslongeranddeviousAndourcauselayfootsoreoverthe

mountainsandthroughthevalleys.

Likeagatheringstormwecameasdroplets,mountainstreamsthenragingtorrents

AndthefurywasheardallovertheEarthandstirreditssympathy.

FascismwasstridingacrossEuropeandthebraveSpanishpeoplewerebreakingtheshacklesoffeudalism.

Guernicawascallingforrevengeandhumanityrespondedandsentitssons.

WebecameonepeopledefendingthehomesofSpainandourown

Againstamurderingpestilencethatthreatenedathousandyearsofenslavement

ServinginaPeople’sArmyforapeople’scause.

Therewasnootherwaywecouldgo.Withidealisminourminds,we

werenoidealists,Withpassioninourhearts,wewere

noromantics,Withfireinourbellies,wewereno

warriors.Weweredoingthejobthatlifehad

thrustuponus.

RememberingHughSloanFifecoalminer, illustrator,poetandInternationalBrigaderwhowas‘small instature, largeinlife’

HughSloan,bottomleft,with theBritishAnti-TankBattery inSpain in1937.

Left: Layingawreathat theKirkcaldymemorial to the InternationalBrigades in1982withAnneKnight,whohadbeenanurse inSpain.

Right:Hugh’scoversketch for ‘No to Franco:TheStruggleNeverStopped1939-1975’byBillAlexander,whichwaspublished in1992.

AGMagenda(1) Chair’s opening remarks(2) Apologies for absence(3) Approval of minutes of the 2016Annual General Meeting(4) Matters arising from the 2016AGM minutes(5) Executive Committee’s report(6) Financial report(7) Election of officers andExecutive Committee members(8) Any other business(9) Date and place of next AnnualGeneral Meeting(10) Chair’s closing remarks

�Nominations forChair, SecretaryandTreasurer and forup to 10ExecutiveCommitteemembersmustbemade inwritingandreceivedby theSecretary (seecontactdetailsbelow)by8amon30September2017.�Proposed items foragenda item(8)mustbe received inwritingbytheSecretary (seecontactdetailsbelow)by8amon7October2017.�Sendnominationsandproposedagenda itemsbyemailto: [secretary@international-brigades.org.uk]orbypost to:IBMTSecretary, 37aClerkenwellGreen, LondonEC1R0DU.

Weekendprogramme

Check [www.international-brigades.org.uk] for anyupdates.

Friday13October�7pm:WinereceptionsponsoredbyUnite theUnion,1CathedralRoad,CardiffCF119SD(at the junctionwithCowbridgeRoadEast); followedbyascreeningof theaward-winning2005TVdocumentary ‘Return Journey’(30mins),about thereturnofAlunMenaiWilliamstoSpain, introducedbyfilm-makerSarahDickinsofBBCWales.

Saturday14October� 11am:Commemorationat theWales InternationalBrigadeMemorial,CathaysPark(behindCityHall,CardiffCF103AD).�2pm: IBMTAnnualGeneralMeetingopenedbyCarwynJones,FirstMinisterofWales,atGMB,GarleyHouse,17NewportRoad,CardiffCF240TB(oppositeMercureHotel).�7pm:Socialat theTempleofPeace,KingEdwardVIIAvenue,CardiffCF10

3AP(two-minutewalk fromtheWalesInternationalBrigadeMemorial).

Sunday15October� 10.15am:BycoachtotheBigPitNationalCoalMuseum,BlaenavonNP49XP(£10returncoachfare).� 11.30am:Commemorationat theBigPitmemorial toWelshminerswhowent toSpain.� 12pm:TalkbyGrahamDaviesabouthisbook‘YouAreLegend–WelshVolunteers intheSpanishCivilWar’.�3pm:LeaveBigPit.�4pm:Arriveback inCardiff.

AccommodationIt isadvisable tobookhotelaccommodationasearlyaspossible.All theCardiffvenuesare inthecitycentreandarewithineasywalkingdistanceof themajorityofhotels.SomesmallhotelsandB&Bsarelocated inandaroundCathedralRoad.More informationfromMaryGreening:memsec@international-brigades.org.uk(mobile:07772620279).

The IBMT’sANNUALGENERALMEETINGwill takeplaceonSaturday14October2017at theofficesof theGMB,GarleyHouse, 17NewportRoad,CardiffCF240TBaspartofaCOMMEMORATIONWEEKEND inandaroundCardiff

InternationalBrigadeMemorialTrustwww.international-brigades.org.uk

Wales InternationalBrigadeMemorial inCardiff’sCathaysPark.

70th anniversary trinket boxMade from finest bone china in theUK.On thelid is the three-pointed International Brigadestar. Inside is an extract fromLaPasionaria’sfarewell speech to the International BrigadesinOctober 1938.£10 plus£2.99p&p

Friendship braceletWoven friendship bracelet inSpanishRepublican colours. Handmade intheUK.£2plus£2.99p&p

70th anniversary tankardMade in theUK from finest bone china. On thefront of the tankard is the three-pointedInternational Brigade star and on the reverseis a quotation fromLaPasionaria’s farewellspeech to the International Brigades inOctober 1938.£7 plus£3.99p&p

75th anniversaryposterOnA4art paper and specially designed forthe IBMTby leading graphicartistMartinBedford.£5 plus£1.99p&p

CDsingleExclusively for the IBMT,BillyBraggperforms ‘JaramaValley’ andMaxine PeakedeliversDoloresIbárruri’s (La Pasionaria’s) emotionalfarewell speech to the InternationalBrigadeswith a dubbacking fromTheUrbanRoots.£5 plus£1.99p&p

AntifascistasBritish and IrishVolunteers intheSpanish CivilWarThe story of the volunteers inwordsandpictures, byRichardBaxell,Angela Jackson and Jim Jump(paperback).£15 plus£2.99p&p

Poems fromSpainCollection of poemswritten byBritishand Irish International Brigaders.Edited by Jim Jump (paperback).£10 plus£2.99p&p

TomMannCenturia t-shirtMade for the IBMTby t-shirtspecialists Philosophy Football fromethically sourced cotton.TomMannCenturia banner on front.‘International BrigadeMemorialTrust’ on sleeve. Available inS,M, L,XL, XXLand fittedwomen’s size (seeBritishBattalion t-shirt for sizedetails).SPECIALOFFER:£8plus£3.99p&p

BritishBattalion t-shirtIn red or grey andmade for the IBMTby t-shirt specialists PhilosophyFootball fromethically sourced cotton.BritishBattalion banner on front and‘International BrigadeMemorialTrust’ on sleeve. Available in:S (36inch/90cms chest)M (40inch/100cms)L (44inch/110cms)XL (48inch/120cms)XXL (52inch/130cms)Fittedwomen’s (34-36inch/70-90cms).£15 plus£3.99p&p

15thInternationalBrigadet-shirtFlagofthemainlyEnglish-speaking15thInternationalBrigade,whichincludedBritish,Irish,American,CanadianandCommonwealthvolunteers.ProducedbyPhilosophyFootballfromethicallysourcedblackcottonfortheIBMT.‘InternationalBrigadeMemorialTrust’onsleeve.Available inS,M, L, XL, XXLandfittedwomen’s size (seeBritishBattalion t-shirt for size details).£15plus£4.99p&p

ConnollyColumn t-shirtBlackcotton t-shirtwith design(pictured) inSpanish Republicancolours across chest commemoratingthe volunteers from Ireland. AvailableinS,M, L, XL.SPECIALOFFER:£8plus£3.99p&p

¡NoPasarán!bagEthicallysourcedjutebag(30cmssquare,18cmsacross).Onesideprinted,otherblank.Robustbag,usefulforanyshoppingtripandagreatwaytoshowsupportforanti-fascismandtheIBMT.£4.99plus£2.99p&p

ReplicaflagReproductionoftheBritishBattalionNo.1CompanyflagnamedafterLabourPartyleaderClementAttlee.150cmsx87cms.Redbackgroundwithdarkgoldlettering.Idealforcarryingonmarchesorsimplyputtingonthewall.£10plus£4p&p

VolunteersforLibertyplateHighlydecorativecommemorativeplatemadeinStaffordshirebyHeraldicPotteryexclusivelyfortheIBMT.Finebonechina.101⁄2inch(265mm)diameter.Re-issueofthemuchsoughtafter50thanniversaryplateproducedbyInternationalBrigadeveteranLouKenton.Includesmountforwalldisplay.SPECIALOFFER:£19.99plus£5.99p&p

IBMTbadgeSolidmetal badgewith InternationalBrigademedal in centre and‘International BrigadeMemorialTrust’ around the edge.£3 plus£2.99p&p

PostcardsSelectionofpostersfromtheSpanishCivilWarinpostcardformat.Sixfor£5plus£2.99p&pPostcardofBritishBattalionbanneralsoavailablefor£1

IBMTgreetings cardMeasuring approximately 15cmx10cm, the IBMTgreetings cardfeatures a drawing byRafael Albertidedicated to the InternationalBrigades in 1996. Blank inside.£5 for packof 6 (including envelopes)plus £1.99p&p

ClenchedfistsculptureLife-sizedsculptureinspeciallytreatedconcrete.BasedontheclenchedfistcreatedbysculptorBettyRaeatthetopofthepolefortheoriginalBritishBattalionbanner.23cmshigh.TheclenchedfistwastheiconicsaluteofthePopularFrontandisstillusedbyanti-fascistsaroundtheworld.£29.99plus£7.99p&p

Sendorders,includingyournameandaddress,asizeandcolourwhereappropriate,andachequepayabletotheIBMTto:IBMTMerchandise,37aClerkenwellGreen,LondonEC1R0DU.

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