Jews in the International Brigades against a fascist Spain
JVL Introduction
It is well known that Jews were “disproportionately” represented in many progressive movements such as that for racial equality in the USA and the anti-apartheid movement within and beyond South Africa. But who knew that Jewish people may have made up about a quarter of those who fought for freedom from fascism under Franco and its spread across Europe? Why did they go? Most were Communists but for many their being Jewish was also a reason. The article quotes Hank Rubin who joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade the US part of the International Brigade: “The Jewish historical experience made us especially sensitive to oppression anywhere, and it is a moral imperative of Judaism to fight against injustice and inhumanity,”
There is a further examination here of Jewish involvement, with a particular focus on the Naftali Botwin Company (mentioned below) and this compelling documentary about those who left Palestine to fight, many of whom were already “in a state of constant conflict with Zionist society because they “believed in equality and coexistence with Palestinian Arabs”.
The Jewish involvement in the International Brigade is fully described in the excellent Revolutionary Yiddishland : A History of Jewish Radicalism by Sylvie Klingberg and Alain Brossat
LL
This article was originally published by Ha'aretz on Wed 2 Apr 2025. Read the original here.
They Fought Hitler Before WWII: The Untold Story of Jewish Brigades in Spain
Jewish volunteers accounted for about one out of every four fighters in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. A new exhibition in Madrid explores who they were and what motivated them
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The excellent International Brigades Memorial Trust runs an annual lecture named in honour of Dr Len Crome, a Jewish Scot who went to Spain with the Scottish Ambulance Unit in December 1936, before joining the International Brigades in March 1937. He eventually became the Chief Medical Officer for the Spanish Republic’s 35th Division.
It’s wonderful to read that a quarter of the volunteers were Jewish; and heartbreaking to think that their efforts to defend democracy were thwarted in large measure by the French and British governments conniving to observe ‘neutrality’ in the conflict, refusing to bring assistance to Republican Spain.