Jewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
Encyclopedia
A minority of the Jewish population, particularly that of Europe
's, were active in socialist and Communist organisations in the period between the two World Wars.
They made up a considerable portion of the socialist volunteers, with estimates putting the figure at over ten per cent. Many of them joined the International Brigades
and the Popular Front
to fight in the Spanish Civil War
on the side of the Republicans
. The leadership of the International Brigades considered forming an entirely Jewish brigade but the high casualties made this impossible. However, a Jewish company, the Naftali Botwin Company was formed within the Palafox Battalion
.
|-
! Nationality
! AJEX
|-
|Poland
|2,250
|-
|United States
|1,250
|-
|France
|1043
|-
|Palestine
|500
|-
|Germany
|400
|-
|Britain
|200-400
|-
|Belgium
|200
|-
|Austro-Hungary
|120-150
|-
|Canadian
|71
|-
|Soviet Union
|53
|}
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's, were active in socialist and Communist organisations in the period between the two World Wars.
They made up a considerable portion of the socialist volunteers, with estimates putting the figure at over ten per cent. Many of them joined the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
and the Popular Front
Popular Front (Spain)
The Popular Front in Spain's Second Republic was an electoral coalition and pact signed in January 1936 by various left-wing political organisations, instigated by Manuel Azaña for the purpose of contesting that year's election....
to fight in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
on the side of the Republicans
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
. The leadership of the International Brigades considered forming an entirely Jewish brigade but the high casualties made this impossible. However, a Jewish company, the Naftali Botwin Company was formed within the Palafox Battalion
Palafox Battalion
The Palafox Battalion was a volunteer unit of largely Polish and Spanish composition in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. It was named after José de Palafox, a Spanish general who successfully fought French Napoleonic forces during the Peninsular War.The Palafox Battalion was...
.
National origin of volunteers
The table below displays the national origin of the Jewish volunteers in the International Brigades.-
- {| class="wikitable"
|-
! Nationality
! AJEX
|-
|Poland
|2,250
|-
|United States
|1,250
|-
|France
|1043
|-
|Palestine
|500
|-
|Germany
|400
|-
|Britain
|200-400
|-
|Belgium
|200
|-
|Austro-Hungary
|120-150
|-
|Canadian
|71
|-
|Soviet Union
|53
|}
Notable figures
- George NathanGeorge NathanGeorge Montague Nathan was a British volunteer in the International Brigades in Spain. He initially commanded the British Company of the otherwise French Marseillaise Battalion but was appointed battalion commander in early 1937 following the execution of his predecessor for espionage.He later...
- Chief of Staff XV International BrigadeXV International BrigadeThe XV International Brigade fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War as a part of the International Brigades. It was mustered at Albacete in Spain, in January 1937, comprising many English-speaking volunteers - arranged into a mostly British British Battalion and a mostly... - Milton Wolff - commander Lincoln Battalion
- Fernando GerassiFernando GerassiFernando Gerassi was a Sephardic Jew born in Turkey. He was an accomplished artist and exhibited alongside Picasso before volunteering to fight in the Spanish Civil War....
- Albert "Yank" Levy
- Manfred SternManfred SternManfred Stern was a member of the GRU, Soviet military intelligence. He served as a spy in the United States, as a military advisor in China, and gained fame under his nom de guerre as General Kléber, leader of the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War.- Early life :He was born into...
alias General Emilio Kléber. - Saul Wellman - political commissar Lincoln Battalion and Washington Battalion
- Carlo RosselliCarlo RosselliCarlo Rosselli was an Italian political leader, journalist, historian and anti-fascist activist, first in Italy then abroad...
- headed the Matteotti BattalionMatteotti BattalionThe Matteotti Battalion or "Centuria Giustizia e Libertà" or Italian Column was an Italian radical and anarchist exile group which fought with the Spanish Republicans during the Spanish Civil War... - Jack ShulmanJack ShulmanJack Shulman, Jacob Shulman, is notable mainly for his dissatisfaction with the Communist Party USA's turn away from Stalinism following Nikita Khrushchev's secret speech in 1956. Following his resignation from the Party Shulman traveled to Albania and China in pursuit of his political objectives...
- American activist - Valter RomanValter RomanValter or Walter Roman , born Ernst or Ernő Neuländer, was a Romanian communist activist and soldier. During his lifetime, Roman was active inside the Romanian, Czechoslovakian, French, and Spanish Communist parties as well as being a Comintern cadre...
- Romanian politician - Abe OsheroffAbe OsheroffAbraham Osheroff was an American social activist, carpenter, war veteran, documentary filmmaker, and lecturer.-Biography:...
- American activist - Alfred Kantorowicz - Banned German writer (also known as Helmuth Campe)
- Kurt Julius GoldsteinKurt Julius GoldsteinKurt Julius Goldstein was a German journalist and a former broadcast director.- Biography :Goldstein was born to a Jewish merchant family in Dortmund, Germany. At school, he experienced Germany's growing anti-Semitism and it had the effect of politicising him...
- International Brigader, Holocaust survivor, author. - Lou KentonLou KentonLou Kenton is an English potter, who served as an ambulance driver with the International Brigade and is its oldest surviving member.- Early life :...
British potter - Alfred ShermanAlfred ShermanSir Alfred Sherman, KBE, was a writer, journalist, and political analyst. Described by a long-time associate as "a brilliant polymath, a consummate homo politicus, and one of the last true witnesses to the 20th century", he began life as a Communist soldier in the Spanish Civil War but later...
- British journalist and adviser to Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990... - Gershon Dua-BogenGershon Dua-BogenGershon Dua-Bogen , alias 'Admoni', was a Polish-Jewish communist. He was an active militant of the Communist Party of Poland and of the Polish Workers' Party . He emigrated to Palestine, and became the general secretary of the Socialist Workers Party. He was expelled from Palestine for his...
See also
- Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
- International BrigadesInternational BrigadesThe International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
- InternationalismProletarian internationalismProletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is a Marxist social class concept based on the view that capitalism is now a global system, and therefore the working class must act as a global class if it is to defeat it...
Extra resources
- 300 German and Austrian brigadists in French internment camp on jewishtraces.org
- AJEX: Jews in the Spanish Civil War
- Saul Wellman Archive
- Gerben Zaagsma Jewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
- Lenni Brenner Zionism in the Age of the Dictators
- Hugh ThomasHugh ThomasHugh Thomas , is a British historian and life peer.Hugh Thomas may also refer to:* Hugh Thomas , American choral conductor, pianist and educator* Hugh Thomas , Australian rules football coach...
The Spanish Civil War, 2001. - Cecil Eby, Comrades and Commissars, 2006.
- Albert Prago, Jews in the International Brigades in Spain, 1979.