Diversity in the Spanish Civil War
International Diversity
The Spanish Civil War was an ideological war and a pre-World War II testing ground. This attracted international volunteers from around the world who believed liberty, freedom, and justice were worth fighting for, to join the Republic and the fascist nations of Germany and Italy to join the Nationalists. These circumstances created great international diversity in the war on both sides of the conflict.
The international diversity on the Republican side created a utopia in which people of different political views, nationalities, ethnicities, races, and walks-of-life united under a single banner and cause. Dolores Ibárruri highlighted this diversity to persuade the masses to join the Republican cause in her “¡No pasarán!” speech given on the 19th of July 1936 outside the Government Ministry Building in Madrid, Spain. She says, “In Morocco, as well as in the Canary Islands, the workers are battling, united with the forces still loyal to the Republic, against the uprising militants and fascists. Under the battlecry ‘Fascism shall not pass” (Wilson 2018). This unity and utopia attracted many young students from western countries like Don Henry.
Madrid-1937
by Langston Hughes
(……)
In the darkness of her broken clocks
Madrid cries NO!
In the timeless midnight of the Fascist guns,
Madrid cries NO!
To all the killers of man’s dreams,
Madrid cries NO!
To break that NO apart
Will be to break the human heart.
Langston Hughes highlights Madrid’s unity in his poem “Madrid-1937.” In the ending lines of the poem, he repeats the phrase “Madrid cries NO!” which groups all Republican forces and militias involved into the single word ‘Madrid” (Echevarria 2005). This unity pushed the Republic through the war, and its disintegration marked the Republic’s downfall.
The final couplet of this poem is a profound statement that says that if you take the word “NO” away from the phrase “Madrid cries NO!” it would say “Madrid cries.” Madrid crying is analogous to humanity crying. This poem appeals to pathos, and suggests that the core conflict of the war relates to our humanity.
While this utopic diverse movement attracted international volunteers to the Republican cause from around 66 countries, the fascist powers of Germany and Italy supported the Nationalists mainly to test military equipment and strategy. Further, Franco pulled in Moroccan troops because Morocco was a joint-protectorate of Spain and France, as well as international volunteers from many of the same countries as those who joined the Republic. In fact, the Nationalists actually drew in more international participants than the Republic, the majority of which were from Morocco.
The Spanish Civil war’s diversity was a unique phenomenon that brought different people together and showcased people’s ability to see passed their differences and unite under a single cause.
Women in the Spanish Civil War
In the context of the Spanish Civil War, the topic of women is largely overlooked. However, women did play a major role in the war, and the role they played represents the strive for equality in the midst of repression. Before the war even started, women achieved several gains through the Republic including:
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Women’s suffrage
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Civil Marriage
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Decriminalization of adultery
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Separation of Church and state
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Creation of a new role for women
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Education reform → careers
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Politics
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Legalization of contraception
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Maternity Leave
(Ayerra 246-253)
However, with the onset of the Franco regime following the war, these rights were once again stripped away. Nevertheless, women’s battle efforts were long-remembered. Watch the video below, featuring a popular Republican anthem in honor of the International Brigades called “El Valle del Jarama”.
Don Henry, our own KU student-volunteer, joined the MacKenzie Papineau Battalion of the International Brigades. This battalion was largely Canadian with a mix of Americans and Spaniards (Brooks). Interestingly enough, as explained by Larry Hannat, there were no women in this battalion until female reporter Jean Watts (pictured left in “‘Jim’ Jean Watts Lawson with ‘Lon’ Watson,” 1942) demanded the right to enlist. In fact, when Jean Watts was departing for Spain and met some of the Americans in the New York office where the departing men reported, one man commented, “My God, are they sending women?” Notwithstanding the outright prejudice Watts faced, she made it on to be an ambulance driver. In fact, she stated that the other drivers and mechanics in the war got to think of her “as just another man” (Hannat 161). While discrimination faced by women was still present in the war, the roles they took elevated their status.
Another influential woman during the Spanish Civil War is Dolores “La Pasionaria” Ibárruri. She became a national figure in Spain, known for leading the Republic as a street and radio orator. She started the widespread Republican battle cry of “No Pasarán” or They shall not pass. Another of her famous quotes was, “It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.” Despite being jailed several times for her political activity, she continued to harness and unleash the spirit of the Republic (Encyclopaedia Britannica).
Finally, Rosario la Dinamitera was another woman with an impactful role in the war. In the army, some of her fellow male comrades were against women going in the war and did not believe she had the physical stamina to guard the infamous “German rock.” Proving them wrong, she stood on the frontline in the greatest danger for several nights in a row and earned their respect (Cuevas 58). Eventually, she lost her hand from dynamite and then became a national icon. Despite losing her hand, she continued to serve in the war as a telephone operator and then as a postwoman (Cuevas 59-61). Her endless strive to serve her country in addition to her bravery was proof that women were just as able and committed as men were.