ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question: What is the IBMT?
The Spanish Civil War, which began in July, 1936 with a military coup that overthrew the democratically-elected government of the Spanish Republic, is generally considered to be the precursor to World War II; some even say it was its first battle. Volunteers from around 50 countries came to Spain to defend the government against Francisco Franco’s fascists, who were supported by troops and weapons sent by Hitler and Mussolini.
The Battle of the Jarama took place from February 6-27, 1937, just east of Madrid, when Franco’s army tried to dislodge the government troops and cut off access to the city. The Republic was largely defended by the International Brigades, and the battle ended in a standoff, but not before there were heavy losses. Every year the Spanish Association of Friends of the International Brigades (AABI) commemorates the battle with several activities, including a march to the site. Each year there is a special tribute to volunteers from one of the countries, and this year the Lincoln Brigade from the United States was honored. 3000 volunteers fought in the Lincoln Brigade and about 1/3 of them were Jewish.
Aside from the march, the AABI organized visits to other meaningful sites and sponsored a play written by Charles Nusser, one of the volunteers. Children and grandchildren of Brigadistas came for the tribute and we spoke with some of them who told us about their relatives’ experiences and why it was important for them to participate in this commemoration. Daniel Millstone, Cathy Cook, Anita Caref, Doyle O’Connor, Kate Fogarty, Tim Parker, Linda Geiser and Nancy Wallach participated in our round table discussion.
You can find more information about the Lincoln Brigade on the website of the Archives of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade here.
Max Parker’s recording At break of dawn: Songs from a Franco Prison is available here.
Next week Nancy and Linda will speak with us about a lesser-known aspect of the war: the experiences of the brigadistas who were taken prisoner by the fascist troops.
(And just a reminder that you can visit the exhibition Jews in the International Brigades at Centro Sefarad-Israel in Madrid until May 31.)
