User:OreL.D/Jewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War was from July 17, 1936 to April 1, 1939. The war was a struggle of the Spanish people to defend their democratic rights and national independence. It also came to represent a struggle for all people around the world. The Jews played an important role after they came to understand that Fascism represented a great threat., 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. For Jews, the Fascist menace represented both political oppression and racist antisemitism. Thousands of Jews from 53 countries went to fight against Franco and Fascism. AJEX "For the first time since Fascism began systematically throttling and rending all we hold dear," wrote Gene Wolman, a volunteer from New York, "we are getting the opportunity to fight back." There were some Jews that went openly as Jews while others took aliases. On top of that thousands of Jews were active in solidarity campaigns, fund raising, and refugee rescue. AJEX

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. It is estimated that up to 25% of all the (IB) Fighters were Jewish. 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.

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
 * Canada
 * 71
 * Soviet Union
 * 53
 * }
 * Austro-Hungary
 * 120-150
 * Canada
 * 71
 * Soviet Union
 * 53
 * }
 * Soviet Union
 * 53
 * }

Notable figures

 * George Nathan - Chief of Staff XV International Brigade
 * Milton Wolff - commander Lincoln Battalion
 * Fernando Gerassi
 * Albert "Yank" Levy
 * Manfred Stern alias General Emilio Kléber.
 * Saul Wellman - political commissar Lincoln Battalion and Washington Battalion
 * Carlo Rosselli - headed the Matteotti Battalion
 * Jack Shulman - American activist
 * Valter Roman - Romanian politician
 * Abe Osheroff - American activist
 * Alfred Kantorowicz - Banned German writer (also known as Helmuth Campe)
 * Kurt Julius Goldstein - International Brigader, Holocaust survivor, author.
 * Lou Kenton British potter
 * Alfred Sherman - British journalist and adviser to Margaret Thatcher
 * Gershon Dua-Bogen

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 Thomas The Spanish Civil War, 2001.
 * Cecil Eby, Comrades and Commissars, 2006.
 * Albert Prago, ''Jews in the International Brigades in Spain, 1979.