‘Soldiers of Culture’ and their ‘Little Comrades’: The International Brigades and the Children of Civil War Spain, 1936–1939

• Published in: Contemporary European history 2024-05, Vol.33 (2), p.383-397
• Main Author: Pole, Adrian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-fascism; Children; Children & youth; Civil war; Culture; Fascism; Historians; Humanitarianism; Military personnel; The Contemporary European History Prize; Volunteers; War
• ISSN: 0960-7773; 1469-2171
• DOI: 10.1017/S0960777322000388

The volunteers of the International Brigades are well known for their participation in the battles of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), yet their encounters with the people, places and politics of Spain are yet to receive substantial attention from historians. This is the first interpretive analysis of their wide-reaching work with children, which spanned from the holding of fiestas to the establishment of costly homes. By considering these cross-cultural encounters, it highlights how they understood themselves to be members of a unified anti-fascist community in which Spanish children themselves had a key role to play. While these children were invariably regarded as the principal victims of ‘fascism’, they were also encouraged to take an active interest in the violent struggle of the Brigades as well as the building of an anti-fascist ‘New Spain’. Their own letters and drawings show the surprising extent to which the volunteers succeeded in their efforts.