The Little World War

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When it comes to recent history, the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) has been overshadowed by the cataclysm that immediately followed it: World War II. But at the time, this conflict between Republicans, led by Communists and Socialists, and right-wing Nationalists, led by General Francisco Franco, attracted international attention. (In 1937 Time magazine even described the conflict as a “Little World War.”) The battle for Spain became simplified into a battle between two political movements: communism vs. facism.

The Spanish Civil War documents in Special Collections highlight the dual nature of the conflict: it was a period of much destruction and cruelty but also an inspiring time for those who saw the Republican movement as a true revolution of the people. The documents also highlight the very international nature of the conflict. About 40,000 people from more than 50 countries came to fight for the Republicans as part of the International Brigades; about 3,000 Americans served in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion. Special Collections shows the diversity of those Americans who made the trip to Spain. The letters that Joe Dallet, an American labor activist, wrote to his wife are collected in Letters from Spain, published after he died in battle in 1937. The Negro Committee to Aid Spain published the booklet A Negro Nurse in Republican Spain. The library also has memoirs from fighters and observers who came to Spain from all over the world: Scotland, Morocco, Latvia, Finland, Australia and even Peru.

After the slogan "No pasarán!" ("They shall not pass!") became a Republican rallying cry, it inspired a popular song of the same name; Special Collections has a copy of the song published in Amsterdam in 1938, with the Dutch title "Zij komen er niet door."

But as with any war, the reality of the battlefield left deep scars. Writers Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell were both affected by what they saw in Spain and wrote about the conflict later. Colorful, flashy posters may have presented an inspirational face to the world, but those images hid immense suffering. Special Collections is full of eyewitness reports of attacks and atrocities. A 1937 report by British doctors warned that 1 million Spaniards faced the risk of famine. They Still Draw Pictures! published by the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization, is a collection of drawings made by Spanish children during the war; proceeds went to support the so-called “Children’s Colonies,” where evacuated children were taken to keep them safe from the fighting. One picture, drawn by a 12-year-old, is titled simply “Scenes of evacuation.” It shows an ox-drawn cart pulling away from a village as planes stream overhead. Looking through those pictures of bucolic country towns juxtaposed with images of battle brings home the effect of the Spanish Civil War on everyone, regardless of nationality or age. — E.C.B.