A judge in the Spanish city of Valencia has recently stripped former dictator Fransisco Franco of his title of ‘Honorary Mayor,’ awarded to him in May 1939. Compromis, a’s left-wing coalition, said that “To maintain this distinction for the top figure in the military uprising and subsequent dictatorship is a clear attack on the...
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A recent article by Canada's Time Colonist journalist Cory Ruf explores the history of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, its survivors, and how it has (not) been remembered.
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The brainchild of Englishman Rod Younger, Book4Spain offers Iberophiles one of the widest selections of books about Spain in the world.
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Patrick O'Connell not only led FC Barcelona to multiple victories, but allowed for half of the team to escape the horrors of the Spanish Civil War.
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The Canadian government recently opened a $2.5 million visitor's center in the house where Dr. Norman Bethune, the man who pioneered new medical techniques during the Spanish Civil War, was born.
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Abraham Lincoln Brigade veteran Harry Fisher's friend and translator Ulrich Kolbe was recently interviewed by In Defense of Marxism journalist Karl Belin about the affects of the Spanish Civil War on Fisher's life.
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English tour-guide Nick Lloyd teaches tourists and Spaniards Spanish Civil War history, filling important gap in Barcelona's Spanish Civil War education.
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A new play by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Nino Cruz pays tribute to Federico García Lorca, killed by fascist forces in the opening days of the Spanish Civil War.
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An Enigma machine used by Franco's forces in the Spanish Civil War has been given to the British Bletchley Park Trust.
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Though the Spanish Civil War left many physical and mental scars on Guernica, some citizens attempt to move forward through art.
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The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) is an educational non-profit dedicated to promoting social activism and the defense of human rights. ALBA’s work is inspired by the American volunteers of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who fought fascism in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). Learn more at our website or
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For an English translation of this article, see here.
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On May 30, 1937, the Republican freighter Ciudad de Barcelona was hit by a torpedo fired by a lurking Nationalist submarine. The torpedo tore a gaping hole in the ship and it rapidly sank. A Republican seaplane drove the submarine away with a depth charge attack, then landed and began rescuing men in the...
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Dr. Irving Busch (1896-1960), a graduate of Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, volunteered to serve in Spain with the American Medical Bureau. In Spain, he served with the Republican Medical Services. Both before and after Spain Busch was an amateur photographer and he carried his camera along with him. After his death...
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The picture of a young man in a jaunty hat and a big smile stared out of the 1978 issue of The Volunteer. The photo was accompanied by a request for information about Sidney Lorraine who died in Spain during the course of The Retreats. There is no evidence of any replies. Sidney Hotchkiss...
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Many American veterans went on to serve in WWII and Korea. This list is a work in progress. Those marked with an “*” were killed during the war. Office of Strategic Services Aalto, William Oliver WWII US Army, joined December 1941 served as 1st SGT transfer to OSS April 12, 1942; Dismissed after he...
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Eddie O’Neill was born in the same County Tyrone neighborhood as the poet Charlie Donnelly (1914-1937), who was killed in action at Jarama while serving as a platoon leader with the James Connolly Section of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion. Inspired by the sacrifice of his fellow countryman and fellow Irish Socialist Republican, Eddie set...
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“A prominent competitive player in the United States gave a series of lectures and played over famous games from the past. To hear him talking—in our squalid surroundings—with such knowledge about a game once played by Napoleon on the island of St. Helena, was an uplifting and inspiring experience.” In his memoir To...
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With the submission of the August batch freedom of information act (FOIA) requests ALBA will have filed for over 1,000 passport records of American volunteers. Due to the ongoing pandemic responses to the submissions have been minimal. However, we did receive three responses this week. This is only the second batch received in the...
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A short video of the graves visited in 2021. Memorial Day is the day traditionally set aside to remember Americans who served in the military. And, yet, Americans who went to Spain to fight fascism are rarely, if ever, included in the remembrances on this day. The Lincoln Battalion Memorial...
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Few things can improve the pleasure of longer days and warm weather the way a good book does. Whether soaking up the sun or chilling in the A/C, pick up one, or all five, of these non-fiction works that center on or have a connection to the Spanish Civil War. Dr. Ariel May...
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ALBA's project to provide a complete list of the more than 2,800 individuals who left from U.S. territory to fight with the Spanish Republic
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