The new Henri Cartier-Bresson box set reviewed in the New York Times:
Two films made as fund-raisers for the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War, “Victory of Life” (1937) and “Spain Will Live” (1938), make a provocative contrast with two documentaries made for CBS News on American life in 1969...
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In an interview with Radio Nederland Wereldomroep, the Chilean judge who tried Augusto Pinochet defends Baltasar Garzón's attempt to investigate crimes against humanity committed under Francoism.
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An NYT editorial today:
The real crimes in this case are the disappearances, not Mr. Garzón’s investigation. If, as seems likely, these were crimes against humanity under international law, Spain’s 1977 amnesty could not legally absolve them. The suspected perpetrators are all dead, and Mr. Garzón long ago halted his...
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Lisa Abend writes from Madrid:
Charged with knowingly overreaching his jurisdiction when he opened an investigation into another dictator's crimes — in this case, Spain's Francisco Franco — Garzón has been suspended from his job while he awaits the start of his criminal trial.
The charges against...
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Yet another removal of a statue of the dictator, this time from the city of Valencia. More here.
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Just in from the AP:
MADRID — The Spanish judge who indicted Augusto Pinochet and Osama bin Laden has been charged with abuse of power in an investigation of Spanish civil war atrocities. Spanish Supreme Court investigating magistrate Luciano Varela has charged Baltasar Garzon with knowingly acting without jurisdiction by launching...
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The Center for European Studies at the University of Michigan has streaming audio and video of five hour-long lectures on Spain's coming to terms with its violent past, including one by ALBA board member Jo Labanyi.
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Six selections of compelling images from the 1930s at Magnum.
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An informative piece from In These Times on the political dimensions of the rivalry between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid:
For more than 100 years, Barca has conducted itself as a “defender of freedom and democratic rights,” On April 11, Barca will face its fiercest rival, Real Madrid....
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An interesting essay on possible parallels between Republican Spain and Thailand today, in the Asia Times:
Some foreign observations, reporting and analyses suggest the conflicts in Thai politics that are now being voiced on the streets of Bangkok are of the kind that brought many foreigners to the war against...
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New information about the New Zealand-born Spanish Civil War surgeon Doug Jolly (1904-1983) has emerged following the recent publication of his biography, Frontline Surgeon.
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On September 24, 1945, Dr. Barsky delivered this speech during the Spanish Refugee Appeal rally at Madison Square Garden.
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In 1944, Barsky wrote A Surgeon Goes to War, an 18-chapter memoir of his time in Spain, which was never published but can be consulted at NYU’s Tamiment Library. This is the first chapter.
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Self-effacing and shy though he was, Dr. Edward Barsky’s experience in Spain made him an outspoken activist, tireless organizer, innovative frontline surgeon, and political prisoner. “Eddie is a saint,” Hemingway wrote. “That’s where we put our saints in this country—in jail.”
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The Volunteer is thrilled to honor Dr. Barsky on the fiftieth anniversary of his death.
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For Edward Barsky, political and humanitarian activism were two sides of the same coin. Those who persecuted him begged to differ.
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The time she spent in civil-war Spain loomed large in the life of Martha Gellhorn, the St. Louis-born war journalist. “The truth is that Martha could not stop thinking, feeling, and writing about her Spanish experiences.” “Objectivity bullshit.” That’s what Martha Gellhorn (1908-1998) called the journalism of her day. Her letters to personalities like...
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Among the thousands of Jewish volunteers who joined the International Brigades were many descendants of the Sephardim. What was it like for them to “return” to Spain? Three case studies: Lini de Vries, César Covo, and Samuel Nahman, aka Manny Harriman.
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How the 22-year-old Jewish American dancer Janet Riesenfeld performed flamenco to help raise money for the Second Republic under fascist attack.
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Why did Jawaharlal Nehru, future prime minister of India, visit civil-war Spain in 1938? As it turned out, the triangular relationship between Britain, Spain, and India had deep cultural and geopolitical implications.
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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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