Tapping new sources for the first time, this must surely be
considered the definitive work on Americans who fought and died for
the Spanish Republic. Historian Carroll (It Seemed Like Nothing
Happened, 1982, etc.) examines the trajectory of the 3,000
Americans who fought during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). Though
they were often called "The Abraham Lincoln Brigade," this
appellation, he notes, is not strictly correct. The first Americans
to aid Republican Spain served in the Abraham Lincoln battalion of
one of the International Brigades (composed of non-Spaniards), but
this was only a fraction of all US volunteers. Still, the moniker
gained currency to refer to all Americans who fought for the
Republic. Carroll broadly traces the motivations of those who
volunteered. Most, but not all, were Old Left Communists (the first
detachment of Americans was recruited on the instructions of
Moscow) who signed up to save a beleaguered socialist ally. Some
felt that American democratic ideals were at stake as Fascists
under Franco sought to overthrow the duly elected Socialist Popular
Front. About one third of the volunteers were Jews, aware early on
of the perils of Fascism. For all, Carroll says, the war became the
most significant event of their lives. Carroll examines not only
the battles (from the Americans' first appearance, when they were
mistaken for Russians and saved Madrid from being overrun by
Royalist Fascists) but also the soldiers' homecomings and their
years as veterans. Many went on to aid US intelligence against the
Fascists in the early days of WW II despite an order of neutrality
from Russia. The story is brought down through their political
activities of the McCarthy era and to the present day. With access
to previously unattainable archives in Moscow and using extensive
interviews and written material, Carroll tells a magnificent tale
of hope, idealism, heroism, honor, death, and betrayal. (Kirkus
Reviews)
For over half a century, the history of the Abraham Lincoln
brigade-the 2,800 young Americans who volunteered to fight for the
Spanish Republic against General Francisco Franco's rebellion in
1936-has been shrouded in myth, legend, and controversy. Now, for
the fist time, we have a comprehensive, objective, and deeply
researched account of the brigade's experience in Spain and what
happened to the survivors when they returned to the United States.
(About one-third of the volunteers died in Spain). The book is
largely based on previously unused sources, including the newly
opened Russian archives, and more than 100 oral histories. The
author charts the volunteers' motivations for enlisting in the
fight against Spanish fascism and places their actions in the
context of the Depression era. The battleground experiences of the
brigade have never before been depicted in such vivid detail, and
such battles as Jarama, Belchite, and the Ebro come alive in the
participants' words. The author uses the military aspects of the
war to illuminate such related issues as the influence of political
ideology on military events and the psychology of a volunteer army.
He also closely examines the role of the Communist party in the
conduct of the war, including the "Orwell question"-allegations of
a Communist reign of terror in Spain-and investigates the alleged
racial problems within the brigade, the first fully integrated
military unit in American history. The book continues the saga of
the brigade by relating the problems of the surviving volunteers
with the U.S. Army during World War II; their opposition to the
Cold War, the Vietnam war, and U.S. intervention in Central
America; the persecution during the Red Scare of the 1950s; and
their involvement with the civil rights movement.
General
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