by Desconhecido
This is what current evidence can tell us, but there is a larger question of truth. Whatever happened before, or during, the taking of that exact shot, Capa made a point of being close enough to the action to capture everything, even the moment of death. If it wasn’t this man at that moment, it might well have been another. He and Taro risked everything, gave everything, to be as close as possible to the action. Never before could the world get such an immediate, vivid image of the price of war. That is the enduring truth of this solider as he falls.
APPENDIX B
THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE DEATH OF OLIVER LAW
For those who see the fight to defeat Franco, particularly the service of the International Brigades, as an expression of idealism and heroism, the story of Oliver Law is especially powerful. That a committed African American led integrated troops in Spain—which had never taken place before in U.S. history—shows what the fight was all about. Law and his fellow soldiers gave their lives to combating racism and injustice. Yet just as with The Falling Soldier, there is a counterstory about Law’s death and a controversy over which tale to believe. As with everything about the Spanish Civil War, debates about matters of fact quickly become judgments of belief, trust, and politics.
Toward the end of his life, Paul Robeson tried to make a film about Law—in his eyes the perfect hero. The June 2009 issue of The Volunteer, a magazine founded by veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, tells the story of Robeson in Spain, including Oliver Law’s life and death, in a graphic novel [alba.valb.org].
But two veterans of the brigade who served with Law at Brunete later claimed that the heroic story was wrong. Law, they insisted, was killed by his own men, either because they did not accept being led by an African American or because he was so incompetent or reckless that only by eliminating him could they save their own lives. The sequence of claims and counterclaims was explored by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA). The veterans’ organization concluded that the two vets had become fervent anticommunists after learning of Stalin’s crimes. Perhaps for that reason they wanted to undermine the story of Law’s heroism and the triumph over racism that his leadership represented.
While ALBA’s article lists all the twists and turns of the debate, it is not entirely convincing. The fact that the killed-by-his-own-men accusation changed over time, and came in different forms, does not mean it was entirely invented. Both the veterans who told the heroic story and those who denied it were known to be truthful men. But there is also another factor to consider. Throughout the war the Soviets used the brigades as cannon fodder—driving them to exhaustion and putting them in positions to take extremely heavy losses. If Law, as the leading officer, risked too much in trying to take a hill from the enemy, he was being exactly the kind of leader the Soviets demanded. Rather than arguing over who killed Law, we might look at both stories as true: the idealism of the brigade gave him a chance to lead; the callous brutality of the Soviets made it likely he would die.
APPENDIX C
THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR AND THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR
As of this writing, the leader of Syria is Bashar al-Assad, whose father, Hafiz al-Assad, was in power from 1971 to 2000. The elder Assad was famously intelligent, crafty, and murderous. While his son was educated in the West, and many hoped he would begin a reform of his country, by 2011 a rebellion had broken out against his rigid regime. The government fought back and has been accused by the United Nations of using poison gas against its own people.
Should the world intervene in Syria? The situation in the country is dire. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed, and millions of Syrians have fled the country. This flood of vulnerable, desperate people has become a humanitarian crisis of its own. The only way to allow the people of Syria to live safely in their homeland is to end the war. The problem is that Assad is backed by Russia and Iran, who will block any effort in the United Nations to take strong action. And the fight against Assad is no longer reform-minded rebels against an oppressive government. In many parts of Syria, the most active and successful fighters are allied with the group that calls itself the Islamic State—a barbaric anti-Western terrorist organization. Indeed, as the civil war renders parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq ungovernable, the Islamic State has made itself into a kind of government.
If the West tries to support the fight against bloody Assad, it risks aiding the even more gruesome Islamic State. If the United States or Europe sides with Assad, it will be supporting a leader we have said must be removed for crimes against his own people. That is the state of the conflict as of this morning’s news. However the conflict eventually plays out, the situation in Syria has led many to look back to the Spanish Civil War.
In 1936, to allow Franco to win was to let Hitler grow stronger. To oppose Franco was to side with the equally murderous Stalin. And yet—now as in the late 1930s—when the world does nothing, the situation gets worse. The Islamic State has expanded and trained or inspired terrorists in many lands, including France and the United States. The fight in Syria is becoming a regional and even international struggle.
The choice between unappealing allies is not the only link between Syria and Spain. In Spain, when the Western powers refused to take a stand against fascism, volunteers came on their own. In Syria, as the great powers of the world are stalemated, the Islamic State actively recruits men and women to join its ranks. Of course, Syria is the reverse of Spain: instead of individuals risking everything to fight tyranny, an explicitly brutal regime brainwashes young people to kill and die for them. But there is a parallel: when the world community cannot act, global issues become personal choices. We seem to be reliving a nightmare version of another generation’s experiences.
There are two ways the story of Spain may help us think about Syria: nations chose not to be involved in Spain—preferring nonintervention to supporting one horrific murderer over another—and paid the price when a larger war followed. The longer Syria festers, the wider the area of conflict grows. History may not repeat itself—but perhaps it does issue warnings. At the very least, the similarities between Syria and Spain remind us that the past is not dead. Rather, it is there to give us a portrait, a model, of causes and consequences, choices and outcomes.
On a second, more hopeful and humanistic note, individuals who went to Spain made use of their talents to explore their experiences. Capa and Taro, Chim, Picasso, Neruda and Hughes, Hemingway and Orwell, and many others transformed tragedy into enduring art. Perhaps the pain of the Syrian war will bring new voices that all of us need to hear.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
INDIVIDUALS
PHOTOGRAPHERS
ROBERT CAPA (1913–1954), born André Friedmann, in Budapest, Hungary
HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON (1908–2004), born in Chanteloup-en-Brie, France; much-honored French photographer known for his idea that the photographer can capture the “decisive moment”
DAVID SEYMOUR CHIM (1911–1956), born David Syzmin, in Warsaw, Poland
ANDRÉ KERTéSZ (1894–1985), born in Budapest, Hungary; Robert Capa’s mentor, who eventually settled in New York City
FRED STEIN (1909–1967), born in Dresden, Germany; member of Capa and Taro’s circle in Paris; managed to reach New York, where he had a long career as a photographer
GERDA TARO (1910–1937), born Gerta Pohorylle, in Stuttgart, Germany
WRITERS, JOURNALISTS, NOVELISTS, POETS, MEMOIRISTS, AND ARTISTS
RAFAEL ALBERTI (1902–1999), Spanish poet who sided with the Republic, wrote heroic poems honoring the defense of Madrid, ran Casa de Alianza de Escritores Antifascistas with his wife, María Teresa León, and left the country while Franco was in power
TED ALLAN (1916–1995), Canadian writer who volunteered for the Republic in Spain; his memoir This Time a Better Earth is the key account of Taro during the battle of Brunete
JAY ALLEN (1900–1972), American journalist who covered Spain for the Chicago Tribune; favored Republic but interviewed Franco and oth
er rebel leaders; translated Capa’s captions in his book on Spain, Death in the Making
W. H. AUDEN (1907–1973), English poet who briefly volunteered in Spain during the Civil War; later became an American citizen and rejected his earlier leftist beliefs and poems
ARTURO BAREA (1897–1957), a Spaniard who worked as a censor for the Republic and wrote about his experiences in his memoir, The Forging of a Rebel
ALVAH BESSIE (1904–1985), American volunteer fighter for the Republic; his memoir Men in Battle tells that story; later he worked as a screenwriter but lost his job during the McCarthy period as one of the “Hollywood 10”
CLAUD COCKBURN (1904–1981), British journalist who covered Spain for the Daily Worker, a communist newspaper
VIRGINIA COWLES (1912–1983), American journalist who reported from Spain for several papers; she sought to be fair to both sides
JOHN DOS PASSOS (1896–1970), American writer who came to Spain to support the Republic after writing acclaimed pro-Left novels about America in the early twentieth century; dis-illusioned in Spain, he became increasingly conservative
MARTHA GELLHORN (1908–1998), American journalist who broke ground for female reporters in Spain and later during World War II; favored the Republic
ANDRÉ GIDE (1869–1951), French novelist and later Nobel Prize winner who became a communist but after visiting the Soviet Union in 1936 changed his mind; this shift upset defenders of Stalin and the Republic
JOSEPHINE HERBST (1892–1969), journalist and novelist, sympathetic to the Republic
ERNEST HEMINGWAY (1899–1961), American novelist who came to Spain to support the Republic; For Whom the Bell Tolls, his novel about the war, is an artistic triumph and brutally honest about both sides; he later won the Nobel Prize for literature
LANGSTON HUGHES (1902–1967), American poet who came to Spain as reporter for a Baltimore newspaper; wrote poems about the war
ALFRED KANTOROWICZ (1899–1979), German writer who served in the International Brigades and wrote about it in his Spanish War Diary; created a library of Nazi-banned books in Paris to combat the book-burning frenzy of the early 1930s
MARÍA TERESA LEÓN (1903–1988), Spanish writer and activist; helped save artworks in Madrid during the bombing; left Spain with her husband, Rafael Alberti, during Franco’s regime
FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA (1898–1936), leading Spanish poet and playwright executed by Franco’s men
HERBERT MATTHEWS (1900–1977), New York Times reporter, sympathetic to the Republic
JESSICA MITFORD (1917–1996), British aristocrat who went to Spain and married a cousin who had been in the International Brigades; later in America, she joined and then rejected the Communist Party
PABLO NERUDA (1904–1973), Chilean poet and later Nobel Prize winner who served as a diplomat in Spain for part of the war
GEORGE ORWELL (1903–1950), born Eric Blair, British writer who came to Spain as a fighter for the Republic; his memoir Homage to Catalonia is a model of clear writing and honest reporting; he went on to write Animal Farm and 1984
OCTAVIO PAZ (1914–1998), Mexican poet and later Nobel Prize winner who favored the Republic but lost faith in the cause when a friend was murdered by the communists
PABLO PICASSO (1881–1973), Spanish painter often considered the leading 20th century modernist
GUSTAV REGLER (1898–1963), German communist and friend of Hemingway’s who served as volunteer in Spain; his book The Great Crusade tells that story
STEPHEN SPENDER (1909–1995), British poet who came to Spain as a communist but later, when Stalin made his pact with Hitler, decided he had been wrong
ALEKSANDER SZUREK (1907–1978), Russian communist who served in Spain; his memoir Shattered Dream recounts that experience
MILITARY AND POLITICAL LEADERS IN SPAIN
FRANCISCO FRANCO (1892–1975), born in El Ferrol, Spain, leader of rebel forces, later ruler of Spain for thirty-six years
DOLORES IBÁRRURI (1895–1989), La Pasionaria, born near Bilbao, Spain, inspiring and devoted communist who rallied loyalist forces with her speeches; lifetime defender of Stalin
FRANCISCO LARGO CABALLERO (1869–1946), born in Madrid, prime minister of the Spanish Republic from September 1936 to May 1937
JUAN NEGRÍN (1894–1956), born in Canary Islands, prime minister of the Spanish Republic from May 1937 to March 1939
KEY POLITICAL LEADERS OUTSIDE OF SPAIN
LÉON BLUM (1872–1950), first Jewish premier of France; did not have political support to ally France with the Spanish Republic; survived two Nazi concentration camps
ADOLF HITLER (1889–1945), leader of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, responsible for at least seventeen million deaths through concentration camps, enforced marches, and executions
BENITO MUSSOLINI (1883–1945), leader of fascist Italy from 1922 until 1943; not as murderous as Hilter or Stalin, but his invasion of Ethiopia and use of poison gas cost thousands of lives
FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT (1882–1945), U.S. president from 1933 to 1945; only person to be elected president four times; did not have political support to lead the United States into an active role in European conflicts until after Pearl Harbor
JOSEPH STALIN (1879–1953), leader of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death; responsible for killing at least fifteen million people through enforced famines and executions
GROUPS
The names of the parties and factions, allies and enemies, involved in the Spanish Civil War can be confusing. Not only was there a seemingly endless set of competing groups within Spain, but the most general terms used for the main opponents reverse the meaning of words as they are typically used today. Here we both define the different sides and explain a bit about their positions.
THE POPULAR FRONT
Communists call their views “scientific socialism.” They believe that Karl Marx discovered the secret motor of human history: a series of revolutions that would inevitably lead to the triumph of the working people. The totally unexpected success of the communists who came to power in Russia in 1917 proved, according to them, that their “science” was perfect. They, and only they, knew where, when, and how to bring the people to power. Socialists, who shared their goals but disagreed with their analysis, were considered either fools or agents of the rich and powerful, seeking to hold back the sweep of history. Year after year, the communists saw the socialists as their prime enemies—competitors for the support and allegiance of workers and intellectuals.
This is like the splits within a religion: Catholics, Protestants, and Eastern Orthodox believers are all Christian but have fought terrible wars against each other. In Islam, Shia and Sunni are both Muslim but have long been strident enemies. This deep clash between people with similar ideas was the story of communism and socialism in the twentieth century. But in 1934, as Hitler rose to power in Germany, the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin hit upon a new policy. Communists were to work alongside socialists against their common enemies. In each country, a new coalition called the Popular Front would unite all on the left and bring them to power—then sort out their differences later.
All across Europe—in France, in England, in Spain—and even in America, those on the left had to choose: join the Popular Front or be seen as an ally of the forces of death and darkness. This was not just a choice of allies—it was a moment of hope: the Left, united, marching together, winning elections, challenging big business, could sweep to victory. The new party slogan in the U.S. was “Communism is twentieth-century Americanism.” But everyone also knew that the ultimate communist plan was to undermine and eliminate their current, and temporary, allies.
THE TWO MAIN OPPONENTS IN SPAIN
ON THE LEFT: LOYALISTS, REPUBLICANS
The elected government of Spain. As in France, the Popular Front united socialist, communist, anarchist, and moderate liberal groups. Together they barely won the election of 1936 and came into power as the governing coalition of Spain’s Second Republic. Ever since th
e early 1800s, Spain had been in turmoil, with one kind of government soon overturned and replaced by another. Spain shifted among a king or queen ruling alone, a monarch with a strong parliament, a military ruler, or an elected parliament with no king. The first attempt at a government without a king lasted less than a year, between 1873 and 1874. When King Alfonso XIII fled the country in 1931, a second republic was declared. Those who agreed with the ideas and ideals of the Popular Front believed they were fighting to preserve a legally elected government against what today might be called terrorists or insurgents. Thus the term loyalist meant defender of the Republic and, at the same time, being sympathetic to the moderate, extreme, or even revolutionary Left. The name Republican, which is also used, has nothing in common with the Republican political party in America.
ON THE RIGHT: REBELS, FASCISTS, NATIONALISTS
General Francisco Franco came to head an alliance of groups fighting against the government, against the Left, against anarchists, unions, socialists, and communists. While today a “rebel” might often be seen as some form of radical seeking to bring down a conservative government, in Spain the rebels saw themselves as cleansing the country of radicals in order to establish strong central power in support of tradition and the Catholic Church.