This summer it will be eighty years since the Spanish Civil War broke out. Despite the fact that hundreds of Dutch went to Spain to fight the fascist Franco, their actions and the civil war have largely disappeared from our history books.
In 1936, Hitler organized the Olympic Games in Berlin. Not everyone was happy with that and Barcelona planned the People's Olympiad, an alternative Olympic Games, in the same summer. But just before the People's Olympiad was due to begin, a coup d'état took place in Spain. The Nationalist army led by General Francisco Franco attacked the republican government from North Africa. This culminated in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
Civil war attracts Dutch
The politically turbulent 1930s are mainly etched in our collective memory as the rise of National Socialism and fascism in Germany and Italy, where Hitler and Mussolini came to power. But a civil war broke out in Spain that would end in a dictatorship under General Franco. In 1931, the Spanish republicans had convincingly won the municipal elections and demanded a republic. King Alfonso XIII fled because of the riots that started, which meant the end of the kingdom of Spain.
Tensions between left-wing and right-wing political supporters grew and five years later the bomb exploded. The left-wing republicans won the elections again, but the right-wing nationalists did not give up and staged a coup d'état. The fascist nationalists immediately received support in the form of weapons and troops from Hitler and Mussolini. In response, tens of thousands of foreign volunteers quickly reported to the Spanish Republicans, including many athletes and escorts who were in Barcelona for the alternative Olympics. The foreigners formed the International Brigade and were classified by language. It was difficult to follow orders if you didn't understand the language.
The Spanish Civil War received a lot of foreign attention, also in the Netherlands. It was the first war to be shown in the polygon news in the cinema. Between six and eight hundred inspired men and women then went to Spain. The men to fight fascism and the women to help as nurses, because of leftist ideals or humanity.
Fanny Schoonheyt was already living in Barcelona at that time and is the only Dutch woman who fought Franco. Yvonne Scholten, who has been working on the subject for years, wrote a book in 2011 about Schoonheyt, who was known in Barcelona as 'the queen of the machine gun'. But this woman was not the only one with a special story. Scholten has interviewed several Spain fighters over the years and wrote down their stories. (The last of the approximately seven hundred Dutchmen who fought in Spain died in 2010.)
Left Pisces
Who were the Dutch volunteers who went to Spain to fight? Yvonne Scholten:“These were mainly young men and women from left-wing political backgrounds, ie communists and socialists. But also (Jewish) German refugees who had sought refuge in the Netherlands. They had been given shelter with left-wing families and told the most terrible stories about the practices under Hitler. While most Dutch people still thought that the rising fascism abroad would not go so smoothly, these people thought otherwise. If Spain fell into fascist hands, Europe would be over.”
Most of the boys who came to Spain were from the lower classes and had never crossed the border before. In their letters they write not only about the battles, but also about the daily activities that occupied them in Spain. The Amsterdam bicycle mechanic and communist Christiaan van Veen, for example, writes:'We certainly drink Spanish wine here because there is more wine than water here and I washed myself with eau de cologne in the morning because there is no water.'
Some were also housed with civilians in Spanish villages and marveled at life there. However, due to language problems, communication with the Spaniards was minimal. Scholten:“But despite this, the Spaniards are written with much love and the reception they received from the Dutch.”
Back home
In 1938 the Spanish government dismantled the International Brigade and the Dutch fighters still in the country had to return home. Here they received a mixed reception. Scholten explains:“The left-wing Dutch welcomed the Spanish fighters with cheers, but the right-wing denounced them and mistook them for terrorists. If you read the messages in De Telegraaf from 1939, you will find terms such as 'dangerous types', 'bombers' et cetera. But there was certainly no general aversion to the fighters, as there is now among Syrians.”
The Spain fighters had a hard time after returning to their own country. Fighting for another power was forbidden by law, and they lost their nationality. Scholten:“This regulation was even tightened up in 1937, where fighting for Spain is explicitly mentioned. Back home this caused a lot of problems. Without nationality, they received no support, were not allowed to leave the country or work for the government. In addition, the names of the Spanish fighters were known to the Central Intelligence Agency (CID).”
When the Second World War broke out in 1940, this information came into the hands of the occupying forces. Since the Spain fighters had been fighting against Franco and his German ally, they were suspicious. “Many of them went into hiding and continued to fight against fascism in the resistance. For example, the first armed front in the resistance was formed by ex-Spain fighters.”
After the Second World War, the Cold War followed and continued. Anyone who was linked to communism was suspicious. Little by little, the Spanish fighters regained their nationality, but it was not until the 1970s that they were all rehabilitated. The Netherlands found communism a complicated subject to deal with and some Spain fighters also remained die hard communists.
Police interrogation
Scholten herself grew up in a communist family and she learned the hero stories about the Spanish warriors from an early age. What has always fascinated her is the human story behind the so-called heroes of her childhood. What moved them to fight in another country, far from home?
“It's the simple things that struck me during the research,” says Scholten. “For example, how the boys tried to reassure the home front in their letters, while everyone knew how dangerous it was there. How they saw their friends get shot, how they took part in Spanish life as best they could.”
Arend Haak, a farm boy from Emmen, for example, writes home:'We help to bring in the harvest here, while the fascists just trample it down'. Arend did not survive the Civil War. (The letter containing this quote has not yet been published.) The anti-fascist dock worker Jacob Heshof from Rotterdam left a very special insight to his family, namely a scrapbook with photos of his time in Spain:Scrapbook Spain warrior Jacob Heshof .
The letters are one of the sources that Scholten went through. They were in the National Archives, in the archives of the police and the judiciary. Scholten:“Once they returned, the police subjected all Spain fighters to an interrogation. I also found many confiscated letters here. For example, the police visited a mother of a Spain fighter, who handed over the letters of her fighting son.”
Other sources were the archive of the International Brigade and the interviews with Spanish fighters in the 1970s and 1980s. The fear of communism subsided and interest in the Spanish Civil War blossomed. The first Dutch book about the Spanish fighters was only published in 1986.
According to Scholten, knowledge about this Civil War is nil in the Netherlands, so the subject could use some extra attention. “What happened in Spain was the prelude to the Second World War. All the major themes and ideologies are in this civil war:communism against fascism, ideological enthusiasm and solidarity, but also betrayal and deep disappointment. It still works in Spain, in almost every novel there are references to this war.”
Since the launch in June, Scholten has already received several reactions and new information from relatives of Spain fighters. The investigation is far from over and the list of names is not yet complete. Scholten works with a group of volunteers who help with the collection of materials and the writing. There are now 700 names and 181 shorter and longer biographies on the site. But there is enough material for another 200 biographies.