Thursday, March 31, 2016

THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE - VOLUNTEERS, MAINLY JEWISH - FOUGHT FASCISTS IN SPAIN TO STOP HITLER


As Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has catapulted the issue of fascism into the mainstream U.S. political realm, we turn to best-selling author Adam Hochschild, who has just written a remarkable, sweeping history of the Spanish Civil War. 

The book is called "Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939." It tells the story of how the Spanish Civil War captivated the world with volunteers flooding to Spain to bolster the democratic government's efforts to stave off a fascist uprising led by Francisco Franco and aided by Hitler and Mussolini. 

Some 2,800 Americans went to Spain as volunteers in the fight against fascism, and nearly a quarter of them perished there. The Americans were known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. 

After two-and-a-half years of fighting, the fascists were able to declare victory on April 1, 1939. World War II began shortly afterward. 

Adam Hochschild is the author of eight books, including "King Leopold's Ghost," "To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918" and now "Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939."

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