Many progressive Jews immigrating to Spain joined the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) to fight on the side of the Republicans against the fascist forces.
In France, as early as July 1936, the Yaskists (members of Yask, a sports association for progressive Jews who had immigrated) decided to join the Spanish Republican Army.
The first organized group of Jewish volunteers left Paris on August 8, 1936.
On October 22, at the initiative of the Communists, the International Brigades were formed. Volunteers from many countries were enlisted in France. Jews, both French and foreign, were among the first to be recruited. A Jewish Committee for Aid to Republican Spain was founded in Paris. It took charge of the new arrivals.
The recruitment and transportation of volunteers were carried out under the auspices of the M.O.I. (Main-d’Oeuvre Immigrée), which provided future fighters with political education on the anti-fascist struggle, drawing on the experiences of Jews who had immigrated to Eastern Europe.
Throughout the Spanish Civil War, progressive Jewish organizations in France regularly provided aid to Jewish combatants by sending supplies, clothing, and money.
On August 7, 1937, the first issue of the front-line newspaper *The Freedom Fighters* was published in Yiddish.
The Botwin Company, a specifically Jewish organization, was founded on December 12, 1937. The Jews wanted to show that they, too, were capable of fighting when it came to defending freedom and democracy. On December 30, the first issue of a second Yiddish front-line newspaper, *Botwin*, was published. Five more issues would follow.
Naïe Presse expresses its solidarity with the Spanish people.
The participation of Jews (approximately 8,000, spread across various brigades) in the Spanish Civil War against fascist forces stemmed from their commitment to the universalist and secular revolutionary ideal that inspired them. Many were killed.
The war ended in April 1939 with the victory of the fascists. The Republican fighters who had fled to France were herded into internment camps by the French government and would soon be handed over to the Nazis.
Reference:
– Diamant, David, 1979, Jews in the Spanish Republican Army, 1936–1939, Paris, Éditions du Renouveau.
– Cukier, Simon; Decèze, Dominique; Diamant, David; Grojnowski, Michel, 1987, Revolutionary Jews, Messidor/Éditions sociales.
