Poland’s Shloyme Yankev had not had an easy life. “When I heard Hitler say that the Jews had to be liquidated, I knew I had to do something, but I couldn’t do much,” he said. In his country he was a Semite; a plague chased by the police. But everything changed shortly after. «When I found out about the fight in Spain I went there. In Spain I was someone. “I was part of an army, we were fighting.” The testimony of this doctor is one of many – dozens – that can be enjoyed, starting this December 12, in the new exhibition hosted by the Sefarad-Israel Center of Madrid: ‘For your freedom and ours. The Jews in the International Brigades’.
Because yes, there were many Jews who arrived to the peninsula to fight in the Civil War: between 8,000 and 10,000, according to estimates. And because yes, they have passed by in the history books, buried by the maelstrom of the Spanish conflict. For all these reasons, the Sefarad-Israel Center has joined forces with the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation to give them their just recognition.
A total of five rooms that cover from the arrival of the first combatants to the peninsula back in 1936, until the departure in October 1938 of the International Brigades across the Catalan border. Two years of hardships that now surface.
The exhibition begins with a colossal snapshot that shows a crowd with its hands raised and a swastika on its chest. The commissioner, Almudena Cruz Yábar, says that it is “somewhat strong”, but necessary to understand the context. “It is Nuremberg, in 1933. After Hitler came to power, more than three thousand Jews moved to Barcelona to get away from danger and even try to cross the pond,” he maintains. Many others crossed the border to Catalonia to participate in the Popular Olympics that the Second Republic was going to celebrate between July 22 and 26, 1936. Some of them were the first to enlist to fight the self-proclaimed National Army after the outbreak of the coup. of State.
Lost fights
The exhibition collects the history of some of the athletes who fought. One of them, a certain Minsk, left testimony of this: “I was made a member of the International Group that was formed the next day, composed almost exclusively of Polish Jews and German Jews.”
Most of them fought in what was one of the first battles of the Civil War: the defense of Irun by republican units to maintain communication with the south of France. An infinite number of Jews worked from August 27 to September 5 in northern Spain. It was of little use, since the rebellious army took the city after some fierce clashes.
And from there, to massive recruitment to fight in these parts. An international call that brought to the peninsula fighters such as the Polish Joseph Epstein – a member of the French Communist Party and, in the end, a prominent military leader – or Remigio Maurovich, the first Istrian brigadier to fall during the conflict. Cruz places the emphasis on women, those forgotten ones who also crossed the border to confront the National Army, and points out the sign of Esther Zilberberg. The text is clear: «He participated in the Health of the International Brigades. During the war he showed great bravery. After the death of a companion, she took her position as a machine gunner, being injured in the battle of Villarreal.
More than battles
The characters are infinite, although the number of units formed exclusively by Jews is not. One of the few that we are aware of also has its place in the exhibition: the Botwin Jewish Unit either Naftali-Botwin Jewish Company. Its history began on December 12, 1937, when it was formed within the 13th International Brigade and was named after a well-known activist. From then on they became popular thanks to their newspaper – ‘El combatiente por la libertad’ – and their brave actions in the battles of Belchite and the Ebro. They must have performed well, because they were recognized with the Medal of Valor from the republican government.
But not everything is brigades with rifle and bayonet. In addition to the soldiers, the exhibition also covers the lives of some journalists and writers. These include Margaret Michaelis and Kati Horna. The first documented the social revolution at its peak; The second stood out for taking snapshots that crossed borders and were published in international magazines such as the British Weekly Illustrated.
In any case, both the combatants and a good part of the reporters were forced to leave Spain in 1938, when the war began to come to an end. The exhibition also remembers those moments through Juan Negrín’s farewell speech. And, as a culmination, it focuses on the recent laws that have fought for the integration of Jews within our borders.
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