Hammering the world into shape: Scottish volunteers in the International Brigades, 1936–9
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Date
02/07/2019Item status
Restricted AccessEmbargo end date
02/07/2020Author
Raeburn, James Fraser George
Metadata
Abstract
Over 500 Scots journeyed to Spain to fight on behalf of the Spanish Republic as
part of the International Brigades, alongside some 35,000 other foreign
volunteers. Their decision to personally intervene in the Spanish Civil War
placed these Scots at a crucial juncture in history. They formed part of the single
largest mobilisation of transnational foreign fighters in modern history,
represented the apex of interwar anti-fascist activism and posed a complex
security dilemma for the British state on their return. In examining the Scottish
volunteers’ decisions and their consequences, this thesis contends that existing
historical explanations of the International Brigades’ recruitment and
organisation have significant limitations. Crucially, previous accounts have
failed to appreciate the extent and importance of pre-existing social and
political networks among the volunteers, which were facilitated by Scotland’s
particular political cultures in the interwar period. Moreover, examination of
the Scots’ time in Spain sheds new light on the International Brigades
themselves, including their political organisation, the handling of dissent,
desertion and disaffection and the volunteers’ relationships with Spanish
civilians and conscripts. Finally, the post-civil war trajectories of the Scottish
volunteers indicate limitations to enduring popular and historical narratives of
their victimisation as ‘premature anti-fascists’ at the hands of the British state.