SPANISH SKY SPREADS ITS STARS : THE STORY OF THE THALMANN BATTALION AND THE
FIRST GERMANS IN ARMED STRUGGLE AGAINST FASCISM
By Ewald P. Schulz
International Brigade Commemoration Committee. 59 pages. £6
Reviewed by Jim Burns
The title of this small book is taken from a song composed for the Thalmann
battalion of the 11th International Brigade: “Spanish sky spreads
its stars/Over our trenches/And the morning already greets from afar/Soon
we’ll go out to fight again”. The music was written by Paul Desau, the
lyrics credited to Karl Ernst, a pseudonym for G.Kabisch, Desau’s wife. The
battalion took its name from that of Ernst Thalmann, head of the KPD (German
Communist Party), who had been arrested in 1933 when Hitler came to power.
He was killed in Buchenwald concentration camp in 1944.
The Thalmann battalion was largely formed from anti-Fascist Germans, some of
whom were already living in exile in Spain when the Civil War broke out in
July 1936. They initially formed two small units, the Grupo Thalmann which
fought with the Spanish Anarchist militia, and the Centuria Thalmann, the
larger of the two. There is a photograph of their banner in the book. When
the Communist Party decided to call for volunteers from around the world to
join the International Brigades, the Germans became an integral part of the
11th Brigade, the first to be formed. French, Polish, Austrian,
Dutch and other volunteers were also incorporated into the 11th
Brigade.
The German Battalion comprised approximately 4,000 men and women. Exact
numbers are always difficult to arrive at with regard to the Spanish Civil
War. Around 1,000 Germans were killed during the fighting. If my reading of
material relating to the war is anything to go by I would guess that quite a
few of those who did survive suffered a wound, of one kind or another.
It’s a fact that the Comintern, the international arm of the Russian
Communist Party, effectively controlled the International Brigades.
However, this did not mean
that every member of the Brigades was a communist. A figure of 60% to 70%
membership is quoted for the Germans, but it’s of interest to note
that Alois Weisberger, a miner individually profiled, was a member of the
Catholic Centre Party in Germany. He
was interned in France when the Spanish Republic collapsed in 1939, was
arrested by French police in 1943 and handed over to the Gestapo who sent
him to a concentration camp. He
survived the war.
The Thalmann battalion had participated in many of the leading battles of
the Spanish Civil War, from the defence of Madrid to Jarama, Guadalajara,
Brunete, Teruel, and the Ebro. When the International Brigades were
withdrawn in November, 1938 it was obviously impossible for German, Austrian
and Czech volunteers to return to their native countries. They were, in many
cases, still in Spain early in 1939, and helped cover the retreat of
remnants of the Republican Army, along with numerous civilians, into France,
where they were interned in makeshift camps.
What happened to them when war was declared in 1939? Some escaped from the
internment camps and joined Resistance groups. Others volunteered for the
French Foreign Legion. The unlucky ones still in internment were captured
and moved to concentration camps, where many died. A few who had managed to
get to Russia were treated with suspicion by Stalin and, according to the
book, “unjustly persecuted”.
And after the war? We are told that, in West Germany, Spanish Civil War
veterans were “regarded first and foremost as communists who were not to be
trusted.....Brigaders were often denied recognition as victims of fascism,
and suffered numerous disadvantages and repression in their professional and
private lives”. It seems that members of the Condor Legion, Hitler’s
contribution to Franco’s forces, “had their service time in Spain credited
to their retirement pay.....Needless to say they never faced any
disadvantages or persecution”. The situation in East Germany was different,
and veterans there were honoured and were active in the creation of the new
state.
Spanish Sky Spreads its Stars,
as well as what it says about Germans in Spain, also has an article about
Paddy McAllister, an Irish veteran of the International Brigades, and
another about Manus O’Riordan, described as “a champion of economic and
social justice”. His father fought in the Spanish Civil War. There are
photographs, a bibliography, and other relevant material.
It all adds up to a useful addition
to the story of the International Brigades in Spain.
The price of this publication is £6 plus £2.50 postage and it is available
from Lynda Walker at lyndaernest@btinternet.com