<< Lew wrote:
>In article <6f5f9425.244eb331 at aol.com>, MScoleman at aol.com writes
>>I understand the legal no-person's land, but then how did the Brigades
end up
>>in the Spanish Civil War? maggie coleman mscoleman at aol.com
>
>The volunteer Brigades were fighting for the democratically elected (and
>therefore legally constituted) Republic against the illegal
>insurrectionaries led by Franco.
Mark's response:
This was not the position of the US government upon the return of the
International Brigades. Because of their ties to the left, Americans who
fought in Spain were branded Premature Anti-Fascists (PAF) and suffered
various forms of discrimination, from not being allowed to serve in the US
armed forces during WWII to loss of employment, etc.
>>
Thanks, I thought there was a lot of controversy over the International Brigades, not the least of which was that they were sponsored by the American Communist Party. Also, didn't a larger percentage of those fighting in the brigades die from lack of training, etc.? maggie coleman mscoleman at aol.com