4
THE VOLUNTEER, WINTER 1997-98
Scholars take a new look at
the SCW at Lausanne conference
by Peter Carroll
T
he internationalism of the
Spanish war surfaced again last
December when 30 historians from
around the world met at the
University of Lausanne in Switz-
erland to discuss the comparative
experiences of the volunteers in the
International Brigades (IBs). Based
on research in the separate national
archives, as well as the Communist
International records in Moscow, the
papers explored common denomina-
tors and differences among the vari-
ous groups who contributed to the
40,000 men and women who formed
the International Brigades. Major
papers also examined the role of the
Comintern in Spain, provoking dis-
agreements among participants about
the extent of Communist control in
Spain.
Coming from Austria, Belgium,
Britain, Canada, Costa Rica, France,
Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy,
Morocco, Poland, Spain, Switzerland
and the United States, the historians
presented detailed studies about the
social composition of the IBs.
Representing current U.S. research
were ALBA's Fraser Ottanelli (Italian
American Antifascist Volunteers in
the Spanish Civil War), Hwei-ru Ni
and Len Tsou (Chinese and Other
Asian Volunteers in the International
Brigades), who brought along slides,
and Peter Carroll (Volunteers for
Liberty: The Demographics of the
Abraham Lincoln Battalion).
Summaries of the papers will appear
in future issues of The Volunteer.
The three-day conference
involved a combination of lectures,
discussions and workshops. Although
there were a few surprises about the
makeup of the IBs, the main thrust of
the presentations was the comparison
of different national experiences. For
example, the average age of the vol-
unteers appeared remarkably consis-
tent -- about 28 or 29 -- whether
they came from Switzerland, France
or the United States. Canadians,
according to a report by sociologist
James McCrorie, were slightly older.
And the overwhelming proportion
were between the ages 25-35. Most
were unmarried though among the
Swiss volunteers a significant number
(6.6 percent) were divorced and over
35 percent had children. By contrast,
80 percent of U.S. volunteers had
never married and few left children
behind to go to Spain.
Political composition
Other areas of similarity involved
the political composition of the
brigades. Communist Party member-
ship varied slightly among national
groups. French party membership
reached 80 percent, but Swiss
Communists comprised 60 percent
and many appeared to have joined the
party in order to get to Spain. U.S.
party affiliation was about 65 percent.
These statistics led to major
disagreements about the role of the
party in Spain. Several papers by
French, Swiss and German scholars
emphasized the Stalinist nature of
leadership in the IBs and argued
that critics like George Orwell were
vindicated by current research. But
many historians who have worked
in national archives (as well as the
M o s c o w r e c o r d s ) i n s i s t e d t h a t
C o m i n t e r n p o l i c y w a s e n f o r c e d
unevenly in Spain and many took
the opportunity to question Orwell's
reportage. As IB veteran Michael
O'Riordan of Dublin put it, refer-
ring to Orwell's service as a police-
m a n i n B u r m a : " O n c e a p r i e s t
always a priest, once a policeman
a l w a y s a p o l i c e m a n . " B i l l
Alexander, veteran of the British
B a t t a l i o n , e m p h a s i z e d h o w t h e
problems of war obviate the imposi-
tion of any political ideology.
Many of the papers explored the
diverse homecomings of IB veterans
after 1939. When Hungary refused to
permit volunteers to return home,
most became internees in southern
France, but some, including Hun-
garian Jews, signed up to work in
German labor camps to get closer to
home and eventually made their way
back to Hungary. Meanwhile, Swiss
veterans faced judicial trials for vio-
lating national laws of non-interven-
tion and received jail sentences aver-
aging four months, with some as long
as four years. The Paris historian
Peter Carroll, author of the 1994
Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln
Brigade is ALBA's chair and CEO.
SCHOLARS AT LAUSANNE: (L-R) Nancy Tsou, Peter Carroll and Fraser Ottanelli.
Len Tsou
Continued on page 15
