History of the Second World War

While the Spanish Civil War was Spanish in both origin and participation, there would be both diplomatic and military involvement from other nations around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of our Spanish Civil War Interview Series I was joined by Ed Packard from the Basque Children Association. We discussed the story of the 4000 children that were brought to Britain in 1937. These children came to Britain at a time when their homes and their families were in serious danger, and their story is a mixture of fascinating and heartbreaking. If you want to learn more you go go to basquechildren.org, which I have included a link for in the show notes and on the podcast's website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Madrid was the capital of Spain, and with its location in the center of the Iberian peninsula it was within striking distance of a nationalist advance. Capturing the city would be a huge political victory for the Nationalists, and so it would be the site of one of the first major battles of the Civil War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of our Spanish Civil War Interview Series I was joined by Alexander Clifford to discuss the International Brigades which would be such an important part of the Spanish Civil War. These groups of international volunteers would bolster the Republican cause, both from a public relations perspective as well as on the battlefields of Spain. We discussed why these individuals chose to go to Spain, what they experienced during their time fighting in the war, and their view of the war when it was over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of our Spanish Civil War Interview Series I was joined by Harry Taylor, a PhD researcher who focuses on the reaction of Britain to the Spanish Civil War. Harry has done a lot of research into information like how the Civil War was portrayed in British newspapers and the grassroots efforts to try and assist those experiencing hardship in Spain. We talked about many different topics, including milk tokens, a very ingenious way of bringing awareness to the public and of raising money for powdered milk to send to Spain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we will discuss how the Republican zone of control was organized and some of the disagreements between the various factions. As these disagreements will be an essential theme of this entire series of episodes, this will not be the last time we discuss it. We will also end this episode with some discussion of the role of women within the Republic, and how that participation differed from the gender expectations before the war, and also how the Nationalists used that difference as part of their propaganda campaign. A few of the interviews will also focus on this topic, with some excellent individuals who are far more knowledgeable about the subject than I am. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of our Spanish Civil War Interview Series I was joined by Dr. Ariel Lambe from the University of Connecticut to discuss her book No Barrier Can Contain It: Cuban Antifascism and the Spanish Civil War as well as her ongoing researching into Cuban antifascism in the period surrounding the Spanish Civil War. My conversation with Dr. Lambe was fascinating, and provided unique insight into events in Cuba before and after the Civil War, and how those events were both related to events in Spain and uniquely Cuban. Cuba was in a somewhat unique position given its colonial past and its continuing connections with Spain and its rich history. We also discussed the somewhat unique role that Cuban volunteers in Spain would play due to their bilingual and international nature. One of the topics that I knew nothing about that we touched on near the end of our interview was the effects that the civil war had on the political situation within Cuba, and how it played a role in altering the course of Cuban history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We check in with the leadership situation in the aftermath of the coup, and then discuss the violence of the opening months of what was rapidly becoming a civil war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of our Spanish Civil War Interview Series I was joined by Dr. Morris Brodie. One of the major reasons I wanted to do this interview series was to talk to people who had done research into the reactions of people outside of Spain to the events occurring within Spain. It can be challenging to research this myself given the scale of the world, and I was very excited with Dr. Brodie agreed to do the interview. Dr. Brodie is the author of Transatlantic Anarchism During the Spanish Civil War and Revolution, 1936-1939: Fury Over Spain which discusses the anarchist movements in Britain, Ireland, and the United States before and during the Spanish Civil War. This will be just the first of several interviews in which we discuss how various groups around the world viewed the Spanish Civil War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of our Spanish Civil War series I chatted with Dr. Danny Evans. Some of our previous interviews in this series revolved around Anarchism, and this time I discussed the Anarchist movement during the Civil War. We discussed the preparedness of the Anarchist groups for the war, their reactions to the start of the conflict, and then many of the political developments that occurred within the Republican camp as the Civil War developed. One topic that we discuss, that I think is worth reiterating here before the episode begins is that it can be easy to categorize people into certain political ideologies based on their self-categorization or due to the groups that they belong to. However, when looking at historical individuals or movements, it is far more important to look not at their statements or titles, but instead at their actions. This is true for Communists like we discuss in this episode, but can also be applied to many other groups at almost any time in history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices