Explaining History Podcast

International Brigades

Explaining History Podcast

International Brigades

Reading time:

1–2 minutes

Full Description

Volunteer military formations that fought for the Spanish Republic during the Civil War (1936–1939). Approximately 35,000 volunteers from over fifty countries joined the Brigades, organised by the Communist International (Comintern). The Brigades played a significant role in the defence of Madrid in November 1936. Their members included writers, intellectuals, and committed communists alongside idealistic non-communists; many, including George Orwell (who joined the POUM, not the Brigades), were disillusioned by Communist Party tactics in Spain.

Critical Perspective

The International Brigades represented one of the last expressions of a genuinely internationalist left, but they also served as instruments of Soviet policy in Spain. The NKVD used its control over Communist-aligned forces to suppress anarchist and dissident Marxist (POUM) factions, executing their leaders in what amounted to a mini-purge on Spanish soil. George Orwell’s *Homage to Catalonia* recorded this process from the inside, producing one of the twentieth century’s most important anti-Stalinist texts.

Explaining History

Explaining History Podcast

For more than a decade, the Explaining History Podcast has helped listeners around the world make sense of modern history. What began in 2012 as a simple experiment—short, accessible episodes explaining major historical events—has grown into a long-running library of carefully researched, thoughtful explorations of the 20th and 21st centuries.

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