Spanish Civil War

[makattak]

Orwell has three volumes of memoirs and other papers, one of which covers his time in Spain. Great read, especially when you realize he was fighting for the Communists. Spain in the 30's was like Greece in the 1820's--all these European idealists flocked to it.

Where'd you get that information about Greece? As near as I can tell from my public education, history revolves solely around the North American continent from about 1730 onwards.

[Pach]

Many of the Americans who fought in Spain were not communists, but were anti-fascist and adventurers.  The unfortunate side effect of fighting the above mentioned brigades was that after WW2, many were classified as communists and were hounded by our government and some couldn't find any work.  A sad fate for those who served in our military during the war.

[Iain]

Digging this up because I'm slowly getting through the books I've bought. I should stop reading other books at the same time, or perhaps just read more...

Javier Cercas - Soldiers of Salamis.
Sort of a novel about novel writing. There is a historical event behind it, the escape from the firing squad of the Falangist poet Sanchez Mazas. Cercas tells that story, and then hangs it together with the tale of a Republican soldier. Difficult but beautiful, the story is more important than the absolute truth because the story is so beautiful. Little bit like McEwan's Atonement in this regard.

Laurie Lee - Red Sky at Sunrise
His autobiographical trilogy, covering the first 23 years of his life. The first book is the famous Cider with Rosie, and it is by far the most significant book of the three in general terms. A prose poem: "I was part of that generation, that by chance, saw the end of a thousand years of life." The last book 'A moment of war' describes his time in the pointless unpleasantness of the war, nearly being shot as a spy or deserter by his own side on three occasions. The paranoia of the increasingly communist dominated Republican side, the arrests made and the shots heard.

Land and Freedom - film by Ken Loach
Low budget but well made. Sadly and poignantly shows the defeat of the naive, underequipped and idealistic anarchists by their own side as the communists staged coup took over. Definitely worth watching.

[S. Williamson]

I'm trying to get hold of a good range of materials about the Civil War, and the effects on Spain to this day.

I've read, seen or got a hold of:  ... 'Pans Labyrinth'

Seems a bit of a stretch.  Good movie and all, but not sure how well it does on the whole "historical" aspect.

[Iain]

It feeds directly. Even if you ignore the way in which the mythology of the film may or may not be an allegory for a dying Spain, there are scenes of guerillas in the woods and the savagery of men who came to the fore in those days.

There are reasons why two of del Toro's most important works, Pan's Labyrinth and the Devil's Backbone are set in those times. Even if it is just because war makes a good, turbulent, backdrop for a story. Many stories are set, seemingly tangentially, in times of war because of the social upheavals involved, and that can tell you something about the nature of the conflict. Or just the impact on the conflict or the way the conflict was perceived. Historical accuracy isn't always everything in a work of fiction.