I have been reflecting on two recent commentaries from the online edition of the New York Times, to which I have signed up for the daily op-eds. One was by Republican Senator John McCain, and it was not about the US presidential race. McCain eulogised the American volunteers who fought in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). The last American volunteer, Delmer Berg, who served in the International Brigades, died recently at the age of 100. The other piece is a review of Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939, by Adam Hochschild.
The Spanish Civil War was a nasty little war (little only by comparison to the world wars because half a million people died) and was seen as a dress rehearsal for World War II. Atrocities were committed by both sides.
In “Salute to a Communist”, published on March 24, McCain writes:
They fought on the Republican side, in defense of the democratically-elected leftist government of Spain, and against the Nationalists, the military rebels led by Gen. Francisco Franco. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
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