The Etkar André battalion of the International Brigades.
British Battalion banner
Many non-Spaniards, often affiliated with radical communist or socialist entities, joined the International Brigades, believing that the Spanish Republic was a front line in the war against fascism. The units represented the largest foreign contingent of those fighting for the Republicans. Roughly forty thousand foreign nationals fought with the Brigades, though no more than 18,000 were entered into the conflict at any given time; they claimed to represent 53 states.[99]
Significant numbers of volunteers originated in France (10,000), Germany and Austria (5,000) and Italy (3,350). More than 1,000 came from the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Canada.[99] The Thälmann Battalion, a group of Germans, and the Garibaldi Battalion, a group of Italians, distinguished their unit during the Siege of Madrid. Americans fought in units such as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, while Canadians joined the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion.[100]
Over five hundred Romanians fought on the Republican side, including Romanian Communist Party members Petre Borilă and Valter Roman.[101] About 80 volunteers from Ireland formed the Connolly Column, the latter of which was immortalized by Irish folk singer Christy Moore in the song 'Viva La Quinta Brigada.' Some Chinese joined the Brigades; the majority of them eventually returned to China, while some went to prison or French refugee camps, and a handful remained in Spain.[102]
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ok....so it would be a bit different, no "action" committees, no seminars, they wouldn't be able to approach the syrian soldiers with their cameras and threaten them with int'l courts of law, follow them around where ever they go, throw stones, confident that at best they will get tear gas in return, and then go back to a safe apartment, again confident that their foreign passport will protect them...and then go back home to tell a few "hero" stories to the friends....
once upon a time, the left not just believed in their philosophy but were willing to sacrifice their lives to establish it....the iranians have been orphaned, the tunisians, the egyptians and now the syrians....all opportunities for the western left to support the establishment of new govts with their values of civil rights by actually going to those places and helping their comrades with their common belief....or so i once believed.
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