The Battle for Spain Is Ours: Croatia and the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

More than just a bloody internal conflict, the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was an international struggle between the proponents of democracy, fascism, and communism on the eve of the Second World War. It polarized European societies, inspired volunteers from over fifty countries to flock to the battlefields, stirred the passions of the most famous artists and writers of the time, and created potent symbols still used by new generations of political activists. This book explores how Croatian society, engrossed in the struggle for political and national rights, drew lessons from the Spanish Civil War in a European atmosphere of instability characterized by the growth of radical politics.  Drawing upon unpublished archival documents, interviews, memoirs, and a wealth of contemporary newspapers, The Battle for Spain Is Ours provides an in-depth look at how the various political and social actors in Croatia reacted to the growing crisis over the war in Spain.  Appealing to scholars of Spanish, Yugoslav, as well as general European history, this is the first full-length study in English that describes the role of Yugoslav volunteers in the International Brigades and challenges the romanticized communist-era historiography.  Controversies such as Tito’s alleged missions in Spain, ongoing memory debates about the Spanish Civil War in the former Yugoslavia, and reflections on the parallels between the International Brigade volunteers and foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq make this a relevant and accessible analysis of an important but unjustly neglected episode of the 20th century.