Thomas Wintringham became the commanding officer of the British Battalion in the International Brigades during the Battle of Jarama; he wrote a book about his experiences in the Spanish Civil War which is more than memories are usual because it offers original points of view about it and a real image of his complex personality. His very hectic life was affected by this experience such as his left-wing political belief —from dogmatic communism to Labour Party—. His Spanish adventures marked him for ever and this event and this book turned him into one of the most important British military intellectuals. 26 (2008): HISTORIA DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS, Varia Cómo citar Artículos más leídos del mismo autor/a Resumen Thomas Wintringham llegó a ser jefe del Batallón Británico de las Brigadas Internacionales en la batalla del Jarama; sobre su experiencia en la Guerra Civil española, escribió un libro que es mucho más que unas memorias al uso al ofrecer aspectos originales de análisis e interpretación de la misma y un reflejo de su compleja personalidad. Tanto su agitada vida como su trayectoria política de izquierdas —que fue desde el comunismo más estricto al laborismo— quedarían marcadas para siempre por su intervención en España y este hecho y esta obra le convertirían en uno de los mayores expertos teóricos militares ingleses de todos los tiempos. Palabras clave: Thomas Wintringham, Brigadas Internacionales, Guerra Civil, memorias, expertos teóricos militares Descargas La descarga de datos todavía no está disponible. Detalles del artículo × Cómo citar Arias González, L. (2011). El English Captain de Thomas Wintringham (1939). Memoria y olvido de un Brigadista Británico. Studia Historica. Historia Contemporánea , 26 .

The International Brigades (Spanish: Brigadas Internacionales) were volunteer soldiers organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Brigades existed for two years, from 1936 until 1938. It is estimated that during the entire war, there were some 32,000 Brigaders, yet at no single momen T… Probably in no country of the world did the International Brigades combatants enjoy the prestige comparable to that bestowed on them in East Germany. Though after 1945, they were celebrated in all communist states as freedom fighters against fascism, their position was secondary and the official narrative centred upon other threads, e.g. the USSR-raised army in Poland, the Slovak National Uprising in Czechoslovakia, or the partisan quasi-state in Yugoslavia. No such narrative was available in the case of East Germany, whose “communist government found itself without historical roots beyond the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe and turned the heroism of the Spanish Civil War fighters into the myth that became a central focus of the German Democratic Republic”. Factional purges of the early 1950s affected German veterans (e.g. the cases of Franz Dahlem or Wilhelm Zaisser) far less than e.g. in Czechoslovakia, though some “Brigaders faced an uncertain existence as they navigated the tortuous political hairpin curves of life under Stalinism and the continual and often critical need for political realignment”. No deviation from official line was allowed; the portrait of IB as in For Whom the Bell Tolls was considered unacceptable and the novel remained black-listed until the late 1960. Like in other communist countries, the IB veterans – usually referred to as Spanienkämpfer – were overrepresented in power structures. They took three of the most important military posts: Heinz Hoffmann as commander of Nationale Volksarmee, Erich Mielke as head of Ministry for Security, a The International Brigades (Spanish: Brigadas Internacionales) were volunteer soldiers organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Brigades existed for two years, from 1936 until 1938. It is estimated that during the entire war, there were some 32,000 Brigaders, yet at no single moment were there more than 18,000 actually deployed. Beyond the Spanish Civil War, "International Brigades" is also sometimes used interchangeably with the term foreign legion in reference to military units comprising foreigners who volunteer to fight in the military of another state, often in times of war. The headquarters of the brigade was located at the Gran Hotel, Albacete, Castilla-La Mancha. They participated in the battles of Madrid, Jarama, Guadalajara, Brunete, Belchite, Teruel, Aragon, and the Ebro. Most of these ended in defeat. For the last year of its existence, the International Brigades were integrated into the Spanish Republican Army as part of the Spanish Foreign Legion. Smaller Brigades — the 86th, 129th and 150th – were formed in late 1937 and 1938, mostly for temporary tactical reasons. About 32,000 foreigners volunteered to defend the Spanish Republic, the vast majority of them with the International Brigades. Many were veterans of World War I. Their early engagements in 1936 during the Siege of Madrid amply demonstrated their military and propaganda value. The international volunteers were mainly socialists, communists, or others willing to accept communist authority, and a high proportion were Jewish. From spring 1937 onwards, many battalions contained one Spanish volunteer company of about 150 men. Later in the war, military discipline tightened and learning Spanish became mandatory. By decree of 23 September 1937, the International Brigades formally became units of the Spanish Foreign Legion. This made them subject to the Spanish Code of Military Justice. However, the Spanish Foreign Legion itself sided with the Nationalists throughout the coup and the civil war. The same decree also specified that non-Spanish officers in the Brigades should not exceed Spanish ones by more than 50 percent. On 12 February 2000, a bronze statue, "The Spirit of the Republic" by sculptor Jack Harman, based on a poster from the Spanish Republic, was placed on the grounds of the British Columbia Legislature. In 2001, the few surviving Canadian veterans of the Spanish Civil War dedicated a monument in Ottawa's Green Island Park to their country's International Brigaders. === East Germany === Probably in no country of the world did the International Brigades combatants enjoy the prestige comparable to that bestowed on them in East Germany. They arrived at Victoria Station in central London on 7 December and were met warmly as returning heroes by a crowd of supporters including Clement Attlee, Stafford Cripps, Willie Gallacher, Ellen Wilkinson and Will Lawther. The last surviving British member of the International Brigades, Geoffrey Servante, died in April 2019 aged 99. ==== IBMT ==== The International Brigade Memorial Trust is a registered charity that handles activities around the memory of volunteers from Britain and Ireland. The group maintains a map of memorials to volunteers in the Spanish Civil War and organises yearly events to commemorate the war. He served in the CXXIX International Brigade and later fought in the Spanish Maquis, and after the war lived in exile in France. === Spain === On 26 January 1996, the Spanish government gave Spanish citizenship to the 600 or so remaining Brigadistas, fulfilling a promise made by Prime Minister Juan Negrín in 1938. === France === In 1996, Jacques Chirac, then French President, granted the former French members of the International Brigades the legal status of former service personnel ("ancient combatants") following the request of two French communist Members of Parliament,