Gustav Regler - was a German Socialist novelist. He served in the Germany Infantry during the First World War, and was seriosuly injured; he joined the Communist Party, and spent time in the USSR. He later served as political commissar of the XII International Brigade

XII International Brigade

The XII International Brigade was mustered on 7 November 1936 at Albacete, Spain. It was formally named the Garibaldi Brigade, after the most famous and inspiring leader in the Italian Independence Wars, General Giuseppe Garibaldi. Its first commanding officer was a soviet advisor of Hungarian...

 during the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

. Whilst in Spain he befriended Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...

, and was wounded at the Battle of Guadalajara

Battle of Guadalajara

The Battle of Guadalajara saw the Republican People's Army defeat Italian and Nationalist forces attempting to encircle Madrid during the Spanish Civil War...

.

As a Communist, he was long-time friend of Arthur Koestler

Arthur Koestler

Arthur Koestler CBE was a Hungarian author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria...

, first in Berlin, then Paris and during the Spanish Civil War. Regler's books were banned in the Third Reich.

He wrote about his Spanish experiences in his novel The Great Crusade (New York, 1940), introduced by Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...

, translated by Whittaker Chambers

Whittaker Chambers

Whittaker Chambers was born Jay Vivian Chambers and also known as David Whittaker Chambers , was an American writer and editor. After being a Communist Party USA member and Soviet spy, he later renounced communism and became an outspoken opponent later testifying in the perjury and espionage trial...

.

His memoirs were published as The Owl of Minerva in London in 1959. TIME magazine called him the German "Malraux

André Malraux

André Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...

."

Sources

• Hugh Thomas
  Hugh Thomas
  Hugh Thomas , is a British historian and life peer.Hugh Thomas may also refer to:* Hugh Thomas , American choral conductor, pianist and educator* Hugh Thomas , Australian rules football coach...
  
  The Spanish Civil War 2003. 4th Rev ed.
• Gustav Regler, The Owl of Minerva, Hart-Davis, London, 1959.
• "A Ghost Walks," TIME, March 7, 1960 (review of The Owl of Minerva)