Palafox Battalion
Encyclopedia
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
composition in the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
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...
. It was named after José de Palafox, a Spanish general who successfully fought French Napoleonic forces during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
.
The Palafox Battalion was formed on 28 June 1937 as a unit of the 150th International Brigade. It was formed from Poles, and Soviet citizens, with a nucleus of Spanish volunteers from the Pasionaria Battalion. "Most of its companies were commanded by Red Army lieutenants").
On 4 August 1937, two of its companies were sent to reinforce XIII International Brigade
XIII International Brigade
This article is about the 13th International Brigade - often known as the XIII Dabrowski Brigade - which fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. The brigade was dissolved and then reformed on four occasions.-1st Formation :The brigade was first...
, with the remaining companies following in early October. On 12 October 1936, the Palafox Battalion was merged with the Mickiewicz Battalion
Mickiewicz Battalion
The Mickiewicz Battalion was a volunteer battalion of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. It formed part of the XIII International Brigade from 27 October 1937 until 23 September 1938, when the International Brigades were disbanded....
to form the 4th battalion of XIII International Brigade
XIII International Brigade
This article is about the 13th International Brigade - often known as the XIII Dabrowski Brigade - which fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. The brigade was dissolved and then reformed on four occasions.-1st Formation :The brigade was first...
. It remained with the XIIIth Brigade until the International Brigades were demobilised on 23 September 1938.
It was formed on 28 Jun 1937 and, until 12 October 1937 attached to 150th International Brigade. It was then transferred to XIII International Brigade
XIII International Brigade
This article is about the 13th International Brigade - often known as the XIII Dabrowski Brigade - which fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. The brigade was dissolved and then reformed on four occasions.-1st Formation :The brigade was first...
(the 13th Dabrowski Brigade). It has five companies of which No. 2 was a specifically Jewish unit.
1 Coy:
2 Coy: Naftalí Botwin
3 Coy: Adam Mickiewicz
4 Coy: Taras Szewczenko
5 Coy: Ludwik Warynski
Adam Mickiewicz Company
It was common practice in the International BrigadesInternational Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
to build new battalions around existing veteran companies and the Palafox Battalion's third company was used as the nucleus for the Mickiewicz Battalion
Mickiewicz Battalion
The Mickiewicz Battalion was a volunteer battalion of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. It formed part of the XIII International Brigade from 27 October 1937 until 23 September 1938, when the International Brigades were disbanded....
.
Naftali Botwin Company
This company was formed of Jewish volunteers and was a sub-unit of the Palafox Battalion during the Spanish Civil WarSpanish 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...
. It was named after Naftali Botwin, a Polish Jew who was executed in 1927 for killing a police informer.
Background
The idea of a separate Jewish unit was first put forward to Luigi LongoLuigi Longo
thumb|right|Luigi Longo portrayed on a 1981 [[USSR]] postage stamp.Luigi Longo , also known as Gallo, was an Italian communist politician and secretary of the Italian Communist Party from 1964 to 1972.-Early life:...
and André Marty
André Marty
André Marty was a leading figure in the French Communist Party, the PCF, for nearly thirty years. He was also a member of the National Assembly, with some interruptions, from 1924 to 1955; Secretary of Comintern from 1935 to 1944; and Political Commissar of the International Brigades during the...
in Albacete
Albacete
Albacete is a city and municipality in southeastern Spain, 258 km southeast of Madrid, the capital of the province of Albacete in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The municipality had a population of c. 169,700 in 2009....
by "Albert Nahumi" (Arieh Weits), a French Communist Party leader in October 1936. The idea was well-received and a call for volunteers went out. However, Nahumi died shortly afterwards and the idea wasn't progressed. A year later, the idea was resurrected and pressure was put on Longo
Luigi Longo
thumb|right|Luigi Longo portrayed on a 1981 [[USSR]] postage stamp.Luigi Longo , also known as Gallo, was an Italian communist politician and secretary of the Italian Communist Party from 1964 to 1972.-Early life:...
and Marty
André Marty
André Marty was a leading figure in the French Communist Party, the PCF, for nearly thirty years. He was also a member of the National Assembly, with some interruptions, from 1924 to 1955; Secretary of Comintern from 1935 to 1944; and Political Commissar of the International Brigades during the...
by a group of influential Paris communists.
On 12 December 1937, the Naftali Botwin Company was established by renaming and reforming No. 2 Company of the Palafox Battalion into an officially Jewish unit. The new company had about 150 members from Poland, France, Belgium, Palestine and Spain. Its flag bore the Dabrowski motto ("For your freedom and ours") in Yiddish and Polish on one side, and in Spanish on the other. It also had its own anthem, Der March der Botvin-soldaten ("March of the Botwin Soldiers"). The lyrics were by Olek Nuss, who survived wounds in Spain only to be executed in Nazi-occupied France. It was published in Botwin, the journal of Yiddish-speaking soldiers in Spain, in November 1938.
Political dimension
By the end of 1937, the International BrigadesInternational Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
were facing significant difficulties, both in Spain and abroad. Its supply of volunteers was drying up, as a result of high casualties and stories circulated by returning volunteers about harsh discipline and appalling conditions. The blockade on arms and materiel, organised by the Non-Intervention Committee
Non-Intervention Committee
During the Spanish Civil War, several countries followed a principle of non-intervention, which would result in the signing of the Non-Intervention Agreement in August 1936 and the setting up of the Non-Intervention Committee, which first met in September...
was also having its effect. As Zaagsma writes: The International Brigade was one of the Comintern's most powerful propaganda tools ... Given the high proportion of Jews in the various communist parties, a Jewish fighting unit was a powerful propaganda tool.
See also
- Gershon Dua-BogenGershon Dua-BogenGershon Dua-Bogen , alias 'Admoni', was a Polish-Jewish communist. He was an active militant of the Communist Party of Poland and of the Polish Workers' Party . He emigrated to Palestine, and became the general secretary of the Socialist Workers Party. He was expelled from Palestine for his...
- The Naftali Botwin Company\Mitch Abidor http://www.marxists.org/subject/jewish/botwin/introduction.htm
Sources
- Zaagsma, Gerben Jewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War: A case study of the Botwin company. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2001.