Surviving veterans of the Spanish Civil War
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of known surviving veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...

s of 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...

(July 17, 1936 – April 1, 1939). The total number of participating personnel is unknown, but there were an estimated 35,000 foreigners who fought on the Republican side in what was known as 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....

. In addition, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

 of Nazi Germany sent as many as 20,000 soldiers (not all at the same time) and Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....

 of Italy sent as many as 60,000 soldiers to fight alongside the soldiers of Spanish General Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...

.

Veterans, for this purpose, are defined as people who were members of the armed forces of one of the combatant forces up to and including the date recognized as the end of the War, which was April 1, 1939.

Republican Forces–20 veterans

Nationality Name Date of Birth Age Residence Force served Notes
Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

Landauer, Hans Austria International Brigade Joined on February 12, 1937. Wounded on September 4, 1937, in Fuendetodos. Arrested in November 1940 and sent to Dachau
Dachau
Dachau is a town in Upper Bavaria, in the southern part of Germany. It is a major district town—a Große Kreisstadt—of the administrative region of Upper Bavaria, about 20 km north-west of Munich. It is now a popular residential area for people working in Munich with roughly 40,000 inhabitants...

 concentration camp. Lives in Oberwaltersdorf
Oberwaltersdorf
Oberwaltersdorf is a town in the district of Baden in Lower Austria in Austria....

.
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

Dufek, Karel Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

International Brigade Joined in January 1937. Lieutenant-Colonel in Republican Army. Czechoslovak Ambassador in Brazil from 1968-1972.
Czechoslovakia Vodicka, Adolf Czech Republic International Brigade Member of the Sokol Association and youth. Captain in Republican Army. Fought in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.
Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

Päiviö, Jules Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion
Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion
The Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion or Mac-Paps were a battalion of Canadians who fought as part of the XV International Brigade on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. Except for France, no other country gave a greater proportion of its population as volunteers in Spain than Canada. The...

Captured by Italian troops from March 1938 to spring 1939 being imprisoned in Burgos
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...

. Enlisted in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, but was prohibited from fighting on front due to Spanish veterans being treated as Communists. Professor and architect. Lives in Sudbury.
France
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

Low, Adolphe France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

Bataillon Edgar André Joined in 1936 after fleeing from Nazis to France. Later fought in French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...

.
Germany Teppich, Fritz Germany Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....

Member of social youth groups during teen years. Joined on 5 September 1936. Member of General Staff of XXII Arrested during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 for being an "enemy alien". Lives in Berlin.
Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

Cochrane, Patrick Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

International Brigade Last Irish veteran. Volunteered in 1937. Served as a medic. Wounded on 5 September 1937 at Calle Mayor by grenade. Lives in Dublin.
Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

Elman, Erik Estonia International Brigade Joined in 1938. Volunteer in Republican Army at Ebrosk front. Was in a concentration camp. 1941–1949 in Red Army (USSR).
USSR Kondrateva, Adelina Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

Military interpreter.
USSR Lavski, Victor Russia Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

Bomber pilot. Committed 96 operational flights.
USSR Sossenko, George
George Sossenko
George Sossenko is a Russian-born American lecturer and activist. At age 17, he left his parent's home in Paris, France, to join those fighting against Francisco Franco's nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War...

United States Abraham Lincoln Brigade
Abraham Lincoln Brigade
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade refers to volunteers from the United States who served in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. They fought for Spanish Republican forces against Franco and the Spanish Nationalists....

, Sébastien Faure Century
Sébastien Faure Century
The Sébastien Faure Century was the French/Italian contingent of the Durruti Column during the Spanish Civil War, named for the anarchist of the same name. It formed the First Century of the International Group, and consisted of about fifty members from France, Italy, and other countries...

Fought in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 with Free French. Medical engineer for Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...

 Tire. Writer. Lives in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

.
USSR Zaitseva, Miroslava
}||||Russia||Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

||Military interpreter.
|-
|Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

||Morayta, Miguel
Miguel Morayta
Miguel Morayta is a Spanish film director and screenwriter. He directed 74 films between 1944 and 1978. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Moryata was a Spanish artillery officer who joined the Republican side...

||||||Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

||Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....

||Was the youngest artillery officer in the Spanish military when the conflict started. Post war, left Spain for France and Africa, finally arriving in Mexico in 1941. where he started career as film director.
|-
|Spain||Sampedro, José Luis||||||Spain||Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....

||Mobilized in 1936. Writer and novelist.
|-
|Spain||Ana, Marcos||||||Spain||Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....

||Mobilized in 1936. Secretary general of JSU of Alcala in Peguerinos's zone in 1936. Affiliated to Communist Party of Spain.
|-
|Spain||Carrillo, Santiago
Santiago Carrillo
Santiago Carrillo Solares is a Spanish politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain from 1960 to 1982.- Childhood and early youth :...

||||||Spain||Communists||Arrested from October 1934 to February 1936 for participating in failed 1934 leftist coup. Elected Councillor for Public Order in Defense Council of Madrid on 7 November 1936. Created Workers Party of Spain-Communist Unity
Workers Party of Spain-Communist Unity
Workers' Party of Spain-Communist Unity was a communist political party in Spain, founded by Santiago Carrillo and his followers after their expulsion from the Communist Party of Spain in October 1985.Initially, the party was known as Communist Party of Spain Workers' Party of Spain-Communist...

. Led Communist forces in Madrid. Writer. Granted honorary doctorate by Autonomous University of Madrid
Autonomous University of Madrid
The Autonomous University of Madrid is one of the top university of Spain and commonly known by its Spanish initials UAM or as "la Autónoma"...

.
|-
|United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

||Kenton, Lou
Lou Kenton
Lou Kenton is an English potter, who served as an ambulance driver with the International Brigade and is its oldest surviving member.- Early life :...

||||||United Kingdom||International Brigade||Joined Communist Party in 1929. Volunteered in early 1937. Served as an Ambulance driver. Awarded Spanish passport on June 9, 2009, in London.
|-
|United Kingdom||Lomon, David||||||United Kingdom||International Brigade||Captured by Italian soldiers during 1938 Republican retreat. Spent months in prison camp until repatriatad. Joined the Royal Navy during World War II. Obtained passport from Spain in June 2011.
|-
|United Kingdom||Watters, Thomas||||||United Kingdom||International Brigade||Glasgow bus driver who served in Scottish Ambulance Unit. Awarded Spanish passport on June 9, 2009, in London.
|-
|United States||Hovan, John George||||||United States||Abraham Lincoln Brigade
Abraham Lincoln Brigade
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade refers to volunteers from the United States who served in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. They fought for Spanish Republican forces against Franco and the Spanish Nationalists....

||Volunteered in 1937. Served as a Transport driver. Granted Spanish honorary citizenship on July 9, 2009. Lives in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

.
|}

Nationalist Forces—9 veterans

Nationality Name Date of Birth Age Residence Force served Notes
Germany Scholz, Günther Germany Legion Condor, Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

Joined Navy in 1934. Commander of the 54th JG during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Recipient of the German Cross
German Cross
The German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...

 in Gold. Writer.
Ireland McGuinness, Denis Ireland Irish Brigade aka O'Duffy's Bandera
Irish Brigade (Spanish Civil War)
The Irish Brigade , fought on the Nationalist side of Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War. The unit was formed wholly of Roman Catholics by the politician Eoin O'Duffy, who had previously organised the banned quasi-fascist Blueshirts and openly fascist Greenshirts in Ireland...

Last veteran of the Irish Brigade. Enlisted in December 1936. Discharged in June 1937.
Spain Comyn, Alfonso Armada Spain Falange
Falange
The Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....

Enlisted aged 16. Later fought as a member of the Division Azul
Blue Division
The Blue Division officially designated as División Española de Voluntarios by the Spanish Army and 250. Infanterie-Division in the German Army, was a unit of Spanish volunteers that served in the German Army on the Eastern Front of the Second World War.-Origins:Although Spanish leader Field...

 on the Eastern Front.
Spain Córdoba, José María Gárate Spain Nationalist Army Promoted to captain in 1942. Awarded four medals. Military historian, author, and teacher.
Spain Limia, José Álvarez Spain Nationalist Army Served in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

. Writer.
Spain Morera, Martí de Riguer i
Martí de Riquer i Morera
Martí de Riquer i Morera , 8th Count of Casa Dávalos and Grandee of Spain, PhD, is a Spanish Catalan Romance linguist, a recognised international authority in the field...

Spain Tercio
Tercio
The tercio was a Renaissance era military formation made up of a mixed infantry formation of about 3,000 pikemen, swordsmen and arquebusiers or musketeers in a mutually supportive formation. It was also sometimes referred to as the Spanish Square...

Writer. President of the "Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona" since 1965.
Spain Olivera, Faustino Spain Nationalist Army Volunteered in 1937. Wounded on November 11, 1938. Had a bullet removed from his shoulder after 70 years. Lives in Barbastro
Barbastro
Barbastro is a city in the Somontano county, province of Huesca, Spain...

.
Spain Sierra, Luis de la Spain Nationalist Navy Volunteered in 1937. Served on board the cruiser Almirante Cervera
Spanish cruiser Almirante Cervera
Almirante Cervera was a light cruiser of the Cervera class of the Spanish Navy. She was named after the Spanish admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete, commander of the Spanish naval forces in Cuba during the Spanish-American War...

. After the war, he became a Spanish Navy
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...

 officer. He is a notable naval historian, author of at least seven books about naval warfare.
Spain Belarmino Moldes Spain Nationalist Army Joined the nationalist army in 1935, he was a private first class,he was in the Engineer Corps. and later a chaplain. Joined the Blue Division
Blue Division
The Blue Division officially designated as División Española de Voluntarios by the Spanish Army and 250. Infanterie-Division in the German Army, was a unit of Spanish volunteers that served in the German Army on the Eastern Front of the Second World War.-Origins:Although Spanish leader Field...

 in 1941 During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. He now resides in the suburbs of Madrid Spain. He was born in Biobra,Ourense,Spain on August 29,1917.

World Totals–29 veterans

  • Verified claims of Republican Forces (incl. International Brigades): 20
  • Verified claims of Nationalist Forces: 9

External links

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