Between 1936 and 1938 nearly 2,000 British men and women travelled in secret to Spain to fight on the side of the Spanish Republic against a nationalist military rebellion. Motivated by fears of a fascist Europe and by the intervention on Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy on the side of the rebels, the men and women of the international brigade suffered appalling hardship and losses in an ultimately doomed struggle. Here is a short introduction exploring the context of their idealistic fight.Also check out Orwell's time in Spain here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/George-Orwell-Explaining-History-Century-ebook/dp/B00HLRW8YQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392218617&sr=8-1&keywords=julia+routledge+george+orwell

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