The Yugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War[1][2] (serbocroat: Španski borci, Serbian Cyrillic: Шпански борци; literally Spanish fighters, spanish: brigadistas yugoslavos) was a contingent of volunteers from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia that fought beside the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War. Originating in the various nations that made up the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Yugoslav residents around the world, eventually totaled 1 664 fighters,[3] of which is estimated to have died in combat around 800. According to the Spanish statistics, 148 of them obtained the degree of officers throughout the conflict.
Most of them fought in the battalions Dimitrov and Đuro Đaković of the International Brigades, and a large number of them participated and perished during the Battle of Ebro in 1938. They were recruited by the outlawed Communist Party of Yugoslavia, well in their home regions or through the recruitment center of the Comintern that Josip Broz Tito managed in Paris.
After the war, those who managed to flee across the Pyrenees, fell captive in internment camps in France, where the Yugoslav communist organization repatriated illegally much of them, who became leaders of the resistance against the Nazi occupation. In fact, four members of the International brigades that fought on the Republican side ended up commanding the four armies of the Partisan Liberation Army that fought the Nazis in World War II: Koča Popović, Peko Dapčević, Kosta Nađ and Petar Drapšin.[4]
References
- ↑ MDC "Mihovil Vojnović" Retrieved 2012-02-29
- ↑ Beogradski Short Film Festival "In Memoriam" Retrieved 2012-02-29
- ↑ Asociación Brigadistas Yugoslavos "Naši Španci" Retrieved 2012-02-29
- ↑ Lenninists "International Solidarity With the Spanish Republic 1936•1939. Yugoslavia" Retrieved 2012-02-29
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to International Brigades. |
- Website of the Association of Yugoslav Volunteers, «YuInterBrigade» (serbian and spanish)
- YouTube «Naši Španci - Jugoslaveni u Španjolskom građanskom ratu» (Gallery)
The original article can be found at Yugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War and the edit history here.