Hungarian Studies Review Vol. 24., 1997
Articles: - MYRON MOMRYK: Hungarian Volunteers from Canada in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39
Hungarian Studies Review, Vol. XXIV, Nos. 1-2 (1997) Hungarian Volunteers from Canada in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39 Myron Momryk On May 25, 1998, the Canadian House of Commons voted on a motion to give "...to the members of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion and other Canadians who fought with Spanish Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939, the status of veterans under the federal legislation and making them eligible for veterans' pensions and benefits."1 This motion was defeated but it evoked some strong reactions in the House of Commons and in the local press either supporting or condemning this motion.2 These reactions provide a hint of the emotions which ruled the political arena in the 1930's especially when the Spanish Civil War was discussed. The Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, between the Popular Front Republican Government and the insurgent forces led by General Francisco Franco, was interpreted then, and subsequently, as an epic struggle between the forces of democracy and fascism, progress and reaction, good and evil. One of the enduring legends and myths of this war was the crucial role played by the International Brigades in defending the Popular Front Republican Government. There were over fourteen hundred volunteers from Canada, including a large number from the various Canadian ethnocultural groups who fought in the ranks of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion and in several other units of the International Brigades.' Canadian participation in the Spanish Civil War has attracted only limited attention from Canadian historians and the specific Hungarian Canadian story remains virtually unknown.4 There are several reasons for this lack of historical information. All records of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion and the International Brigades disappeared with the defeat of the Republican Government in early 1939. Historical information that was subsequently available could be found in published popular histories, memoirs and autobiographies, obituaries, archival collections of Spanish Civil War veterans' associations and lists of volunteers.'1 It was only in 1994 that the National Archives of Canada acquired microfilm reels of most of the Canadian portion of the International Brigades archives in Moscow. Also,