Fear and Loathing in Spain. Dutch Foreign Fighters in the Spanish Civil War

During the Spanish Civil War, about 700 Dutchmen fought to defend the Spanish Republic against a military uprising they, correctly, deemed the prelude to a Fascist dictatorship. They did so primarily as part of the International Brigades of the Spanish ‘Popular Army’. However, International Brigade command considered the Dutch volunteers’ military performance in Spain quite poor. In Summer 1937 it was therefore decided to create a separate Dutch unit in an effort to boost both morale and combat effectiveness. This article analyses how the Dutch lived and fought in a transnational army, focusing especially on the period before the establishment of the Dutch unit. It suggests that the experience of Dutch volunteers, who were (small) minorities in multinational and multi-ethnic units, form a useful analytical lens to highlight the conflicts and compromises that are inherent in not only the International Brigades, but all foreign fighter forces–including those of the Islamic State. Furthermore, it argues that Dutch behaviours were contrasted unfavourably by the International Brigade command staff with those of the Germans with and under whom they often fought, creating an even more unwelcoming environment for many Dutchmen. The composition of the Dutch volunteer corps, made up mostly of non-communists, served to worsen the failures of intercultural communication. Finally, the author argues that the creation of a (mostly) Dutch unit was, finally, the result of pressure from Dutch volunteers in Spain and Dutch Communist Party fears that the perceived failures of its efforts on behalf of the Spanish Republic would reflect badly on its political position both in the Netherlands and within the Communist International.