Werner Abel (ed.)
„Pasaremos“ – Organ of the XIth Brigade / Reprint ofthe journal –
With a preface by Werner Abel in cooperation with Karla Popp and Hans-Jürgen Schwebke
A project of theSociety „Combatants and Friends of the Spanish Republic 1936–1939“
The book will be published by Dietz Verlag Berlin in April 2017. From the publisher’s announcement:
From the trenches in Spain
„Today we present to our comrades the first number of our new Brigade paper, already expected by many companions“, as you could have read in the editorial of the first edition from March 2nd, 1937.The „Pasaremos“was the journal of theXIth International Brigade with a run of 2,000 copies.
In the Spanish civil war every division, every brigade, every battalion had their own journals and newspapers.This applied also to the International Brigades. Most of these publications probably exist, more or less complete, only in the archive of the Komintern in Moscowand in the military archives in Spain. Reprints do exist so far of separateeditions of the „Volontario de la Libertad“and the „Milicia popular“, the paper of the legendary 5th regiment.
Now with the reproduction for the first time again a newspaper of an International Brigade is presented to the public.
The Society „Combatants and Friends of the Spanish Republic 1936 to 1939 e. V.“ was founded in September 2001. It assembles children and grandchildren of veterans of the International Brigades as well as their friends. In the period between 1936and 1939 about 35,000 volunteers from more than 50 countries fought in the Spanish civil war for the defense of the Republic. There were about 3,000 Germans amongst them.Many of them were members of theIXth International Brigade.
The journal of the Society „Combatants and Friends of the Spanish Republic 1936-1939 e. V. (KFSR)“ is entitled „No Pasaran!“ - „They won’t pass!“.
„Pasaremos“ is the match to the journal of the KFSR, that may be translated as „We shall get through“. This is the slogan of the Society „KFSR 1936-1939 e. V.“ in the struggle against war, reaction, racism and fascism. The call Viva la República! No pasarán!of the Pasionaria motivated the people in the then besieged city of Madrid. In fact, the franquists were unable to conquer Madrid.
The society KFSR 1936-1939 e.V. intends to bring the solidarity of the combatants of those times across the borders as part of global internationalist and antifascist movements to the present struggles for freedom, peace, human rights and human dignity, social justice, antifascism and international solidarity everywhere, people are active in this spirit.
With the reprint of the journal „Pasaremos“ in the 80th year of the foundation of the International Brigades we will and we can present to the public the combatants and their deeds, their ideals of those times and their aims.
„Pasaremos“ wasthe journal of the XIth International Brigade, because of its role in the battle around Madridapparently the most known Interbrigade. Moreover was it the “most German” of all Brigades, due to the high ratio of German Spain-combatants, but also of the „German language group“ (apart from Germans it comprised Austrians, Swiss, Dutch and Scandinavians). This was also due to the fact that it disposedalmost exclusively of German commanders, staff officers and commissars.This reason alone legitimates the reprint of this journal 80 years after the Spanish war 1936-1939.
The value of a reprint of the journal „Pasaremos“ is not only a personal one, but the reprint is of high
scientific merit especially for historians because of:
- military information about battles, sites of operation, war reports, reflections of tempers and problems;
- political information regarding the situation in Spain, the international situation and solidarity, Government decrees, issues of the politics of the Popular Front and the cultural activities in the Brigades as well as the relation with the Spanish population;
- emotional information, such as appreciations, obituaries and biographic abstracts of individual volunteers and reports from the countries of origin, as well as reports on non-military activities of the International Brigades.
The „Pasaremos“ was furthermore an organ for announcements, editing orders and official documents of theBrigade leadership, the political leadership of the brigades and the Spanish Government.
journalistic merit. In the „Pasaremos“ appeared the writings of:
- reknown authors like Ilya Ehrenburg, Gusti Jirku, Egon Erwin Kisch, Michail Kolzow, Gina Medem, Maria Osten, Ludwig Renn, etc.;
- high-ranking commanders as f.i. Hans Kahle, Ludwig Renn, Heinrich Rau, Modesto, Lister, etc., as well as of
- notable physicians of the brigades and the International Medical Service, furthermore of
- politicians as Dolores Ibárruri, Francesco Antón, Alvarez del Vayo a.o.
The „Pasaremos“ is an indispensable picture sourcefor photographs from the military, non-military and everyday life of the Spanish war.The abundance of not or less known images of those times is really impressive.
Therefore, areprint of this journal is important more of all for
- scientificinstitutions, i.e. historians, sociologists and political scientists;
- national, regional and local initiatives;
- the political education, including foundations, antifascist organizations and trade-unions;
- thepolitical education on the Lander- and Federal level;
- individual initiatives, i.e. research of family recordsand
- partnerorganizationsabroad, especially in Spain, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavia, as well as
- theillustration of the everyday proceedings of the Spanish war and the issues of the Popular and Unity Front.
Berlin, February 2016
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concept„Pasaremos“ – organ of the XIth Brigade / Reprint of the journal – Werner Abel (Ed.)