Primary Sources: Wars & Conflicts: Spanish Civil War

"Founded in 1979 by the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB), the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) is a non profit national organization devoted to the preservation and dissemination of the history of the North American role in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and its aftermath. The Digital Library provides access to 150 letters, postcards, and telegrams in ALBA's collection."

"To commemorate the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, British Pathé has launched this definitive collection of films from that conflict."

"The David Seymour (CHIM) Photograph Collection deepens our understanding of war and its human cost through images that became iconic as soon as they were published.1 During CHIM's short life (1911-1956), he became famous for his coverage of the Spanish Civil War and was one of the founding photojournalists of the Magnum Photos cooperative. CHIM’s nephew, Ben Shneiderman, donated this magnificent collection to the Library of Congress in 2013."

"Don Henry's 16-page letter from Spain explained to his family why he went to Spain and gives a clear picture of life in the International Brigades."

sources of primary documents relating to Spain

"In her brief but dramatic career, Gerda Taro (1910-1937) made some of the most striking photographs to come from the front lines of the Spanish Civil War."

"The Mexican Suitcase will for the first time give the public an opportunity to experience images drawn from this famous collection of recovered negatives. In December 2007, three boxes filled with rolls of film, containing 4,500 35mm negatives of the Spanish Civil War by Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and Chim (David Seymour)-which had been considered lost since 1939-arrived at the International Center of Photography. These three photographers, who lived in Paris, worked in Spain, and published internationally, laid the foundation for modern war photography. Their work has long been considered some of the most innovative and passionate coverage of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). "

"IWM is a global authority on conflict and its impact on people’s lives. We collect objects and stories that give an insight into people’s experiences of war, preserve them for future generations, and bring them to today’s audiences in the most powerful way possible.

Our family of five museums uncover the causes, course and consequences of war, from the First World War through to present-day conflict. "

"Efraim Wozak’s book Zikhroynes fun a Botvinist (Memories of a Botwinist) tells the little-known story of the Jews who participated in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The letters that follow were translated from his book. These four letters were written by Jewish fighters who fought the Fascists in Spain, and then fought the Nazis after the Spanish war was lost. The Germans captured and killed these men, but before they died, each was permitted to write a letter home. Although each one declares his love to his wife or lover and children, they each also reference their allegiance to the anti-Fascist cause. One has to wonder how these letters got past the German censors."

"Images digitized from originals in the UC San Diego collections include propaganda posters, newspaper photographs, postcards, drawings made by Spanish children in colonias, and more. "

"The Spanish Civil War History Project documented the response of the Tampa Spanish immigrant community to the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The project was partially funded by grants from the Program for Cultural Cooperation between Spain's Ministry of Culture and United States' Universities and from the Florida Humanities Council. The physical collection consists of photos and memorabilia concerning the Spanish Civil War, including an original flag of the Republic of Spain prior to the war and can be viewed by visiting the USF Tampa Library Special Collections Reading Room." Some materials are also available online.

"The digital Archive of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist Dictatorship is an initiative of UC San Diego in collaboration with several Spanish civic associations, such as the ARMH (Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica), the Asociación de Ex-presos y Represaliados Políticos, the Federación Estatal de Foros por la Memoria and others. With the assistance of these human rights organizations, several teams of graduate students have recorded audiovisual testimonies of militants, witnesses, and victims of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist repression."

"The majority of the material - 46 physical files - is part of the archive of the British Trades Union Congress. This contains thousands of documents on a wide range of subjects relating to the Spanish Civil War, including material on key themes such as the response of organised labour and the political left in Britain and abroad, the attitude of the British and French governments, medical aid and the care of refugees, the International Brigade, and German and Italian intervention.

In addition, a series of publications and ephemera have been included from the archive collections of Henry Sara and Frank Maitland, Hugo Dewar, Paul Tofahrn, and the Socialist Party. Many of these documents were written from a communist or anarchist point of view."