This article is about volunteers of Polish nationality or extraction who fought for theSpanish Second Republic in theSpanish Civil War. According toAndré Marty, theComintern "chief organiser", about 3,000 Poles volunteered for theInternational Brigades. Elsewhere, it has been calculated that 5,400 Poles fought in Spain.[1] The majority (3,800) were miners working in France, 300 were Polish-Americans, and several hundred were Poles living in various European countries. Only 800 came from Poland itself.[2]
TheInternational Brigades often named its battalions and brigades using stirring historical symbolism. Such symbols included the Italian leader,Giuseppe Garibaldi, the French anthem,La Marseillaise, and contemporary political figures, such asErnst Thaelmann. The 19th century Polish general,Jarosław Dąbrowski was an obvious choice, too. General Dąbrowski was involved in theJanuary Uprising, in a plot againstTsar Alexander II and imprisoned. In 1865, he fled and escaped to France. In 1871, he was elected to theParis Commune and took over the defence of the city. He was killed on the barricades, "fighting gallantly" for a foreign cause.
Throughout theSpanish Civil War, the nameDabrowski was used in addition to the unit designation for units with a Polish connection or component. These include theDabrowski Battalion, theXIII International Brigade (also known as the13th Dabrowski Brigade) and the150th International Brigade. See below.
Even today, in Poland, Polish veterans of theSpanish Civil War are known as the "Dąbrowszczacy".
TheInternational Brigades were international in character. Initially, for ease of communication, units were grouped by language or ethnicity. As the war progressed, and the casualty rates increased, this policy eased and reinforcements of Spanish conscripts were sent wherever they were required. The following battalions all had strong Polish connections.
Raised in October 1936, theDabrowski Battalion was one of the first international battalions raised. The first Poles to arrive were miners from the Polish mining communities in Northern France and Southern Belgium. Its first commander wasStanislaw Ulanowski (a former corporal in the Polish army); later MajorTadeusz Oppman took command.
ThePalafox Battalion was formed on 28 June 1937 as a unit of the150th International Brigade. It was formed from Poles, and Soviet citizens, with a nucleus of Spanish volunteers from theLa Pasionaria Battalion. "Most of the four companies were commanded by Red Army lieutenants".[3]On 4 August 1937, two of its companies were sent to reinforceXIII International Brigade, with the remaining companies following in early October. On 12 October 1936, the Palafox Battalion was merged withMickiewicz Battalion to form the 4th battalion ofXIII International Brigade. It remained with the 13th Brigade until the International Brigades were disbanded on 23 September 1938.
1 Coy: 2 Coy: Naftalí Botwin 3 Coy: Adam Mickiewicz (el 4.Oct.1937 forma batalló) 4 Coy: Taras Szewczenki (6.Jul.1937- 2.Aug.1938) 5 Coy: Ludwig Warynski
TheXIII International Brigade was first formed in December 1936[4] and named afterJarosław Dąbrowski. Strangely, it did not contain many Poles in its component battalions. The following July (1937), it was disbanded, together with its battalions, and the men and equipment were dispersed amongst the other International Brigades. On 4 August 1937, it re-formed as a predominantly Polish Brigade.
The150th International Brigade was formed in July 1937.[4]
Most of Dąbrowszczacy were members of theCommunist Party of Poland. For their communist orientation they were condemned by the society and authorities of theSecond Polish Republic, which cancelled citizenship of many of them (in spite of the fact that Poland was the third biggest arms supplier to the Republic, after the USSR and Mexico). On the other hand, propaganda portrayed them as heroes in thePeople's Republic of Poland; many of them served in theBerling Army,Armia Ludowa andGwardia Ludowa during theSecond World War.[5]
The official rehabilitation came when Polish government issued medals to Polish Spanish Civil war veterans.[6] The first was a white-metal badge - theOdznaka Pamiątkowa Dąbrowszczaków (the "Jarosław Dąbrowski Brigade Commemorative Decoration") - issued in 1945 to soldiers of theXIII International Brigade. The second was a white-metal medal - theMedal Za Waszą Wolność i Naszą ("Medalfor our freedom and yours") - issued by decree of theState Council of Poland of 18 October 1956. It was awarded to all Polish volunteers who participated on side of the Republic. The ribbon is red with a central white band, reflecting theSpanish Military Order of Merit.
The motto of the Educational Unit of VALB (Veterans of theAbraham Lincoln Brigade) is"For our freedom and yours", the Dabrowski motto.