MUYHISTORIA
Spain: La batalla del
Ebro y otros frentes de la Guerra Civil espanola.
Novelists like: Ernest Hemingway, Andre Malraux, George
Orwell, Nordahl Grieg, Antoine de Saint-Exupery and above all: Photo journalists like Gerda Taro and
Robert Capa were the sources for my private interest in studying of the Spanish
Civil War. I take it for granted that the works of the persons mentioned are
among those few who make you interest in the Spanish Civil War in year 2017?
Because of my interest in history I bought a Spanish paper during my stay in
Albir, Spain in February. The main content of the paper was dedicated to
information about the Spanish Civil War. The paper is a good one for those of
us who have an interest in history. To my surprise I see that information about
the war must have been selected for reasons unknown to me. What about the
activities made by the French novelist Andre Malraux? What about facts about
the famous ” Espana squadron ”?I recall photos of Andre Malraux in front of an
aircraft- the French bomber ” Potez 540”.
Andre Malraux was not a professional
pilot. He was appointed Lieutenant Colonel for the famous ” Escadrille Andre
Malraux” even if he had no military education or any qualification in running
an air force. No. But he made the whole world know about the war. My interest
for the war was made while reading his book ” The Hope ”( L’Espoir) and viewing
his film about the war, ” L’Espoir”. ” For whom the bell tolls” by Ernest
Hemingway is another book which made me aware of the conflict in Spain.
What about the Internationale Brigades and facts about the
contribution from Norway and Sweden and Denmark? The Norwegian broadcasting
reporter, Yngvar Ustvedt, wrote a book
about the Norwegians who participated in the war: ” Arbeidere under våpen.
Norske frivillige i den spanske borgerkrigen”. The book was published in 1975.
A report about the battle of Ebro is a part of the book.
Olaf Johansen from the city of Bergen, Odd Olsen from the
city ofTrondheim, Bjarne Jensen from the city of Tønsberg, Einar Pettersen from
the county, Østfold, Rolf Eriksen from the city of Oslo and Rudolf Paulsen from the city of
Narvik were killed during the battle of Ebro. I do not how many from Sweden who
were died, but Karl Ernstedt was killed. About 300 Norwegians and about 600 from
Sweden participated in the war.
Novelists who supported the fascists in Spain have been forgotten or not mentioned due to reasons unknown to me?What about: The British novelist, Evelyn Waugh, the Americans: Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound?
The paper has also dedicted two pages for those who are
interested in military history. Guns, aircrafts, tanks, helmets and military
equipments used during the war are presented at page 42 and 43. The different
aircrafts used by ” Escarille Andre Malraux” are missing. No photos or drawings
of the French aircraft , ” Potez 540” , which was used in the fim ” L’Espoir”.
Sorry.
I am happy observing that the works of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro
are presented in the paper.
