Comments on: Jewish Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War http://contested-terrain.net/jewishhistory/ Resource Page on Antisemitism and Related Issues Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:45:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 By: Arieh Lebowitz http://contested-terrain.net/jewishhistory/#comment-119 Arieh Lebowitz Sat, 01 Mar 2008 21:22:11 +0000 http://contested-terrain.net/jewishhistory/#comment-119 SOURCE FOR FIRST SET OF INFORMATION {2/3 of the way down this page]: http://www.jmtfilms.com/document.htm MADRID BEFORE HANITA – Jews from Palestine in the International Brigades A film by Eran Torbiner / Israel 2006 History. 58 minutes. Hebrew, Spanish, Polish and German. English/French/Spanish subtitles. The story of 300 Jews from Palestine/Israel who departed to fight fascism and joined the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War from 1936-1939. Many of them were Jewish communists who believed Fascism was the main enemy of humanity in general and of Jews in particular. This film follows their stories in Palestine and the decision to go to Spain and documents their complex relationships with the civilian Spanish population and their loves, disappointments, hopes, and deaths. The leading characters in the film are the last of volunteers still living today, and family members and relatives of others who were killed or have since died. The film is set with a voice-over narration of segments from their letters and diaries, and uses Spanish and Israeli archives extensively, combined with current footage of Israel and Spain . Winner: Platinum Remi Award : Worldfest Houston International Film Festival, Texas - USA 2007 Chicago International Documentary Film Festival - USA 2007 Haifa International Film Festival - Israel 2006 SOURCE FOR SECOND SET OF INFORMATION: http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/398096/Madrid-Before-Hanita-Jews-from-Palestine-in-the-International-Brigades-/overview Madrid Before Hanita (Jews from Palestine in the International Brigades) (2006) Review Summary With his documentary Madrid Before Hanita (Jews from Palestine in the International Brigades), filmmaker Eran Torbiner reflects on the segment of the Jewish population that baffled the Zionist community and the Palestinian Communist Party by traveling to Spain to counter the Fascist forces of the Spanish Civil War. The participants rightly regarded Fascism as the world's great evil and as the foremost threat to the Jewish race, and thus felt a kinship with the forces battling General Franco and others. In his film, Torbiner couples interviews with the handful of surviving volunteers -- who reflect on the vicissitudes of their experiences in Spain -- with recitations from letters and journal entries of the day and period archival footage. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide Movie Details Title: Madrid Before Hanita (Jews from Palestine in the International Brigades) Running Time: 58 Minutes Country: France, Germany, Spain Go to Cast & Credits » SOURCE FOR FIRST SET OF INFORMATION {2/3 of the way down this page]: http://www.jmtfilms.com/document.htm

MADRID BEFORE HANITA – Jews from Palestine in the International Brigades A film by Eran Torbiner / Israel 2006

History. 58 minutes. Hebrew, Spanish, Polish and German. English/French/Spanish subtitles.
The story of 300 Jews from Palestine/Israel who departed to fight fascism and joined the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War from 1936-1939.
Many of them were Jewish communists who believed Fascism was the main enemy of humanity in general and of Jews in particular. This film follows their stories in Palestine and the decision to go to Spain and documents their complex relationships with the civilian Spanish population and their loves, disappointments, hopes, and deaths. The leading characters in the film are the last of volunteers still living today, and family members and relatives of others who were killed or have since died. The film is set with a voice-over narration of segments from their letters and diaries, and uses Spanish and Israeli archives extensively, combined with current footage of Israel and Spain .
Winner: Platinum Remi Award : Worldfest Houston International Film Festival, Texas - USA 2007
Chicago International Documentary Film Festival - USA 2007
Haifa International Film Festival - Israel 2006

SOURCE FOR SECOND SET OF INFORMATION:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/398096/Madrid-Before-Hanita-Jews-from-Palestine-in-the-International-Brigades-/overview

Madrid Before Hanita (Jews from Palestine in the International Brigades) (2006)
Review Summary
With his documentary Madrid Before Hanita (Jews from Palestine in the International Brigades), filmmaker Eran Torbiner reflects on the segment of the Jewish population that baffled the Zionist community and the Palestinian Communist Party by traveling to Spain to counter the Fascist forces of the Spanish Civil War. The participants rightly regarded Fascism as the world’s great evil and as the foremost threat to the Jewish race, and thus felt a kinship with the forces battling General Franco and others. In his film, Torbiner couples interviews with the handful of surviving volunteers — who reflect on the vicissitudes of their experiences in Spain — with recitations from letters and journal entries of the day and period archival footage. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Movie Details
Title: Madrid Before Hanita (Jews from Palestine in the International Brigades)
Running Time: 58 Minutes
Country: France, Germany, Spain

Go to Cast & Credits »

]]> By: BobFromBrockley http://contested-terrain.net/jewishhistory/#comment-110 BobFromBrockley Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:47:19 +0000 http://contested-terrain.net/jewishhistory/#comment-110 The ALBA Jewish Volunteers module is very good, but suffers from a focus on the Stalinist history. There were foreign Jewish volunteers in the anarchist militias and in the POUM militias, and anti-Stalinist Jewish leftists abroad (for instance in Argentina, Mexico, North America, Palestine, France and London) played a heavy role in organising aid and solidarity for the Spanish revolution. These stories need to be told too. The ALBA Jewish Volunteers module is very good, but suffers from a focus on the Stalinist history. There were foreign Jewish volunteers in the anarchist militias and in the POUM militias, and anti-Stalinist Jewish leftists abroad (for instance in Argentina, Mexico, North America, Palestine, France and London) played a heavy role in organising aid and solidarity for the Spanish revolution. These stories need to be told too.

]]> By: The New Centrist http://contested-terrain.net/jewishhistory/#comment-108 The New Centrist Sun, 25 Nov 2007 18:05:59 +0000 http://contested-terrain.net/jewishhistory/#comment-108 If you are interested, the actual archival collections of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade are housed at the Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at New York University: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/tam/alba_collections2.html Some of the collections have hypertext links where you can view the finding aid and see the contents of the collection. Also, you’ll find the materials at NYU are a bit less slanted towards the perspectives of the volunteers than the VALB-ALBA website which can be hagiographic. If you are interested, the actual archival collections of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade are housed at the Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at New York University:

http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/tam/alba_collections2.html

Some of the collections have hypertext links where you can view the finding aid and see the contents of the collection. Also, you’ll find the materials at NYU are a bit less slanted towards the perspectives of the volunteers than the VALB-ALBA website which can be hagiographic.

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