On July 17, 1936, Franco, commander of the Spanish army in Morocco, launched an armed rebellion, and Nazi Germany and the Italian regime of Mussolini immediately sent troops to support Franco.
The rampant fascism has angered righteous people all over the world. More than 30,000 volunteers from 54 countries formed an "international column" and rushed to the battlefield in Spain. Among them are the well-known writers Hemingway and Dr. Bethune, as well as many ordinary workers, peasants, and intellectuals. For the sake of ideals and justice, they sprinkled their blood on the strange land of Spain.
There are also Chinese figures in this. How did they come to Spain and what kind of story did they tell in this land?
Three Chinese names?
Living in the United States, Ni Huiru and Zou Ningyuan began to pay attention to the Spanish Civil War, which originally originated from a documentary called "The Battle for Justice". Although Ni Zou and Ni Zou are scientists, they are very interested in humanistic history and usually love to watch documentaries. One day in 1985, Zou Ningyuan saw a report on "The Just War" in the New York Times. The theater was an hour's drive from his house, and they decided to go and watch it.
Through interviews with Veterans of the American Volunteer Army who fought in the Spanish Civil War, Battle for Justice presents the showcasing showcasing the showdown between good and evil that took place in the 1930s. Before watching this movie, Ni Zou and his wife knew very little about the Spanish Civil War, let alone that so many people in the world had thrown their heads and blood for a country that had nothing to do with them. In the film, an old American woman recalls that her husband signed up to go to Spain to fight. She was very wandering inside, and she didn't know if the medical doctor knew about her husband's problem with the dislocation. She thought: If she told the doctor this secret, then he would not be able to go, but in this way, her husband would never forgive her for the rest of his life. Later, her husband went to Spain as he wished, and was soon killed on the battlefield. "Each of us will eventually die, and if we die for justice, maybe it's not a bad thing." Ni Huiru still remembers the old lady's face that was forced to hold back tears when she said these words.
On the way back, the two did not say a word. The Spanish Civil War and the people who did not hesitate to do so kept them at peace for a long time. Zou Ningyuan said that "The War of Justice" was later released in several cities around New York, and they drove and chased after several shows. However, at that time, they did not find a picture of a Chinese volunteer in the film. "There's only one frame of the picture, and it's over in a flash." Ni Huiru said. They found that there might be Chinese in the international column, but a year later.
1986 marked the 50th anniversary of the International Column's participation in the Spanish Civil War. The Lincoln Brigades, an organization of the United States Volunteer Army, published a commemorative book. When looking through the list of veterans at the end of the memorial book, Zou Ningyuan suddenly found three names that resembled Chinese - Dong Hong Yick, Chi Chang, and Edwin Wang. "'Dong Hong Yick' is very much like Cantonese pinyin, 'Chi Chang' spells out 'Zhang Ji', and the surname 'Edwin Wang' is very similar to 'Wang'." Zou Ningyuan explained to reporters.
Although there were many people from Europe, the United States and Central and South America in the international column, Ni Zou and his two could not believe that there would also be Chinese among them! At that time, on the eve of the War of Resistance Against Japan, China was too busy to take care of itself, so how could there be Chinese travel thousands of miles to participate in the Spanish war? Who are they? Why did they go to Spain? What kind of life experiences did they experience later? Countless question marks appeared in Ni Zou's mind.
To answer these questions, though, we need to pull back to the war that raged more than 70 years ago.
Ignited the world's Spanish Civil War
In 1931, the Second Spanish Republic was established. Abandoning centuries of absolute monarchy and entering a republic, Spain is in jeopardy. Compared with other Western European countries, Spain's industry is backward, the countryside is withered, and the contradictions between all social strata are acute. In February 1936, the Popular Front, composed of leftist parties such as the Socialist Republican Union, the Confederation of Labour, and the Communist Party of Spain, narrowly won the parliamentary elections. The left-wing Popular Front government was formed. As soon as the new government came to power, it introduced a series of reforms, such as land reform, amnesty for political prisoners, and weakening the power of the church. The stormy reforms angered the Spanish church and the upper middle class. On July 17, 1936, soldiers led by Franco staged a coup d'état. The three-year-long Spanish Civil War began.
Franco's alleged armed rebellion against the legitimate Spanish Government will never be recognized by the international community. However, after the Spanish Civil War broke out, the attitude of the Western countries was very ambiguous.
The French government at the time was also formed by left-wing parties. Upon learning of Franco's rebellion, French Prime Minister Brumme's first reaction was to favor the Spanish republican government. But when he went to London for a meeting, the British government immediately expressed dissatisfaction with his attitude. Upon his return from England, Brum held three cabinet meetings. Most of the cabinet opposes the shipment of weapons to Spain. Senate Speaker Jean-Nané said: "We are fully certain here that if any intervention in the Spanish question gives rise to a dispute in Europe, Britain will not follow us." ”
As an established capitalist country, Britain was hostile to the government of the Spanish People's Front from the beginning. The British newspaper The Daily Mirror, referring to the left-wing governments of Spain and France, even wrote: "If the communist epidemic now circulating in Spain and France is allowed to spread to other countries, then the two governments that have eliminated this epidemic on their own soil, Germany and Italy, will be our most useful friends." "On the other hand, Britain, which had had enough of the first world war, was very afraid of war. They believe that any interference with Spain could lead to an "international crisis". The only way to avoid this "international crisis" is to "not interfere" in the Spanish Civil War.
France, which had been following the same path toward Britain since the First World War, immediately adjusted its vane and turned to a policy of "non-interference". On 9 September 1936, the Commission for Non-Interference was established in London. Although the Italian and German governments also signed the non-intervention agreement, they never stopped supporting Franco from the very first moments of the Spanish Civil War. At the end of July, Germany established the "W" Special Command, which specializes in the delivery of weapons and experts to Franco. By this time, Italian planes had flown over Spain. In the first two years of the war, Germany supplied Franco with 650 aircraft, more than 200 tanks, 700 artillery pieces and more than 50,000 German troops. Italy was even more generous, contributing 2,000 artillery pieces, 950 tanks, more than 1,000 aircraft and 150,000 Italian troops to Franco in one fell swoop.
Mussolini and Hitler's enthusiasm for Franco's rebels was due, on the one hand, to their extreme hatred of the left-wing regime, and on the other hand, to the experimentation of new weapons for the imminent launching of a world war. The latest new weapons such as aircraft, anti-aircraft guns, tanks and anti-tank guns were all unveiled on the Spanish battlefield, so much so that the German general Lechlau shamelessly said: "Germany regards Spain as its own training ground and the highest military school." ”
Although the United States, far away on the other side of the ocean, did not join the "Non-Interference Committee," they strictly adhered to the "Chinese legislation" and imposed a moral embargo on the Spanish belligerents. However, the subject of the US "embargo" does not include Italy and Germany. In 1937 alone, nearly $200 million in arms and materiel were sold to franco's army through Germany and Italy. At this time, "non-interference" effectively became an arms embargo against the legitimate Spanish government.
The indifference of Britain, France and the United States pushed the Spanish republican government to the socialist Soviet Union. From a standpoint, the Soviet Union had the responsibility to support the Spanish government, and the Soviet government did give a lot of weapons and manpower support to the Spanish republican government during the war, but the Soviet Union did not want to be deadlocked with European countries, but still participated in the "Non-Interference Committee". For Stalin, what was important was the national interests of the USSR, while "the Spanish thing was secondary".
Thereafter, the Soviet Union supported the Spanish Republican government through the Comintern. In September 1936, the Comintern established a special committee, and Communist Parties around the world set up volunteer recruitment centers. More than 30,000 enthusiastic young people from 54 countries joined the international column and rushed to the Spanish battlefield. Among these were not only communists, but also all those who took it as their duty to oppose fascism.
In the film "Battle for Justice", Davido, an American nurse who joined the international column at that time, was asked why he went to Spain to fight. She said: "When Hitler persecuted the Jews, I thought it was a Jewish affair, when Mussolini annexed Ethiopia, I thought it was Ethiopia, and when Germany and Italy sent troops to Spain, I was alert to their appetite to swallow the whole world!" ”
On October 14, 1936, the first group of 650 foreign volunteers arrived at the base of the International Column in Albacete, Spain. Since then, more than 30,000 volunteers speaking various languages have fought in this strange land, including nearly 100 Chinese warriors.
Surface
Chen Wenrao took a photo in front of the international column.
In 1988, Mr. and Mrs. Zou Ni began a search for veteran Chinese soldiers. This year, Spain held a re-visit to Spain by veterans from all over the world. Zou Ningyuan came to Spain with the veterans of the Lincoln Brigade. At the event, Zou Ningyuan met a Japanese photography team. The purpose of the Japanese photography team was to shoot a documentary for Shirai, the only Member of the International Column. Although there was only one Japanese who participated in the international column, The Japanese attached great importance to it, not only writing several books for Shirai, but also making documentaries. In comparison, it is a pity that our Chinese participation in the international column has not been mentioned. Zou Ningyuan sighed with emotion.
After returning to the United States, at a gathering of Lincoln Brigade veterans, Zou Ningyuan openly solicited information from veterans about Chinese volunteers. "Two veterans on the spot said they knew about Chinese's involvement in the Spanish Civil War." Zou Ningyuan said.
Based on the information obtained at the meeting, the Zou Ni couple quickly found Greber, a veteran living in New York. In 1936, when Graeber was in college, he learned of Hitler and Mussolini's massive invasion of Spain, and joined the U.S. international column with friends. Soon, Graeber and his companions were sent to a small town on the French border.
In the first year of the Spanish Civil War, hundreds of volunteers like Grabe gathered every day from around the world to the Franco-Spanish border. Some of them travel through Communist Party organizations around the world, or they travel alone in their own names. Since France had banned volunteers from crossing the border into Spain to participate in the war, volunteers from all over the world had to cross the Pyrenees from the French border and smuggle them to Spain. Graeber told Zou Ni that in order to avoid the patrol of the French sentries, they all climbed the mountain at night. The journey is arduous and dangerous, and the mountains are one after the other, and it seems that they can never be climbed. Graeber recalled that many people over the age of thirty could not climb halfway, and some had to retreat. After an overnight trek, the next morning, the volunteers' feet finally set foot on Spanish soil. More than 20 Chinese sang the Internationale in unison, like brothers. It was the most exciting moment of my life and I never experienced it again. After many years, Graeber said this to the visiting Ni Huiru and Zou Ningyuan.
Graeber's path into Spain is a necessary path for almost every volunteer who joins the International Column. After entering Spain, the volunteers were placed in the small town of Albacete, southeast of Madrid, for reorganization and training. This is the headquarters of the International Column. Since the members of the International Column come from more than 50 countries, language becomes a big problem. In order to facilitate communication, the international column divided the members into several detachments according to the language they spoke.
The Spanish Civil War was waged by Spanish troops in Morocco led by Franco. With the help of German transport aircraft, several thousand of Franco's soldiers were swiftly transported across the strait and occupied Seville. After the war began, franco rebels marched north to take the capital Madrid. For both sides, winning Madrid has a strong symbolic significance. The "defense of Madrid" became the most important battle at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
From the distribution map of the Spanish elections that year, it can be seen that Madrid is surrounded by right-wing forces. Ibaruli, the famous female leader of the Spanish Communist Party, "The Flower of Enthusiasm", put forward the slogan "They (fascists) are not allowed to pass". However, in the face of Franco's army pressure, the citizens of Madrid are still afraid. Just when the situation was extremely urgent, a strange army appeared on the streets of Madrid. They marched in neat steps, wearing steel helmets and carrying machine guns. Some Madrid citizens thought it was reinforcements sent by the Soviet Union and took the lead in shouting "Long live the Russians." In fact, this team is the 11th detachment of the newly formed International Column.
The International Column set up its first line of defense in the university city, not far from Madrid. The British writer Vincent Brom described the pre-war university town in the book International Column as follows:
There were many barriers on the streets, private cars were not visible, and all taxis were requisitioned for military transport. There were long lines in all the food stores, militias directing traffic, and garbage piled up on both sides of the streets that no one had cleaned up. Crossed strips of paper are densely attached to the glass windows to prevent splashing around when blown up. People from all walks of life feel confused. A postman looks around the badly damaged street, hoping to find an address tag that no longer exists. Groups of women from large families crowded the streets clutching packs of food, with many children trailing behind. Occasionally a truck full of soldiers passed by, and they immediately changed their mood, showed joy on their faces, raised their arms and clenched their fists while saluting them, shouting in their mouths: "iNoPasardn! Some workers nervously repaired blown-up roads and gas pipes by huge braziers. Slogans and slogans were everywhere, calling on residents to resist until the last drop of blood was shed.
Shelling, bombing, strafing... With the support of German-Italian fascists, Franco's army dropped countless bombs on the university town. In the university town, the former philosophy building and literature building have become bloody battlefields, and almost every building is engaged in a tug-of-war. At the end of November, due to the lack of supplies, the rebels finally retreated and Madrid was saved.
The heroic performance of the International Column in the defense of Madrid shook the world, but they also paid a heavy price. Many of the soldiers of the International Column had been wounded and hospitalized. The hospital served both as a temporary respite from the great war and as a prime place to meet new people. In 1937, Graeber was taken to the Benicàssim Hospital on the Mediterranean coast, where he met a Chinese, Yick.
Ni Zou's eyes lit up when they heard the name Yick, which was one of the three suspected Chinese they were looking for. Unfortunately, Greber only remembered that Yick spoke very good English, probably from New York's Chinatown, and knew nothing about his Chinese name or origin. Graeber told them that Yick had died in 1938.
The clue that was not easy to find was so broken, and Ni Zou and the two were not willing. Since Graeber said Yick was from Chinatown, it was better to start with Chinatown. After being pointed out, they found Mai Liqian, an expert in the history of Chinatown in the United States. Ni Huiru said: "Although Mai Liqian did not have access to the information that Chinese participated in the Spanish Civil War, he told us that we could start with the Herald in New York and the Times of Salvation in Paris. ”
The Herald was a weekly newspaper published by the Chinese community in the United States that year, and if it is not a professional historical researcher, the average person rarely knows about it. In the Herald newspaper on June 26, 1937, Ni Zou and his wife found a Spanish letter signed by Zhang Ji. A native of Changsha, Hunan Province, Zhang Ji came to the United States to study in 1918 after graduating from Fudan High School. He later earned a degree in mineralogy from the University of Minnesota. Zhang Ji, who was likely to be among the middle class, later lost his job due to the Great Depression in the United States. This experience made him gradually turn left,And when the Spanish Civil War broke out, he resolutely joined the American volunteer team and went to Spain.
"Isn't 'Zhang Ji' the 'Chi Chang' on the list?" Ni Zou and the two were very excited, and the Chinese fighters who participated in the Spanish Civil War finally surfaced. Ni Huiru told reporters that later she specifically checked the 1918 U.S. entry records and determined that the Chinese name of "Zhang Ji" was "Zhang Ji". "Joining the international column was forbidden by Western governments, so many people used pseudonyms when they signed up." Ni Huiru said.
Another name that appeared in the Herald was Chen Wenrao. Chen Wenrao participated in another famous battle after the Defense of Madrid, the Battle of Belchit. He vividly wrote in the newspaper: "In this battle, I unfortunately suffered a flowering bomb and injured my right foot. The bullet enters from the surface of the foot and exits from the toes. Doctors have cut the injured big toe. As soon as the wound healed, I was going to go to the front line again. ”
Zou Ningyuan told reporters that Yick and Chen Wenrao have a lot of similarities, they are also from New York's Chinatown, the same injury hospitalized, but Graeber remembers Yick injured in the arm, and Chen Wenrao injured in the foot. Could it be that the old gentleman misremembered many years later? Later, they found a picture of Chen Wenrao in another old newspaper. When they showed the picture to Graeber, he recognized Chen Wenrao as Yick.
Battle of Belchit
At the hospital, Chen Wenrao met Lin Jishi, a Chinese volunteer from Switzerland. Mr. and Mrs. Zou Ni later discovered that Lin Jishi was a soul figure among the Chinese volunteers of the International Column, not only often contributing to the Pioneer Daily and the National Salvation Times, but also gathering many Chinese volunteers around him. Later, Ni Hui came to China to look for information, and only then did she learn from Zhang Dezhong, a researcher at the Museum of the Chinese Revolution, that Lin Jishi's real name was Xie Weijin.
Xie Weijin is a native of Sichuan. At the end of 1919, he joined the team of work-study in France and went to Europe to study. Many of the students who participated in the work-study trip to France later became early members of the Chinese Communist Party. Among Xie Weijin's classmates were Zhu De, Sun Bingwen and others. In 1925, Xie Weijin joined the European branch of the Communist Youth League and officially became a member of the Communist Party of China the following year. For the next decade, Xie Weijin traveled throughout Europe, doing propaganda work for the Communists until the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, when he joined the International Column under the pseudonym Lin Jishi.
When Xie Weijin first arrived in Spain, he thought he could join the battle immediately, but he did not expect that after waiting for a month, the international column would not approve him to participate in the battle. Xie Weijin had no choice but to write a letter to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Spain. The letter begins with the following words: "I have come to Spain through all odds in order to participate in this struggle, and I will not retreat from it." He said that if the international column had doubts about his background, it could investigate with the French and German communists. Apparently, the letter worked. Soon, Xie Weijin got his military card of the International Column and began a real career as a horseman.
The International Column was clearly very satisfied with Xie Weijin's political background in Europe. As soon as he joined the army, he was appointed political commissar and party secretary of the anti-tank unit of the 11th detachment. Like Chen Wenrao, Xie Weijin also participated in the Battle of Belch. In July 1937, the Spanish Republican Army launched a major counteroffensive at Brunet, 50 km northwest of Madrid. Although the Republic mobilized nearly 50,000 elite soldiers, 136 mortars, 128 tanks and 150 aircraft, as well as the 13th and 15th detachments of the International Column, the Republic was at a disadvantage in the face of the well-armed rebels. In August, Xie Weijin's army was transferred to the city of Belchit to prevent the rebels from moving north. In Belch, he experienced a fierce battle.
Belchit is an ancient city surrounded by thick walls, and it is said that Napoleon invaded Spain and could not do anything about it. The vantage point of Belchild City is an ancient church. Rebels entrenched the church, shooting down from the towering bell tower. Machine guns, grenades, and incendiary bombs could not help this granite church, and many members of the International Column fell under the strafing of machine guns.
In 1995, in order to find the footprints of Chinese volunteers in Spain 60 years ago, Zou Ni and his wife came to belchild City. Entering the city of Belchit, they were stunned by the ruins of the city. The houses on both sides of the street were still there, but in the houses only the beams hanging in mid-air could be seen, and there was neither a roof nor a floor. The towering church was left with only an empty shell. "After the war, Franco seized power. He ordered that it should not be rebuilt. He wanted the Spaniards to see that this was the result of the revolt. Ni Huiru told reporters. Xie Weijin was in the middle of the assault on the church when a bullet pierced his ankle. He was admitted to the Benicassim Hospital on the Mediterranean coast. During his recuperation, he not only met several Chinese compatriots, including Chen Wenrao, but also a Chinese delegation. The leader of the delegation was General Yang Hucheng, who had been exiled overseas by Chiang Kai-shek the previous year for launching the Xi'an Incident. When Yang Hucheng met with General Miaha, commander-in-chief of the Spanish People's Front, he presented the Spanish People's Front with a pennant with the inscription: "Fight for national independence, democracy and peace!" "The Chinese who suffered from The Japanese aggression were obviously more sympathetic to the Spanish people's anti-fascist war.
A member of the visiting group named Chen Zhutian asked people around to inquire about Xie Weijin. Chen Zhutian is the head of the "National Salvation Congress" of the Paris "National Salvation Times". He was entrusted by Zhao Jiansheng, head of the Paris Chinese Democratic Front, to bring a letter to Xie Weijin. The letter reads: "Our Party leaders such as Mao Zedong and Wang Ming have sent a special letter to my brothers to pay tribute to all the deputies and wish them an early recovery of health and continue to join the front line in killing the enemy." ”
The condolences of the leaders of the CPC Central Committee gave Xie Weijin great encouragement. Xie Weijin, who had originally planned to leave Spain and return to China to participate in the War of Resistance Against Japan, decided to stay and continue to participate in the battle.
The famous "big bald head"
Zhang Ruishu, a Chinese volunteer, appeared on the cover of the Spanish magazine Estampa.
Among the Chinese who participated in the Spanish Civil War, the soul who was most closely associated with the Comintern and the Chinese Communist Party organization was Xie Weijin, and among the Spaniards, the two brave male nurses were Zhang Ruishu and Liu Jingtian.
Ni Huiru once saw the big bald head of a middle-aged Chinese man on the cover of the Spanish magazine Estampa published in 1938. This Chinese man looked into the distance, opened his mouth, and showed a thick smile, which was a typical image of a northern peasant. This person is Zhang Ruishu, who is doing ambulance work in the international column. There is an article in this issue called "Zhang and Liu", which reports the story of Zhang Ruishu and Liu Jingtian.
In 1917, the First World War was raging on the European continent. Due to the large number of casualties and the shortage of labor in the rear factories, britain and France recruited more than 140,000 Chinese workers. Zhang Ruishu and Liu Jingtian came to France at that time.
Zhang Ruishu, then 24 years old, was originally a soldier in Changsha. That year, the Overseer fled, the army was disbanded, he had nothing to do, he wanted to go to Pukou to join his sister, but he was attracted by the French recruitment notice on the dock. The notice promised that after working in France for 5 years, the company would be responsible for sending Chinese workers back to China, and each Family member of the Chinese worker could receive a settlement fee of 50 francs. Zhang Ruishu, who had no worries, felt that going to France was also a way out, so he boarded a ship bound for France.
After Arriving in France, Zhang Ruishu was sent to work in a paper mill near Paris. More than a year later, after the end of the First World War, the French workers who had returned from the battlefield returned to the factory, and the Chinese workers faced the fate of being sent back to China. Zhang Ruishu's parents died and he did not start a family in China, so he decided to stay in France. With the help of his friends, he paid off the tickets paid for by the factory for the french ferry, abrogated the contract, and became a free man. In the years that followed, in order to repay the arrears, Zhang Ruishu went through trenches, dug up dead bodies, cleaned up gas bombs, and did all kinds of hard work. It was not until 1924, when he was introduced to work in the Renault automobile factory, that he lived a stable life.
In the factory, Zhang Ruishu met Liu Jingtian, a fellow villager in Shandong, who also came to France as a coolie. The two people are both fellow countrymen and have common experiences, and since then they have become good friends who are "not far from Meng Meng". After the First World War, the European economy was severely damaged, and left-wing ideas flourished in factories. From the mouths of French workers, Lao Zhang and Lao Liu heard the slogan "Labor Sacred" for the first time. Zhang and Liu, who had only known how to immerse themselves in hard work, accepted the new ideas and soon both joined the French Communist Party.
In 1936, the Spanish Civil War had just broken out. Zhang Ruishu and Liu Jingtian signed up for the International Column. "They were in their 40s at the time, and it was hard to get a stable job. Resolutely deciding to abandon everything and go to the battlefield is really not easy. Ni Huiru sighed.
After arriving at the headquarters of the International Column in Albacete, Spain, Zhang and Liu originally asked to join the machine gun team. After a medical examination, they were assigned to the 13th Battalion of the 14th Brigade on stretchers. A few years later, when Lao Zhang mentioned this experience to his friends in Yan'an, he regretted and said: "That is really disappointing!" No matter how you ask for it, you don't allow it! The reason is that I am too old. "However, the work of carrying a stretcher is not easy. A battle is two weeks, every day. After a burst of artillery fire, the ground was full of wounded soldiers. Lao Zhang and Lao Liu lifted the injured and ran, sometimes running for more than ten kilometers before they could put them down. The magazine Wing, published by the 14th Brigade of the International Column, has this article about them: "After the explosion of the second shell, someone shouted: 'Lao Zhang is injured!'" 'It's Lao Zhang!' We hurried to look at him. He stood there, a little stunned by the concussion, but still smiling..."
This description is so evocative that people have a thick image of a Shandong Han in front of their eyes. Ni Huiru told reporters that many soldiers of the international column do not know their names, but when chinese comrades are mentioned, they are Zhang and Liu.
Liu Jingtian, a Chinese volunteer in the international column, rescued the wounded on the battlefield in Spain.
There is also an interesting story about the "big bald head" on the cover of Estampa magazine. In the autumn of 1937, when the front was resting, Zhang Ruishu's detachment leader told him to go to Madrid to play. Because the work was too busy, Zhang Ruishu was reluctant to go, but the captain had to let him go. On the streets of Madrid, Zhang Ruishu saw his "big bald head" poster more than a meter high on the wall. Just when Lao Zhang was stunned, the surrounding Spanish citizens found that the "big bald head" on the poster was in front of them. They screamed and gathered around, hugging him, kissing him, and shouting thanks and blessings to him in Spanish. Only then did Lao Zhang know why the detachment leader had not let him come to Madrid.
Withdrawal from Spain
After the international column withdrew from Spain, it remained in the concentration of small towns on the French border. Several distinctive Chinese faces can be seen in this group photo.
However, the bravery of the soldiers of the International Column did not save the increasingly passive situation. By the spring of 1938, Franco rebels had occupied most of the northern province of Catalonia. Fearing that Franco would continue south, cutting off Madrid from the Mediterranean, the leaders of the Republic launched a major counterattack on the Ebro River. The Battle of the Ebro was one of the most brutal battles of the Spanish Civil War, with three-quarters of the 7,000 warriors on the Republican side who fought. Chen Wenrao, who had just recovered from his foot wounds and returned to the battlefield, died on the battlefield of the Ebro River.
The soldiers of the International Column may not have imagined that the Battle of the Ebro was their last battle in Spain. In September 1938, while they were on the front lines, the Prime Minister of the Spanish Republic, Negrin, announced in Geneva the unilateral disbandment of all foreign forces. Why did the Spanish Republic destroy the Great Wall and demand the withdrawal of the International Column? The reasons for this are widely debated. Some people say that although Negrin relied on the Communist International and the Soviet Union, he never gave up seeking sympathy from the Western countries, and he wishfully hoped that after the international column was withdrawn, the German and Italian troops could also withdraw. Some people say that at that time, Britain and France were about to sign the Munich Agreement with Germany, hoping to let Germany attack the Soviet Union by ceding the Sudetenland to Germany. Under the influence of the Munich Agreement, the Soviet Union decided to withdraw its international column and withdraw from the Spanish war. In any case, in the autumn of 1938, all the fighters of the International Column were summoned to Barcelona to await evacuation.
On 28 October, Barcelona held a warm farewell ceremony for the International Column. The International Column held high the flag and marched majestically through the center of Barcelona. The streets were lined with tearful citizens, throwing flowers and shouting slogans. Enthusiastic Spanish maidens rushed into the line to hug the volunteer soldiers of the International Column.
At the farewell party, "Flower of Passion" Ibaruli delivered a tear-jerking speech:
Comrades of the International Column: You have selflessly dedicated your blood for the sake of political ideals; and for the same reason you are leaving. Some will return to their countries and some will have to go into exile. But you may stand up with your chests and go away gloriously. You have created a new history, and you have painted the legends of the world. You are a heroic example of democratic unity and a family from all over the world. We will not forget you. When the olive tree of peace re-sprouts green and weaves into the crown of victory in the Spanish Republic – please come back!
However, the year after the international column withdrew from Spain, Franco seized power.
After withdrawing from Spain, Xie Weijin and his troops were placed in the community of Selva in France. It was the concentration of British, American, South American and other soldiers of the international column. This concentration gathered more than 16,000 soldiers of the international column waiting to return home. Although it is called a concentration area, it is actually like a concentration camp. Xie Weijin described it in an article titled "Report and Appeal to Overseas Chinese Compatriots": "Ten steps and one soldier, five steps and one police, loaded with guns and live ammunition, even gas masks are hung around the waist, machine guns and tanks, and the position of the cloth ..." The living conditions in the concentrated areas are very harsh. At first there was no water supply, the warriors had to drink sewage from the ditch, and many suffered from dysentery. Each person has a herd of lice and a thin face.
Here Xie Weijin met Li Fengning, Yang Chunrong, Zhang Changguan, Zhang Shusheng and several other Chinese fighters. Zhang Ruishu and Liu Jingtian were also initially sent here, but soon they were rescued by French friends. Xie Weijin could only write to the Consulate of the Nationalist Government in Paris asking for help.
While waiting for rescue, Xie Weijin and six Chinese soldiers who were also imprisoned ran a mimeographed tabloid, "Intelligence on the Chinese War of Resistance," which was pasted on a wooden wall outside the barracks. Every morning and evening, many readers gather in front of the posters, reading the newspapers and discussing China's problems. Along with Xie Weijin on the wall were the pennants brought to them by the central committee of the Communist Party of China in 1938. The pennant reads: "International Column Chinese Detachment: Chinese and Western People Unite!" Down with the common enemy of mankind - Fascist Ti! "The pennant is: Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Peng Dehuai. Ni Huiru told reporters that this pennant was entrusted by the CPC Central Committee to a Chinese seafarer, and it was handed over to Xie Weijin through Marseille, France, with great painstaking efforts. Xie Weijin treasured the pennant until the last stage of his life, donating it to the Museum of the Chinese Revolution.
In 1938, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China entrusted a pennant from Yan'an to the Chinese volunteers in the international column.
In March 1939, Xie Weijin and they finally waited for a reply from the consulate in Paris. The letter stated that they could be issued passports, but that they would have to pay for their travel back to their home countries. However, in June, the passport promised by the consulate did not come. In a hurry, he had to write a letter to Zhao Jiansheng in the United States for help. Zhao Jiansheng did not expect that Xie Weijin was still stranded in the concentration area, and immediately remitted 750 francs to them, and published an article in the "National Salvation Times" calling on overseas Chinese to actively assist them and help them get out of the sea of suffering as soon as possible.
In October 1939, after eight months of concentrated living, six Chinese volunteers, including Xie Weijin, were finally allowed to leave. Ni Huiru said that it was fortunate that these Chinese volunteers were rescued in time. A few months later, france fell, and many of the soldiers of the international column who remained there were sent to Nazi concentration camps by the Germans and never came out alive.
Out of the western battlefield, into the eastern battlefield
The eastern battlefield and the western battlefield are thousands of miles apart, which is related to the rise and fall of culture. What we are desperately trying to do is to resist aggression. What we want to implement is the idea of democracy...
These are a few sentences from a poem given to Chinese soldiers on the Spanish front in 1938 by colleagues of the National Salvation Times. The "Western Front" refers to Spain, and the "Eastern Front" refers to China, which is experiencing the War of Resistance Against Japan.
As one of the main battlefields of the world's anti-fascism, China, like Spain, also received the attention of righteous people all over the world. The well-known Doctor Bethune, the famous war photographer Robert Capa, and the documentary master Evans, are all just out of the Western Battlefield and into the Eastern Battlefield. For the Chinese soldiers who have just escaped from difficulties, returning to China to resist the war is not only for justice, but also a national responsibility. Xie Weijin, Zhang Ruishu, Liu Jingtian, Zhang Ji... These Chinese fighters, who could find their names, all returned to their homeland to participate in the War of Resistance after leaving the Spanish battlefield.
In June 1939, Xie Weijin took his newlywed wife and son around Vietnam and arrived in Chongqing. After arriving in Chongqing, he immediately got in touch with the Eighth Route Army's office in Chongqing. During this period, Xie Weijin mainly did some external liaison work. Many foreign doctors who returned from the Spanish battlefield and came to China to participate in the War of Resistance often visited Xie Weijin's home. Epstein, a famous journalist who was also a guest at Xie Weijin's home, recalled to Ni Huiru that these "Spanish doctors" originally wanted to work in Yan'an, but they were assigned to Tuyunguan in Guiyang by the Chinese Red Cross Society, and they elected representatives to go to Chongqing to find Zhou Enlai to find a way, and Xie Weijin's home became a stronghold.
In 1944, Xie Wei went to Yan'an. During the Liberation War, he was transferred to the deputy director of the Political Department of the Siye Special Forces and participated in the Battle of Pingjin. In 1955, Xie Weijin was awarded the Order of Liberation.
Zhang Ruishu and Liu Jingtian, two male nurses who were famous in the Spanish battlefield, also returned to their motherland after being rescued from the centralized place by friends. In October 1939, they arrived in Yan'an. In Yan'an, Liu Jingtian was assigned to the "Sixth Department of the Party School" to work on construction, and Zhang Ruishu worked as a custodian in the "Liberation Daily". In Yan'an, Zhang Ruishu and Liu Jingtian are also famous because they are hard-working and often rated as model workers. After the founding of New China, Zhang Ruishu did logistical work at Xinhua News Agency. "Administrative level 13, belongs to senior cadres!" Ni Huiru said. Liu Jingtian's information never appeared again after liberation.
Zhang Ji, Li Fengning, Yang Chunrong, Zhang Shusheng, Zhang Changchang, and others all returned to China to participate in the War of Resistance After leaving Spain. For the strange Spain, they all went to support without hesitation, and their motherland was ravaged, how could they ignore it?
Xie Weijin mentioned in an article that there were nearly 100 Chinese volunteers who participated in the Spanish Civil War, but after more than ten years of searching, Ni Huiru and Zou Ningyuan only found the stories of more than a dozen people. Although most of the heroes' stories have been lost in the long river of history, Ni Zou and zou believe that their internationalist spirit of taking the world as their mission will never fade. "As the poem given to them by the Times of National Salvation says: Humanity is brotherhood and sisterhood, and the whole world is our homeland." Ni Huiru said.
References: "When the World Was Young", "The International Column and China during the Spanish Anti-Fascist War", Doctoral Thesis "Spanish War and the International Community". The pictures in this article are provided by Ni Huiru and Zou Ningyuan.
This article was originally published in Beijing Daily on June 4, 2013
Author of this issue: Huang Jiajia
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