The Decision in Spain: The Great Battle of Literature

On July 19, 1936, General Francisco Franco boarded a plane bound for Tetouan to join an uprising against the Spanish Republic. Courageous volunteers from over fifty countries spontaneously set out to defend Spain against the fascist coup. They were joined by Ernest Hemingway, Robert Capa, George Orwell, Simon Weil, Willy Brandt, and many others. The renowned Spain expert, Paul Engenday, recounts their battles with weapons, pen, and camera—a captivating tale of courage and illusion, already overshadowed by the specter of World War II.

Summer 1936: In Madrid, residents cooled the sweltering pavements with water, while just a few doors away, a gun was drawn in Parliament. At the Bayreuth Wagner Festival, Hitler received a message: a general named Franco was requesting his military support for a coup against the Spanish government. Six days later, a German air force unit, disguised in civilian clothing, prepared to deploy under the codename “Operation Fire Magic.” It was a pivotal time in Europe, filled with fateful decisions, chance encounters, betrayals, and tragic ironies. Tens of thousands of volunteers from around the world spontaneously decided to come to Spain’s aid in the impending civil war. Among them were artists, journalists, intellectuals, and the persecuted; aid workers and nurses, idealists and adventurers. Against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, Paul Engenday masterfully captures the division that tore apart families, villages, and nations—a division that would come to define the battlefronts of the 20th century.