Unresolved Ending in Pan's Labyrinth

I liked the ending of the movie because it's open for interpretation. As we said in class, we are not sure if Ophelia imagined going to her kingdom at the end or if it really happened. Personally, I feel that Ophelia did not imagine the fairy and the faun in order to escape reality because the two worlds crossed over several times throughout the movie. The mandrake, which was given to her by the faun, helped her mother to get better and when it was destroyed by the captain she tragically died. Also, Ophelia uses the piece of chalk in the real world. Both of these magical objects, which have power in the real world, are evidence that Ophelia didn’t simply make it all up in her head.
On the other hand, at the end her stepfather cannot see the faun when Ophelia is talking to it, which can lead us to believe that the entire magical world was imagined by this young girl going through an extremely difficult situation. The fantasy- like ending contributes to the overall dream like feeling of the movie, and I would like to think the ending was not simply her imagination.

Gender and Pan's Labyrinth

There is definitely a patriarchal structure in Pan's labyrinth, both in the real and fantasy worlds in the story. I was more interested though in the partriachal structure in the real world where CaptainVidal is the dictator and everyone else are the loyal subjects. Clearly, his authority and presence is powerful enough to bring fear into the hearts of his army in so much that they obey and comply with his bloody commands. What struck out for me was that the female characters in the story complied with Vidal or was loyal under his rule not because they feared him. Ofelia's mother chooses to submit to Vidal by sitting in the wheelchair upon his request because she loves her children and fears for the dismal future that the war has pronounced for innocent people like herself. I enjoyed watching Mercedes who expressed real fear and uncertanity of not seeing the light,victory out of the darkness she lives when she says,"I must be a coward for washing his clothes, cooking his food." The fear she expresses is valid because she is disheartened and uncertain about the outcome yet she overcomes this with strenght summoned by hatred of Vidal and his merciless crimes,war, suffering and endless pain her country is made to suffer; when she violently scars Vidal's face. Ofelia is fearless because she is a child, she takes on the responsibility of making choices that determine the well-being of her family and her future. The evil mainfestations of the Captain are the toad and the pale man which she overcomes with a strong belief in the "happily ever after"

The Trinity-Ophelia

I'm really curious to see the rest of the Director's Cut...I've got all these assumptions, left lingering. Some things have obviously been left for the imagination...but is the scene at the end meant to represent the trinity? If so, does that make Ophelia a Mary? I think that takes quite some innocence away. I mean she basically bore the baby...if that was Guillermo del Toro's vision.

THE ROLE OF THE FAUN

When Ofelia is first led to the labyrinth by the fairy and meets the faun, he presents her with three tasks. Not only does he present her with these tasks, he claims that he knows her to be Princess Moanna, a princess from another place, whose father (the king) had been searching for, and that it was his duty to make sure her heart was pure So that she can return to her kingdom. In essence, the faun, or the goat-man as I like to call him, was Ofelia's strongest liaison between the real world, and her "kingdom".
At first glance, the faun appears shady, I felt the impulse to yell out to Ofelia that he should not be trusted. Here we have this girl, who is obviously affected by the death of her father, despises her 'stepfather', and is in dire need of an important/positive male figure in her life. This is where I believe her trusting the faun came into play, he was male, appeared strong, and was finally answering her "call to adventure". A girl who was an avid reader of fairy tales, magical lands and creatures, finally presented with her own adventure, by this magical faun. The faun represents somewhat of a gatekeeper to the fantasy world, who needs Ofelia to perform these tasks with only his guidance, he cannot do them for her. Careful and specific instructions were given to Ofelia by the Faun, and he yelled at her when he disobeyed his instructions on one of the tasks. The faun himself is not only a guide, but in the final moments we realize that he was also testing Ofelia, to verify she is the immortal princess by spilling the blood of her brother (the innocent) to allow her return to the kingdom. Which in turn she does not do, passing the "test", as her blood is the blood spilled into the "portal". Her blood was also the blood of an innocent.

Innocence in Pan's Labyrinth

The depiction of innocence in Pan's Labyrinth seems to be tightly bound to the obedience (and disobedience) that Ofelia displays throughout the movie. The movie begins with the young girl's earnest reluctance to let go of her precious fairy tale books, even though she is told to discard them by both parental figures (i.e. her mother and stepfather). Her desperate grasp on the old books clearly shows her childish stubbornness and also shows us her fear of the changes occurring in her life. The resistance Ofelia displays reflects her inexperience with the real world, and her familiarity with the magical and the mystical world. It is also interesting to note that although she does not listen to what her parents tell her, she does listen to Mercedes, the maid, and to the magical Faun.
Where her innocence, and possibly naïveté, shines forth the most is in her unquestioning acceptance to the existence of fairies and the magical world of the Faun. I think every young girl fantasizes about becoming a beautiful, regal princess, and Ofelia is not exempt. Her willingness to fulfill the three tasks given to her comes from her desire to become someone important- as if by completing these magical tasks she could leave the real world and be fully immersed in the magical one.
Even her mistakes show that Ofelia is a young girl with a great imagination. Although she is warned by the Faun not to eat or drink anything from the Pale Man’s dinner table, she disregards the ominous warning and eats two juicy grapes. Just like a young child who touches a hot pan even though his mother warned him not to, Ofelia learns that warnings should be heeded, especially if a child-eating monster comes after you. I think it is in such instances that we are reminded that she is an innocent, young child valiantly going forth to seek her own adventure in life.

The essence of evil in Pan's Labyrinth

Evil is portayed in two ways: through people and through mystical creatures.
The evil portrayed in human form is through the character of Vidal. It is clearly evident how evil he is; that is foreshadowed when he first meets Ofelia and grabs her hand. I knew from that moment, that even though a Captain is supposed to be strict, that him being like that was too strict and over the edge. The way he treats others, especially Ofelia, reflects this. It is ironic, however, that this source of evil helps Ofelia on her pathway to salvation. If it weren't for Vidal shooting Ofelia, she never would have been able to be reuntied with her family.
The evil in mystical form comes with Pan. The last task he asks of Ofelia, of sacrificing her brother, is the most prevalent evidence of that. That shows how evil can be masked in a friendly form. Ofelia trusts Pan almost wholly, up until that point. It is only until she is faced with the limits of her own moral compass that she challenges his authority.

Why Did Volunteers Decide To Fight In The Spanish-American War?

The Spanish-American War was the first American-involved war fought after the end of the Civil War. It was the first War fought by an all-volunteer army. The War took place during a period of great waves of migration within and immigration to the United States. There were freed Black slaves, Native Americans, Chinese, Filipinos, Mexicans, Cubans, American Caucasians and European/Eastern European Caucasians. These various groups worked in all types of occupations -- farmers, laborers, tradesmen, medicine, law, clergy, etc. -- and some did not have any defined occupations or trades.

When the government sent out word that there was a need for volunteers to form army units to fight in this War, almost 200,000 men and women came forward. They were looking for a chance to represent their country, to help other people who had been oppressed like they had, to learn new skills and get paid by the Government (to help their families), and to take advantage of the "Manifest Destiny" policy of the U.S. Government. Many of those who signed-up felt that this War would be the chance for them to earn money and make a move to a new location to make better lives for themselves and their families. The U.S. Government was overwhelmed with the sheer numbers of volunteers; they were also ill-prepared to train and provide for these individuals. Still, these volunteers would represent the first and last time that there was a totally volunteer army -- up to the end of the Vietnam War in the 20th Century. These volunteers were well-documented by the Government and they and there families were compensated -- on the battlefield, off the battlefield, and in death.

Not all of those who enlisted were fighting on the front lines; there were many different types of positions to be filled -- and, for the women, there were the roles of nurse, cook, seamstress, etc. This was the first time in history that individuals of all races and nationalities in the United States would come together and work as a cohesive unit to fight against the Spanish forces -- instead of just fighting against each other. And because there were so many different ethnicities and nationalities of people, with such a varied degree of backgrounds and skill levels, they were able to teach each other new skills -- and learn that just because you were a different skin color, ethnicity, or nationality, you could still work together for a common goal; you could even gain an appreciation and an empathy for other people with whom you might have never encountered under other circumstances. It also brought together men and women working for the U.S. Government in defense of oppressed people outside of the U.S., in another foreign country. Some of those who were immigrant volunteers to the military units, had fought against the Spanish in their native countries as well -- i.e., the Cubans, the Filipinos, etc.

The common threads which seem to have brought all these people together to fight in the Spanish-American War seems to have been a sense of pride as Americans, the desire to help other oppressed people, and a desire to move forward and better their lot in life.

Resolutions & Dissolutions

What is resolved and what is not:
(I felt a table would be the best way to express this task)

Problems	Resolved?	Death?	How/Why?
Carmen’s Sickness	No	X	She almost recovered until the creature under her bed was burned. She died soon after.
Carmen Pregnancy w/son	Yes		The baby was born at the expense of Carmen
Rebel’s lack of food, supplies, & medical treatment	Yes		The rebels managed to steal food from the Fascists after creating a distraction.
One of the rebels has an injured leg	No		Doctor had no choice but to amputate the leg.
Caught Mercedes’ lover	No	X	Doctor ended his suffering using his injection.
Caught Mercedes	Yes		She escaped after adjusting Vidal’s smile
Doctor in danger	No	X	Vidal shot him after he revealed his true allegiance.
Rebels VS Fascists	Yes	XXX	After the Rebels launched a successful siege, they eliminated Captain Vidal. They won (at least for their local struggle) but lost many of their men.
Ophelia & her Journey	Yes	X	She successfully completed her tasks, although the last one involved her own death.

The ending of the movie evokes extreme sadness in the midst of their victory. This powerful combination of triumph stirred with extreme sadness helps the audience truly feel the ambivalence of the Rebels' emotions.

Points of Entry into and out of the Fairy Tale Setting

Throughout the movie, Ofelia made continuous entries into and out of the labyrinth. The first entry was when she initially came to the Captain’s home. Ofelia was going through many changes at the moment. Her father had died and she was now forced to give a stranger she doesn’t trust the honorary position. Her mother is completely preoccupied with her pregnancy, except when to chastise her for getting her shoes dirty or for reading too many fairy tales. What her mother does not understand, however, is that these fairy tales are Ofelia’s only escape from a really scary and confusing world. She is desperate to make sense of the many daunting changes in her life, and her books are the only way she sees to do that. If these stories are so wonderful, wouldn’t they be even more amazing if they were true? Through fantasy, Ofelia can escape reality. Her points of entry into fantasy occur most frequently when she goes through dramatic events in reality.
Ofelia is so willing to believe in fairy tales that she saw what the audience clearly viewed as quite a disgusting bug as a fairy. Meeting the bug is nothing out of the ordinary but Ofelia makes it spectacular. This is right after her mother tells her that she is too old for her books. There is a gap here between mother and daughter. Ofelia is obviously not ready to give up her stories and she proves that by instantly getting her shoes dirty to explore in the forest and “find” the fairy that her mother so disapproves of for her.
Furthermore, when Ofelia finally finds herself in her new house she runs away. The house is not her home and she would rather follow her “fairy” into the forest than succumb to the strict, military way of life she just cannot accept. It is just too much for her to handle. Ironically, her first exposure to the labyrinth is just as she goes to the Captain’s house and her mother is taken away in a wheelchair.
At night, Ofelia first goes into the labyrinth. This is the first point of entry into a fairytale setting. It is ironically in the middle of the night as Ofelia is sleeping in her new bed. Could Ofelia be dreaming it all? Also, isn’t the nighttime symbolically when evil creatures come out? And then, Ofelia takes a long tunnel down underground; underground where the mythical Hades lives of where Hell supposedly resides. Like Persephone, the Princess of Hades who spent half of her life in the Underworld and half of it on Earth with her mother, Ofelia eats fruit when told not to and is then stuck between a life half in fantasy and half in reality. When both of her mothers leave her (her real mother and Mercedes) there is nothing left for her on Earth and she gives herself completely to Pan. The question between reality and fantasy is which is evil? Is it the real gun that kills her or is it the faun that leads her into the labyrinth with her infant brother?
Finally, the image of when Ophelia dies brings us back to the beginning of the story. The same image of her was seen from the beginning of the movie. This is symbolic of Ofelia’s cycle of life, which is like a hero’s cycle that ends prematurely. Instead of winning in the end after completing the three tasks she dies. Ofelia can only enter the realm of royalty and achieve her wish after she is killed by a real monster, the Captain. Her final entry into fantasy is unlike any other. Unlike the dark and dismal settings like the labyrinth, the creature’s buffet room, the Captain’s house, or even under the tree where the toad lived, the Princess Ofelia’s new castle is filled with bright light and warmth. Everything is made out of gold and the roof is made out of the sky. It is perfect. Beautiful. Is this entry real? The real Ophelia died, but where is her princess spirit? If she really did become a princess, then why didn’t she take her brother? The image of her death is heartbreaking, but her entry into a better world relieves the pain a little bit. Ofelia is still a child. She can imagine a better world and, through her, so can we. Mercedes, on the other hand, cannot. She is so involved in the real world that she has to take all of the pain of Ofelia’s death onto herself. There is nowhere for her to escape and we feel even worse for Mercedes than for Ofelia. Ofelia’s last entry into her castle has a double irony to it. Ofelia’s greatest desires can only come at the expense of Ofelia’s death and, at the same time, along with the paint and agony of the one person left on the Earth who cared about Ofelia.
Children are known for their imaginations. They can pretend anything. I remember that when my brother was about three years old everything he touched turned into some sort of tool. A hammer. A saw. A belt. How he turned a banana into a screwdriver still daunts me. Yet, the difference between my brother and Ofelia is that my brother knew the difference between what was real and what was not. He was able to get away from his overactive imagination and grow up. Ofelia, on the other hand, got very confused. She blurred fantasy and reality so much that there was no point of entry from the real world into the fairy world and vice versa. They merged into one. How could Pan get into Ofelia’s room when it was locked? How did the mandrake root appear under the bed if Pan did not exist? All of these questions continue to appear throughout the story, and we are left with more questions than answers.
Another interesting point of entry into the fantastical world was when Ofelia learns to draw a door with a piece of chalk. Ofelia can use the chalk to get into another world whenever she wants to, but she cannot choose where she goes. She can draw a piece of chalk and it will take her to the creature’s buffet table or she can end up somewhere else. Yet, Ofelia knows that, even though the fantastical points of entry are limitless, she can only return to Captain’s house. I was watching the movie with my family; and as Ofelia frightfully drew a door in the ceiling as the creature tried to grab at her, my sister noted that Ofelia never really needed that timer in the first place. If she could just draw another door back home whenever she wanted to, then why did she have to worry so much in the first place? Her fears are irrational, just like the world in which she chooses to live. Furthermore, later when Ofelia has to grab her brother and run away from the Captain, she hangs onto the chalk. Why? Does she think that she can just draw another door and run away? Just the opposite happens. The chalk is what leads the Captain to first know she is in the room. Ofelia cannot escape from real problems in the fantastical world because that world does not exist for anybody but herself. Just like Ofelia could not draw a door to escape the Captain, when Mercedes saw the chalk drawing on the wall she did not see a door that went along with it.
In the end, we see Ofelia running with her brother through the labyrinth, but the walls that she sees appear after she runs through them really don’t appear at all .The Captain ends up catching up to Ofelia in the end and we finally see that Pan never existed, at least not through the eyes of an adult. There was just a desperate, lonely child clutching the only family she has left and the real evil monster, worse than any greedy toads or gaunt creatures that prey off of innocent babies, who she cannot escape from. This continuous interchange of entry and exits into and out of Ofelia’s dream world play an important role in Ofelia’s development. Ofelia learns not to obey without asking questions, but then she is killed by the one person who cannot learn what she just did. Only in the fantastical world can she be happy and loved.

Ophelia's Tasks

I have to say I thought for a long time about this, trying to piece together the different associations and symbols with the vague ideas that I got while watching the movie this time, and this is what I came up with, for better or for worse.

Ophelia’s ultimate desire is to escape from the world in which she lives, the world where there is war and death and her mother marrying a man Ophelia clearly doesn’t like. When she meets the Faun, although he also does not seem to be the most trustworthy of characters, he offers a way out for her, and possibly for her brother.
I see Ophelia’s tests as being ultimately tests of disobedience and understanding, tests that eventually lead to her not escaping the world by any means possible, but facing the reality of her family, of her brother and denying an ultimately authoritarian request of the Faun, just like she denied the authority of Captain Vidal.
At the same time, her tests are closely paralleled with Mercedes’ real-life tests. Mercedes, ultimately, also does not want to live in the present world, the world where fascism is winning, and that is why she is part of the rebels, living her own version of a secret life that has little to do with fairytales, but at times just as reliant on miracles.
The first test where Ophelia ultimately destroys her evening dress by going into the lair of a giant toad. She is asserting her own identity, saying ‘I am Princess Moana and I’m not afraid of you”, hearkening back to stories of tests that require a steadfastness of spirit and resolve (‘The Magic Brocade, for example, with the ice-sea and fire-mountain). Of course, it also directly references back to “the Devil’s Three Golden Hairs”. She is performing a task of healing, of creation, of removing a disease, taking control over something in the world since her destiny she cannot control. Ultimately, she is punished for it, but that, in a way, once makes her test more valid.
Mercedes, in a similar time-frame, is also performing a test of healing – she convinces the doctor to go up with her into the mountains to cut off a diseased limb so that one of the rebels might live. Although Mercedes’ entire life is a test of disobedience, the doctor, who is portrayed as a true doctor to whom human suffering is abhorrent no matter what anybody else says, joins her in this test. In addition to this, Mercedes also procures the key to the storehouse, the second key in the film, and ultimately, this disobedience leads to her second test.
The second test in Ophelia’s world interesting, because I noticed a parallel in it I did not notice when watching the movie before. The Pale Man’s position at the table, and even the entire set-up of the room is very similar to the Captain’s position in the banquet hall, another echo of Ophelia’s ‘real’ life in her fairy-tale tests. To say that the fairy tale does not exist is to bring up a contested point, I think it has as much place in the narrative as anything else, and the tests Ophelia is given by the Faun ultimately have to draw upon her greatest fears and her greatest challenges – and those are the challenges she faces in the real world.
In the second test, she disobeys the task itself by eating the grapes – a Bluebeard type of story. However, since the tests are all about her disobedience, this was necessary, otherwise she would never have had to learn that with disobedience can come death. Without knowing both sides of her actions, she would not be strong enough to face the Captain at the end of the film, and, indeed, she would not have a complete picture of what her own actions might entail. In addition, however, she learns that by asserting herself in a situation, and not being a deer in the headlights of her own fear, she can escape even the greatest peril, even a mythological beast. In this test she procures a dagger, but does not use it on the Pale Man, the idea of violence is still abhorrent to her, because of her innocence. Not so in Mercedes’ case.
In Mercedes’ world, her disobedience procures food and arms for the rebels, but lands her in a position of facing the best. However, Captain Vidal underestimates her and Mercedes uses the knife she carries around with her to take complete control of the situation. She is asserting a position of power over an authority, but ultimately loses the ability to stay in the household and continue to do her work. She is, just like Ophelia, saved in the nick of time by the rebels, narrowly escaping Vidal’s soldiers.
The last test is once again the denial of authority by both Ophelia and Mercedes, resulting in a two-fold bittersweet ending on both sides. Ophelia refuses to hand over her son for the promise of a fantasy kingdom, and ultimately dies. Whether she achieves the Otherworld of the film is unclear, but her actions proved that she is willing to disobey, and ultimately, this disobedience is the only thing that can get her into the Otherworld, if it is indeed real. Disobedience is linked with purity of heart and free thought, because the authority is ultimately fascism, which is characterized by unthinking obedience.
Mercedes refuses to pass on another myth, when faced with the Captain – the myth of his watch, his name, his story. She refuses humanity to fascism, just like Ophelia asserted her own humanity.
In a way, both endings are bittersweet. The rebels are triumphant, but we know from history that they failed in the end. Ophelia dies, but the film gives us hope that she did not die in vain.
Ultimately, I’m sure I didn’t cover even half of the symbolism and meaning in Ophelia’s tests, so anybody who wants to join in – it’s a fascinating topic.

Here’s also an interesting discussion board and analysis of Pan’s Labyrinth: http://blog.wired.com/tableofmalcontents/2007/02/pans_labyrinth_.html

The Mother in Pan's Labyrinth

In Pan's Labyrinth the role of the mother, Carmen, is one of the rational adult.

Carmen is heavily pregnant when she travels with Ofelia to the location of Captain Vidal, her second husband and the father of her unborn child. Although it is questionable if she loves him or not, she certainly wants Ofelia to respect him and treat him as her father, and she acts completely complacent to his demands. Throughout the movie she is seen as steadily weakening, until she dies giving birth to her son.

Although short, Carmen's role is poignant. She is the rational, obedient adult, doing what must be done in order to survive. She does not love Captain Vidal, but marries him because she knows he will be a good provider for herself and her daughter (granted she is beneficial to him - producing a son/heir). Knowing his disposition, she tries to get Ofelia to be as submissive as she is; Carmen realizes what could happen to them without the benefit of his protection. Her actions are completely calculated; she does what is best for her family.

However, Carmen's fault is that she has no sense of the imagination. She gives her daughter books, but notes that she's getting too old for such stories; Carmen lives in a realistic, harsh world (the result of her life) and does now allow the fantastical to appear. The prime example for this is when she throws the mandrake root into the fire; although Ofelia tells her this is what has been healing her, she sees such a thing as nonsensical (plus it upsets the Captain). Because of her lack of imagination, she is not spared, though she makes an appearance in the end, as the Queen.

Therefore, Carmen is the logical, rational adult - the opposite of Ofelia's creative childish nature. She tries her hardest to please everyone, as to not get into trouble, but because she has had such a rough life, has lost all creativity, for which she dies.

What I Would Fight For

The question, though not a strange one, is a tough one for me to answer. I'd like to think I'm brave enough to fight for a lot of things - something I believe in, my country, my family, my friends - but I'm not quite sure if it's just talk or if it's something I could really do.

Although I'd like to say otherwise, I think I could only really fight for my friends or family. My sister, especially, is someone I would kill for, as she means the world to me. The country, unfortunately, does not get my devotion in that sense. After years of not being able to support what this country has done, I see no reason for me to fight it.

Emily brought up the concept of Hitler... I don't want to be shunned for this, but I don't think I would fight a tyrant either. I may think what s/he has done is wrong, and I may condemn him/her for it, but I'm not the sort of person to put my life on the line defending it. I don't believe in war or fighting in general (my ideal Iraqi War would've been Bush and Saddam having a duel or playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors").

Thus, for me, what I would fight for are those close to me; although I may be a coward on the international battlefield, I'm not that bad when it comes to those around me.

Depiction of Evil in Pan's Labyrinth

Though Pan’s Labyrinth is can be classified as a horror movie, the way in which evil is depicted in this fairy tale is very different from the way we have seen illustrated in other films and stories. There are many monsters and fantastic elements to the story, but these characters are not seen as evil. Instead, the forces of evil are seen in human form and are true portrayals of reality. Perhaps this is why the story has such a lasting effect on viewers.

Ofelia’s stepfather, Captain Vidal is seen as the main antagonist in the story as he is depicted as a ruthless, cold blooded murderer, who has silenced his conscience. Committing brutal deeds comes almost naturally to him, and with the power he wields he is able to get away with torturing and shooting people at his whim. People at the camp live in fear of him, and as a result follow his orders with blind obedience. Right before the Doctor is killed for secretively providing supplies to the rebels, he makes it a point to tell the Captain that only people like him are able to obey without any questions. His actions are seen in complete contrast to Ofelia’s. Her actions are based on her innocence and frustrations as a child. Whatever Ofelia decides to do also exhibits a healthy conscience and respect for human life. She proves this when she successfully completes her third task. As a result, everything/everyone that can be directly linked to the Captain, whether it's the men under his command, his dinner guests, or his own personal history have many shades of gray.

Evil in Pan’s Labyrinth can also be described as being the opposite of innocence. It is shown to be overcome with the use of fantasy. Ofelia is able to withstand the darkness and grimness of the world around her because she makes use of her imagination and retreats into a world of fantasy, where she has choices and is able to decide what she wants to do/think on her own. This is the same fantasy world where Ofelia is able to live without any antagonist outside influences with her mother and father.

Trials in Pan's Labyrinth

I think that the trails are the most interesting part of the move. First, she is given the Book of Crossroads. While reading it, she learns that she must venture into an old tree that is being destroyed by a giant toad that had resided in its roots. Even though this task is not very dangerous, it tests her courage. It tests whether she can bravely destroy the toad and follow directions. It also seems that the state of the tree reflects the state of the world around her. Because of the war, people and nature are in turmoil. However, Ofelia can save the tree from strife with magic rocks, but, unfortunately, there are no magic rocks that can make the war disappear as easily.
The second task is a bit trickier and dangerous. She must retrieve a key from the Pale Man’s lair, and she is gravely instructed not to eat or drink anything from the giant feast that is there. I don’t know about everyone else, but I found it very interesting that the fairies were wrong about what box the key is in. I think this is significant because it teaches Ofelia that not everyone can be trusted, not even magical beings. I do not think the fairies would harm her, but they were not going to act as perfect guides either. I still do not understand why she did not listen and not eat the food. Her disobedience, in this case, turned out to be harmful. I think this trial juxtaposes with her final task because sometimes one must disobey orders; however, disobedience can be either detrimental or beneficial. The Pale Man’s pursuit of Ofelia after she eats the grapes teaches her that disobedience can be punishable. One must be wise when deciding to break or follow the rules.
The final task truly tests Ofelia’s morals. Even though the faun says she must obey him without question, Ofeila must decide if she will obey or disobey his orders. She brings her baby brother to the labyrinth, like the faun asks, but she will not let the faun cut him to get his blood. Even though the faun promises her he will only take a drop, Ofelia knows that she can not guarantee that he is being truthful. Mercedes even warns Ofelia, at the beginning of the film, that fauns cannot be trusted. Her disobedience proves to reveal her as having her “essence,” or good judgment, in tact. Even though Ofelia is killed by Vidal, she leaves the moral world, which is enshrouded in chaos, and joins her father and mother in paradise.

I found some great pictures of the Civil War:
(http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/index.html)






Here are quick facts about the Spanish Civil War from USAToday.com:

Spanish Civil War facts and figures

By The Associated Press

A glance at the causes and outcome of the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War:

START: July 17, 1936.

CAUSES: Rebel generals, among them future dictator Francisco Franco, rose up against the democratically elected, left-leaning government. The conflict became a battlefield of ideologies -- church against the state; the landed against the landless, fascism against elected socialists and communists.

GLOBAL SUPPORT: In a conflict generally considered a precursor to World War II, Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy backed Franco generously and the Soviet Union helped arm the Republicans. The rest of Europe and the United States opted for nonintervention.

DEATH TOLL: Some 500,000.

END: April 1, 1939.

OUTCOME: The rebel victory began a dictatorship which lasted until Franco's death in 1975. Spain then made a bloodless transition to democracy with a new constitution adopted in 1978. It is now a member of the European Union and the fifth-largest economy in the 27-nation bloc.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

I found this information on children and the civil war very interesting:
From Columbia University's website, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/exhibitions/children/

During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) children were evacuated from the war zones to "colonies" in the war-free areas of Spain and in the south of France. Drawings by these children – most between the ages of seven and fourteen – were collected from throughout Spain in a concerted effort by the Spanish Board of Education and the Carnegie Institute of Spain. A large group was assembled by Joseph A. Weissberger in early 1938 and brought to the United States on behalf of the Spanish Child Welfare Association for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC – "Quakers"). They were used by the AFSC as a means to publicize the plight of the children and collect funds for more evacuations and other assistance. Over 850 of these drawings have been identified in a variety of locations. Columbia received the 153 images presented here in 1938 through a bequest and they became part of the collections of the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library in 1977.

Persepolis the movie

I have to admit, when I first saw that the movie was in French with Subtitles, I was a little leery. Then I saw animation. Well I was really skeptical. I am glad to say I was wrong. That movie was so happy, sad and poigniant. It really made me think about the world with which we live in, and how lucky I really am.

Women in the Spanish Civil War

Gacela of the Dark Death

I want to sleep the sleep of the apples,
I want to get far away from the busyness of the cemeteries.
I want to sleep the sleep of that child
who longed to cut his heart open far out at sea.

I don't want them to tell me again how the corpse keeps all its blood,
how the decaying mouth goes on begging for water.
I'd rather not hear about the torture sessions the grass arranges for
nor about how the moon does all its work before dawn
with its snakelike nose.

I want to sleep for half a second,
a second, a minute, a century,
but I want everyone to know that I am still alive,
that I have a golden manger inside my lips,
that I am the little friend of the west wind,
that I am the elephantine shadow of my own tears.

When it's dawn just throw some sort of cloth over me
because I know dawn will toss fistfuls of ants at me,
and pour a little hard water over my shoes
so that the scorpion claws of the dawn will slip off.

Because I want to sleep the sleep of the apples,
and learn a mournful song that will clean all earth away from me,
because I want to live with that shadowy child
who longed to cut his heart open far out at sea.
- Federico Garcia Lorca, Spanish Republican Poet, shot by the rebels in 1936 for his anti-church, anti-rebel, pro-communist, pro-homosexual leanings. One of the many who were silenced during and after the war.

Mari: I have to commend Emily on finding the great summary of the war. I thought it was very interesting. However, same as in many summaries, the women’s role in the Spanish war is largely overlooked, and I thought that it would be interesting to read a bit about that, especially considering the character of Mercedes in Pan’s Labyrinth. Here’s an excerpt from an article on Women In the Spanish Civil War, with the link to the full article on the bottom. It is very interesting, though lengthy.


The People Armed:
Women in the Spanish Revolution

by Anti-Fascist Action from their magazine 'Fighting Talk'

The events of 1936 - 1939 brought massive upheavals to the daily lives of Spanish people. Working class women, in particular, participated in and witnessed great changes as the old order of Church and domestic culture were swept away by social revolution and war. Thousands of ordinary women were propelled by necessity into revolutionary events, from front line fighting and organising community defence to collectivising and running farmland and factories. When the revolution was crushed in 1939, the memories and bonds formed in the revolutionary period sustained them through long years of the Fascist dictatorship, in prison, exile, or continuing the struggle in the resistance movements.

Much has been written about the war and the political organisations during this period. References to ordinary women and their activities are scarce. We have used first hand and eye witness accounts as much as possible because these stories are best told by those who lived them.
The July Uprising

Workers, unions, and working class communities were swift to react to the Fascist's attempted coup on 17/18 July 1936. Men and women in Barcelona slept in union halls during the week before the uprising, expecting a call to arms. In Catalonia, Madrid, and Asturias, men and women both young and old stormed the armouries to grab the weapons that the government had refused to provide them with. Cristina Piera entered the armoury at San Andreas at dawn on the 19th with her son and his friends in the FIJL (libertarian youth organisation) and was caught up in the excitement : "I woke up in the morning and heard that people were in the armoury...so I went there...everybody went...I took a pistol and two ramrods (for rifles) what I could carry. They had gunpowder there too...Even me, with the little I knew, and could do, I was there. People took arms and ammunition, and I took what I could."

Enriqueta Rovira, a young woman of 20 , jumped the first train back to Barcelona when she heard the news : "Most of the action was in the centre of Barcelona. I had a pistol...and I was prepared to use it. But they soon said no...I didn't know how to use it and there were companeros without arms. So they sent me - and all the women, all families - to build barricades. We also took care of provisions. Women in each barrio (district) organised that, to make sure that there would be food for the men...Everyone did something." Women were at a disadvantage in having no experience of weapons handling. In the heat of the battle and with limited arms it was only logical that guns went to those who already knew how to use them. But in building the barricades women continued to play a vital role. A group of five or six militant women set about fortifying one of the city's most elegant buildings, "...when the (CNT) companeros returned - victorious, of course - (from storming the military barracks at Atarazanas, at the foot of the Ramblas) and saw how beautiful it was, they took it over as the casa CNT-FAI." (Soleded Estorach). Other women took to the rooftops with loudspeakers, calling on the soldiers to take off their uniforms (!) and join the people.

The Fascist uprising was crushed in Barcelona, but the workers knew that this was only the beginning. While the government urged people to stay at home rather than actively defend the city and rely upon the notorious Guardia Civil (who later used their rifle butts to disperse demonstrations of Barcelona women against rising food prices), Miguel Garcia and others were involved in efforts to organise a people's army:

"...But by this time every man and woman in Barcelona knew that we had stormed the heavens. The generals would never forgive us for what we had done. We had humiliated and defeated the Army, we - an 'unorganised, indisciplined rabble.' We had altered the course of history. If Fascism won, we knew that we would not be spared. Mothers trembled for their small children. When the news came from the South that the invading rebels were using Moorish troops to put whole towns to the sword, many of these women, even elderly ones, struggled and fought to obtain a rifle so that they could take part in the defence of their homes. Indomitable, inscrutable, they sat together in pairs, chatting among cronies, with a rifle across their lap, ready for Franco and his Moors 'and if Hitler comes, him too'."

Garcia goes on to describe how old scores were settled as women discovered new freedoms : "In Barcelona, down in the slum quarters of the Barrio Chino, the whores were carried away by the general enthusiasm. They made short work of the ponces and pistoleros who had preyed upon them for so long. 'Away with this life, we will fight on the side of the people!' they cried. It was a great joke to the foreign journalists, who regarded the unfortunate women as less than human and anything they did ridiculous of itself....In fact, they volunteered to fight in the front lines. Later, this proved an embarrassment. Gradually their units were disbanded...!" Some say that they inflicted more damage than enemy bullets at the front line, as companeros succumbed to a variety of interesting diseases !

While some women headed for the front with the newly formed militia columns, others were widely involved in the social revolution back home, requisitioning buildings for communal eating halls, schools, or hospitals, or collecting and distributing food and other supplies. Women took manufactured goods to barter with farmers in rural areas in exchange for food. Taxis and trams were repainted with revolutionary insignia as communities brought local services back under their control. "The feelings we had then were very special. It was very beautiful. There was a feeling of - how shall I say it ? - of power, not in the sense of domination, but in the sense of things being under our control, if under anyone's. Of possibility. A feeling that we could together really do something." (Enriqueta Rovira).

"We took the first steps...towards emancipation...we couldn't take the 'giant steps' because of the war and the exile, which cut our struggle short... Our children have to be the pacesetters for the future...But our memories, such beautiful memories, of that struggle so hard and so pure... (Azucena Barba).

Other commentators noted the self-assurance of Barcelona women in August 1936, previously unusual for Spanish women in public. There were also conspicuous changes in Madrid. Young working class women took to the streets in their hundreds, collecting money for the war effort, enjoying their new found liberty to walk up and down the streets, talking without inhibitions to passers by, foreigners, and militia men. This contrasts strongly with accounts of nationalist areas. For example, in Vigo, under nationalist occupation, it was unusual to even see a woman out on the streets.
In the Front Line

Despite traditional disadvantages women continued to take part in actual combat against the Fascists. Mujeres Libres supported them in Madrid by setting up a shooting range and target practice for women "disposed to defend the capital" while the Catalonia group's "War Sports" section offered: "preliminary preparation for women so that, if it should be necessary, they could intervene effectively, even on the battlefield." It was.

Armed women were always most noticeable in urban defense, when the Fascists threatened cities like Madrid. But during the first year of the war women also served as front line combatants with the militia columns, in addition to nursing and, in the usual militia system, working alongside the rural population to ensure a common food supply. Their bravery at the front cannot be over-stated because, if captured alive, they inevitably faced rape, mutilation and death. It was only after the battle of Guadalajara, in May 1937, that women were asked to leave the front, as the government demanded incorporation of the militia into regular army units.

Donald Renton, an English volunteer with the International Brigades in Figueras in November 1936 recalls the impact of seeing militia women: "While we had often talked about the role to be played by women in the general struggle, there for the first time we saw the militia women, comrades who like ourselves were either going to have or already had had, first line experience in the battle against the fascist enemy. These were wonderful comrades, people who had - so far as I was concerned at least - a very, very powerful inspirational effect on arriving inside Spain itself."

Foreign women also served in the international sections of the columns. Abel Paz refers to four women "nurses" in the "International Group" of the Durruti Column. They were captured by Moors in a fierce encounter at Perdiguera. As prisoners of the fascists they were as good as dead: "Georgette, militant of the Revue Anarchiste, Gertrude, a young German woman of the POUM who liked to fight with the anarchists, and two young girls whose names haven't been recorded in the war chronicles. Durruti was very close to all of them....and he was deeply moved by these deaths. The death of Georgette, who was a sort of mascot of the Column, filled the militiamen with rage, particularly the "Sons of Night". She had carried out many surprise attacks on the enemy rearguard with the latter. They vowed to avenge her and during a number of nights made fierce attacks against the Francoists." The "Sons of the Night" were a specialised group operating behind enemy lines - women were not just at the front as nurses.

In the defence of Madrid in early November 1936, women were also prominent in the fighting. The Women's Battalion fought before Segovia Bridge. At Gestafe, in the centre of the Northern Front, women were under fire all morning and were among the last to leave. Fighting with the Italians of the International Column in Madrid was a 16 year old girl from Ciudad Real, who had joined up after her father and brother were killed. She had the same duties as the men, shared their way of life, and was said to be a crack shot.

Back in Madrid itself, women were organising in defence of the city, building barricades, providing communication services, and organising, through local committees, the distribution of food and ammunition to the barricades and throughout the city. Collective meals, cr ches, and laundry facilities were set up. Women also played a major role in anti-aircraft observation and surveillance of suspected fascist sympathisers.

An International Brigade volunteer, Walter Gregory, who fought in Madrid in July 1937 recalls that: " A frequent sight in the area of Las Cibeles was of the Women's Militia coming on and off duty. In twos and threes they would make their way down the Gran Via which ultimately led to the University City and the Madrid front line. The Gran Via was too often shelled to be used by vehicles, nor would the women have risked marching down its length in formation. In small groups and chattering away to each other , they looked very like women the world over, and only their dishevelled khaki uniforms after several nights in the trenches marked them out as being something special. These brave girls were such a common sight that they did not attract comment, nor did they appear to want to. Yet Madrid remained the only place in Spain where I saw women in the front line, although it must be remembered that the first British subject killed in the war was Felicia Brown, who died on the Aragon Front as early as 25/8/1936." Felicia was caught by machine gun fire while attempting to blow up a Fascist munitions train.

During the bitter battle at Jarama in 1937, another International Brigader Tom Clarke, described the courage of a small group of Spanish women: "I remember there was a bit of a retreat. There was a rumour went round... and they started retreating. We'd gone back a bit, and some of them were actually running. And here we came across three women who were sitting behind a machine gun just past where we were, Spanish women. I saw them looking at us. I don't know whether it shamed us or what. But these women - they sat there... We sort of stabilised the line."

They were certainly an eye-opener for foreign men! Borkenau describes a lone militia woman serving with a POUM column:"She was not from Barcelona, but a native of Galicia (who had)...followed her lover to the Front. She was very good looking but no special attention was given to her by the militia men, for all of them knew that she was bound to her lover by a link which is regarded among the revolutionaries as equal to marriage. Every single militia man, however, was visibly proud of her for the courage she seems to have displayed in staying in an advanced position under fire with only two companions. 'Was it an unpleasant experience?' I asked. 'No, solo me da el enthusiasmo' ( to me it is only inspiring ) replied the girl with shining eyes, and from her whole bearing I believed her. There was nothing awkward about her position among the men. One of them, who was playing an accordion, started la Cucaracha, and she immediately began the movements of the dance, the others joining in the song. When this interlude was over, she was again just a comrade amongst them."

By late December 1937 there were still women serving in the militias, but their numbers were diminishing fast. Orwell noticed that, by this time, ( male) attitudes towards women had changed, citing an example of militia men having to be kept out of the way while women were doing weapons drill, because they tended to laugh at the women and put them off. However, if women were becoming less active on the front line, this was not the case elsewhere.

http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/spain/women_afa.html

Reminder: "Persepolis"

For Tuesday, 2/19: We will meet, those of us who can make it, plus our friends/whoever, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) box office for the BAM Rose Cinemas, at 6:45 to catch the 7:00 show of "Persepolis." Looking forward to seeing you there. Enjoy. Best, RN

Would I fight for a cause?

After reading about the Spanish Civil War, I realized that there are some causes that I would fight for. Although I am anti-war, I would fight for certain causes if there was no other way. I would definitely join the fight against fascism, much like the Spanish citizens who were fighting against Franco. If people in the past would have refused to rise up and fight against fascism and tyranny, then we would be living in a different world. Could you imagine if Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito were never defeated? Not only would the world be a different place, but many of us wouldn't be living today.

I think war is disgusting, and I do not support the killing of mankind if it can be avoided. However, certain leaders needed to be stopped. Unfortunately, you cannot reason with psychotic murderers, such as Hitler. Of course, I need to keep in mind that I have never witnessed the death of another human being, nor have I ever held a gun. Although I may support certain causes, I seriously doubt that I'm capable of hurting another person even if they're fighting for an evil cause. I hope that one day we can achieve world peace, but sadly I don't see it happening anytime soon.

The Spanish Civil War 1936- 1939

Pictured above is a propaganda poster that was produced by the anarcho-syndicalist trade union Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) in conjunction with the international anarchist organization Asociación Internacional de los Trabajadores (AIT). The Spanish conflict is presented as the struggle of man against beast. The revolutionary is red-hued, naked, and muscular, and wields a hammer against a serpent coiled against his body. The man’s nakedness reflects the purity of his cause, in contrast to the insidiousness of the coiled snake of fascism. This poster was most likely produced in 1936 during the early months of the civil war, although the exact date of production is unknown.

Source: UCSD’s Southworth Collection

As I started researching the Spanish Civil War, I discovered that there is a lot to cover. I found an overview by Cary Nelson that explains the war really well. Try to get through the entire overview because it is very helpful.

The Spanish Civil War was the culmination of a prolonged period of national political unrest—unrest in a country that was increasingly polarized and repeatedly unable to ameliorate the conditions of terrible poverty in which millions of its citizens lived. Spain was a country in which landless peasants cobbled together a bare subsistence living by following the harvests on vast, wealthy agricultural estates. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church, identifying more with wealthy landowners than with the Spanish people, was in full control of secondary education; education for women seemed to them unnecessary and universal literacy a danger rather than a goal. Divorce was illegal. The military, meanwhile, had come to see itself, rather melodramatically, as the only bulwark against civil disorder and as the ultimate guarantor of the core values of Spanish society.

When a progressive Popular Front government was elected in February 1936, with the promise of realistic land reform one of its key planks, conservative forces immediately gathered to plan resistance. The Spanish Left, meanwhile, celebrated the elections in a way that made conservative capitalists, military officers, and churchmen worried that much broader reform might begin. Rumors of plotting for a military coup led leaders of the Republic to transfer several high-ranking military officers to remote postings, the aim being to make communication and coordination between them more difficult. But it was not enough. The planning for a military rising continued.

The military rebellion took place on July 18, with the officers who organized it expecting a quick victory and a rapid takeover of the entire country. What the military did not anticipate was the determination of the Spanish people, who broke into barracks, took up arms, and crushed the rebellion in key areas like the cities of Madrid and Barcelona. It was at that point that the character of the struggle changed, for the military realized they were not going to win by fiat. Instead they faced a prolonged struggle against their own people and an uncertain outcome. They appealed to fascist dictatorships in Italy, Germany, and Portugal for assistance, and they soon began receiving both men and supplies from Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, and Antonio Salazar.

The 1936 Spanish election had already been widely celebrated as a great victory in progressive publications in Britain, France, and the United States. In the midst of a worldwide depression, the military rising was thus immediately seen as an assault against working people's interests everywhere. But the rapid intervention of German and Italian troops gave what might otherwise have remained a civil war a dramatic international character. Almost from the outset, then, the Spanish Civil War became a literal and symbolic instance of the growing worldwide struggle between fascism and democracy. Indeed, the Republic, the elected government, perceived the country as being invaded by foreign troops. By the time the pilots of Hitler's Condor Legion reduced the Basque's holy city of Guernica to rubble the following April, many in the rest of the world had come to share that opinion as well.

It is important to remember in this context the curiously contradictory character of life during the Great Depression. Hand in hand with widespread poverty and suffering went a certain fervent hope for change and a belief in the possibility of finding collective solutions to common economic problems. The government elected in Spain in 1936 seemed like it would contribute materially to those solutions.

Fascism, on the other hand, presented the forces of reaction in their most violent form. Its territorial ambitions became apparent when Japan invaded Manchuria in the winter of 1931-32 and when Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935. Meanwhile, Hitler elevated religious and racial hatred to national policy almost immediately after establishing his dictatorship in 1933. A relentless series of anti-Semitic campaigns, beginning with a 1933 boycott of Jewish firms and followed by the formal liquidation of Jewish businesses and a prohibition against Jewish doctors continuing their medical practices, culminated in 1935 when Jews were stripped of all rights of citizenship. When Hitler and Mussolini immediately allied themselves with Franco, and when Franco himself began to make pronouncements about conducting a holy war against a progressive conspiracy—rhetoric with long-standing anti-Semitic connotations—the cultural and political status of the Republic's enemies became clear.

In retrospect, it seems possible that world history might have proceeded differently had the democracies taken a strong stand against fascism in Spain in 1936. But they did not. Despite almost universal support for the Republic amongst British intellectuals and widespread support amongst the working classes, the British government preferred not to act. It was not only that they feared anything that might lead to a wider war in Europe, a fear that would eventually lead to the infamous Munich appeasement policy of 1938, but also that British businessmen and a majority of the British Cabinet felt more sympathetic with Franco. Large corporations in America also worked on Franco's behalf. In France, the government's sympathies were with the Republic, but the government was weak and feared not only a wider war but also any acts that might alienate its own military.

After providing the Loyalist government with a score of planes, France decided instead to propose an international policy of Non-Intervention that would bar all foreign aid to Spain. In fact, if Franco and the rebellious generals had been denied Italy's and Germany's aid in the early days of the war, the rebellion might well have collapsed. But Hitler and Mussolini simply ignored the Non-Intervention agreement. Meanwhile, Mexico responded by shipping rifles to the Republic, and the Soviet Union sold the Spanish government arms in exchange for Spain's gold reserves. But it was not enough over time to counter-balance the men and supplies Franco received. Over and over again throughout the war government campaigns would be overwhelmed by superior arms. And just as frequently in the letters that follow you will hear the hope that non-intervention will be overturned. For the Americans this was not an abstract matter. Better machine guns would have kept some of them alive at Jarama. More planes and artillery would have made a difference at the Ebro.

On July 18, 1936, a carefully coordinated series of military uprisings were staged all across Spain. Success or failure sometimes depended on accident or clever strategy. In one small city the military commander pretended to support the Republic, armed the workers, and sent them to help secure Madrid; he then took over for the rebels. In Barcelona, on the other hand, anarchist workers seized arms and put down the rebellion with violent street fighting. After a few days, the rebels held about a third of the country, though there were large stretches of Spain under no real military control. Meanwhile, the government kept control of most of the navy when ships' crews rose up and threw their rebellious officers overboard. That left the rebel generals in serious difficulty, for their best troops, the Army of Africa, were in Morocco with no means of transport to the mainland. At that point Hitler and Mussolini provided support that proved critical—planes to move the Army of Africa, now under command of General Francisco Franco, to Seville. It would be the first major air-lift of troops in military history. Hitler would later observe that "Franco ought to erect a monument to the glory of the Junkers 52. It is this aircraft that the Spanish revolution has to thank for its victory" (Thomas, 370).

The first battles in the field, still in mid-July, took place over the mountain passes that would have given the rebels access to the capital city of Madrid. The people of Madrid had organized into militias based on political affiliation, and these untrained troops paid dearly to defend the passes through the Guadarrama mountains to the city's north. In any case, the battles resulted in a stalemate. The rebels, now calling themselves the Nationalists, began to organize to attack Madrid from the southwest. Four columns moved across the Spanish countryside, systematically murdering government supporters in each town they captured. On October 1 Franco took overall command of the rebel armies. Meanwhile, in the major cities a period of chaos was coming to an end. For a time the militias had carried out summary executions against their enemies, but gradually more centralized control prevailed.

As the rebel columns approached Madrid there was widespread expectation that the city would fall. The government fled to Valencia, leaving the city's defense to General Miaja. Then several remarkable events occurred. On November 7 Madrid's defenders found a highly detailed plan for the conquest of the city on the body of a fascist officer. The plan was so specific that the Loyalists concluded it could not be changed even if the rebels guessed it might have been captured, and it enabled the city to position its best forces exactly where they would do the most good. The following day the first International Brigades marched through the city, signalling world support for the city's defenders and placing a number of people with battlefield experience at key points. That night Fernando Valera, a Republican deputy, read this statement over the air:
Here in Madrid is the universal frontier that separates liberty and slavery. It is here in Madrid that two incompatible civilizations undertake their great struggle: love against hate, peace against war, the fraternity of Christ against the tyranny of the Church . . . . This is Madrid. It is fighting for Spain, for humanity, for justice, and, with the mantle of its blood, it shelters all human beings! Madrid! Madrid!

The Spanish capital had come to stand for something much more than itself; it was now the heart of the world. For a time, indeed, international volunteers often declared themselves off to defend Madrid.

The first volunteers came spontaneously, though their individual decisions were often based in antifascism. A number of foreign nationals were in Barcelona for the "Peoples' Olympiad," scheduled in protest against the 1936 Olympics to be held in Berlin. When the Olympiad was cancelled by the outbreak of war, some of these men and women stayed on to fight. British painter Felicia Brown joined the street fighting in Barcelona and was killed in August. Two British cyclists in France crossed the border and volunteered. André Malraux, the French novelist, organized a squadron of a dozen pilots, the "Escuadrilla España," based first in Barcelona and then in Madrid. Before long, American volunteers were in the skies over Madrid as well.
But perhaps most telling of all decisions to volunteer were those by German and Italian exiles from fascism, some of them escapees from Nazi concentration camps. Some were already living in Barcelona; others made their way to Spain from elsewhere in Europe. It was thus in Spain that German and Italian antifascists in significant numbers took up arms against the fascist powers they could not fight at home. German volunteers formed the Thaelmann Centuria; Italians organized themselves into the Gastone-Sozzi Battalion and the Giustizia e Libertà Column. In all, perhaps 1,000-1,500 foreign volunteers fought in the Barcelona area in the opening two months of the war. Not many lived to see the war's end. Two years later, in September of 1938, other German volunteers, now members of the Thaelmann Battalion in the International Brigades, were occupying a hill of unforgiving rock in the Sierra Pandols west of the Ebro river. They faced a vastly superior fascist force in full counterattack and were ordered to retreat. Their reply came back, saying, in effect, "Sorry, we've retreated before fascism too many times. We're staying." Shortly thereafter their positions were overrun.

The International Brigades themselves became a reality when the Moscow-based Comintern (Communist International) decided to act on Spain's behalf. Negotiations with the Spanish government took place in late October. Stalin's motivations, no doubt, were pragmatic. He probably hoped, for example, to use an alliance to help the Spanish Republic as a way of building a general antifascist alliance with the Western democracies. But it was too soon. That alliance would come, but only after Munich, after Spain had fallen, and after the West tried every imaginable means of appeasing Hitler. In any case, early in November, about the time the attack on Madrid commenced, word reached New York to begin recruiting Americans for service in Spain.

Although the task had to be carried out in secret, it was less difficult than one might think, for antifascism was already intense among the American Left. Indeed, future Lincoln Battalion members were already taking public stands. Poet and journalist Edwin Rolfe began publishing newspaper articles attacking Nazism in 1934. In Philadelphia, Ben Gardner was arrested for disorderly conduct at a demonstration at the German consulate. A pro-German judge sentenced him to a year in the county jail. And in New York harbor in 1935 seaman Bill Bailey scaled the mast of a German passenger ship, the Bremen, that was flying the swastika. With the enraged crew shouting beneath him, Bailey cut the black flag loose and flung it into the water. Two years later these men would all be in Spain.

Despite the diversity of their backgrounds, one may make some generalizations about the Americans who volunteered. The youngest were three eighteen-year-olds, the oldest were fifty-nine and sixty. Over eighty of the volunteers were African Americans, and the International Brigades were entirely integrated. In fact, the Lincoln Battalion was commanded for a time by Oliver Law, an African-American volunteer from Chicago, until he died in battle. It was the first time in American history that an integrated military force was led by an African American officer. Most of the American volunteers were unmarried, although, as their letters reveal, many had relationships back home they tried to sustain by correspondence. Their median age was twenty-seven, their median birth date 1910. About eighteen percent came from New York and most of the rest came from other cities. Perhaps a third were Jews.

By the time large numbers of American volunteers began to arrive in Spain early in 1937, the flamboyant early days of the militias were over. The militias had been reorganized into Mixed Brigades more firmly under government control. In those first months untrained and lightly trained men and women had held the fascist advance at the very outskirts of the capital. Barricades had been thrown up across Madrid's streets in anticipation of fighting in the city itself. As the front stabilized, the University campus overlooking the wooded Casa de Campo on the city's western edge was heavily entrenched, with both sides holding some of the shattered buildings. Mount Garibitas, the highest point in the area, was taken by the fascists and provided a good site from which to shell the city. But the Republic's fully organized People's Army was yet a dream; it would take the bloodletting at Jarama, described in Chapter 3, to persuade many of its necessity. Meanwhile, most Americans passed through the massive fort at Figueras near the border and headed on to Albacete, a provincial capital midway between Madrid and Valencia that was the administrative center for the International Brigades. From there they moved to one of several nearby villages where individual battalions trained.

In March an overconfident Italian-Spanish force commanded by one of Mussolini's Generals, Mario Roatta, suffered an embarrassing defeat at the battle of Guadalajara, northeast of Madrid. That, for all practical purposes, put an end to major assaults on the capital, though it continued to be shelled throughout the war. The next important battles took place in northern Spain, as Franco set out to overrun the isolated Basque provinces loyal to the Republic. On April 26 Hitler's Condor Legions firebombed the ancient Basque town of Guernica, a place of no military importance, and reduced it to rubble. It was the single most telling indication of fascist ruthlessness toward civilians to date, a lesson residents of cities in Europe and England would themselves learn in time. It led Picasso to produce his massive painting "Guernica," perhaps the most famous work of graphic art to come out of the war. Meanwhile, the Spanish government attempted to take pressure off the north with a major offensive west of Madrid in the summer of 1937. It was called the battle of Brunete. Though Franco's northern campaign was delayed, it did not stop. After eighty days of fighting, Bilbao was taken on June 19th, Santander on August 26th.

Meanwhile, the Popular Front government (a coalition of middle-class republicans, moderate socialists, and communists) had endured a civil war within the civil war in Catalonia. The government was about to integrate the remaining Catalan militias into the People's Army, a step the radical Left regarded as "a euphemism for disarmament and repression of the class-conscious revolutionary workers" (Jackson, 119). Believing that the government was exclusively concerned with defeating Franco and indifferent or antagonistic toward the major social revolution needed in Spain, an anti-Stalinist Marxist group, the POUM, provoked several days of rioting and sporadic fighting in early May of 1937 in Barcelona. They were joined by the more radical contingents of Catalonian anarchists. This gave the Spanish communists—a rather small party at the outset of the war that had gained membership and prestige in the months since—the excuse they needed to crush the POUM, a group they reviled beyond reason. In the ensuing crackdown the POUM leader Andrés Nin was taken prisoner and murdered, and other enemies of the Communist Party were tortured. By mid-June the POUM had been declared illegal. For some, this meant the betrayal of all the more utopian aims of the Spanish Left and a certain disillusionment with the cause of the Republic. For others, a crackdown seemed essential because a unified leadership focused on winning the war was indeed necessary; a full social revolution would have to wait until fascism was defeated. What is clear is that the internal dissension on the Left damaged the spirit of resistance in Catalonia. Negotiation and compromise, rather than violence, would have served all parties better in the face of Franco's armies.
Although International Brigade members did not have fully detailed knowledge of events in Barcelona, their letters show consistent antagonism toward the POUM. Moreover, since they were being bombed, strafed, and shot at by Franco's troops, they certainly considered winning the war the first priority. And their own experience confirmed the need for a unified military command that could train recruits; coordinate troop movements with aircraft, artillery, and tanks; and supply food, ammunition, and medical services, tasks that were quite beyond the Catalonian militias.

In any case the ensuing months were taken up for the Lincolns not in intrigue but in battle. Like the perspective of Spanish soldiers in the field, the Lincolns' view of the war was thus quite different from that of those Spanish nationals who were occupied with political struggles in Madrid and Barcelona. The battle of Brunete in the unbelievable heat of July of 1937 was followed by Quinto and Belchite in August and Fuentes de Ebro in October. Then, after a brief period of training, the Lincolns faced the snows of Teruel in January and February of 1938. Taken by the Republic for a time, Teruel was recaptured by a massive Nationalist counterattack in February.

Franco followed up that victory with a major offensive aimed toward the Levante and Catalonia. Launched on March 9, 1938, it involved 100,000 men and over six hundred Italian and German planes. In the histories of the American role in Spain the events are known as "The Great Retreats," for that is what the Republic's forces had to do. They were faced with continuous bombing from the air and a Panzer-style massed tank assault at key points. At the end of the month El Campesino's division made a last stand before the city of Lérida, but Franco's offensive continued. It was to prove the single worst blow against the Republic in nearly two years of war, for on April 15 the rebels reached the Mediterranean and cut the Republic in two. By the end of the month Franco held a fifty-mile stretch of coast. Some felt the war was over, but the Republic held on, buoyed by a brief resupply of arms and by the hope that the democracies would surely now repeal the Non-Intervention policy, for Germany had invaded Austria on March 12. Did the world need still more evidence of fascism's ambitions?

To resist, to hold on, was in part to buy enough time for the world to confront reality. Unfortunately, the British commitment to an appeasement policy was already in place. The Republic now had enough arms for one last great campaign, training and planning for which began immediately. It was to be a crossing of the Ebro in July of 1938, into territory lost in March and April. Initially successful, the Republic's forces were gradually pressed back by the rebel counter-offensive. Even in August or September, arms might have made a difference, but the watershed event of the fall of 1938 was not to be the resupply of Spain's democracy. It was to be Munich.

At the end of September, British and French representatives met with Hitler and Mussolini and granted Hitler Czechoslovakia. Shamefully, Czech representatives were not invited. Meanwhile, with that agreement another unrepresented nation's fate was effectively sealed, for with the signing of the Munich Accord it was clear that the democracies would not stand against fascism in Spain. The Internationals were withdrawn, and Spain fought on alone for several more months. In late November Hitler resupplied the Nationalists with arms. Franco started his final offensive, taking Barcelona in January. At the end of March, Madrid fell. On April 1, 1939, the Spanish Civil War officially came to an end.

For many, however, the suffering was not over. It was not to be a civil war ending in reconciliation, for Franco began a reign of terror aimed at the physical liquidation of all his potential enemies. Concentration camps were set up. Tens of thousands were shot. Mass executions would continue until 1944. Meanwhile, World War II was under way, and many of the volunteers took up arms against fascism again.

Source: Cary Nelson