‘I Wanted to be a Little Lenin’: Ideology and the German International Brigade Volunteers

Abstract

Around 2800 Germans joined the International Brigades and fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. Many had suffered political persecution in Germany, and the majority were already in exile when war broke out in Spain. This article asks what role ideology played in their decision to volunteer, and traces their changing motivation as they arrived in Spain, experienced combat for the first time, and eventually waited for the war to play itself out. Even amongst such politically committed soldiers, motivation was neither homogeneous nor stable. The wish to defeat fascism and return to Germany was one shared by almost all volunteers, but boredom, desire for adventure and ties to their fellow soldiers all played an important part in motivating men to fight and keeping them in the field.