Introduction

Visual Index (Entire Poster Collection)

Catalogue

Chronology of the War

Acknowledgements

Lists of References

Afterword: Herbert R. Southworth Collection

Cada posición, una fortaleza! Todo jefe, oficial o clase, ha de saber que la resistencia sólo debe terminar con la muerte

[Each rank a fortress! Every commander, every comissioned and non-commissioned officer must realize that resistence should only end with death.]. . Ediciones del Comisariado de las Brigadas Internacionales Lithograph; 16 x 23 cm.

The International Brigades commissioned this image. It shows a group of soldiers in a makeshift "fortress" prepared for the enemy. This image compliments the message of the poster, which encourages the continued resistance of members of the military.

The International Brigades were groups of volunteers from outside of Spain, who came to fight on the side of Republican. All told more than 35,000 men and women from eleven different national groups came to Spain to fight for the Republican cause. Although not all volunteers were communist, the Communist parties in Europe played a key role in funneling volunteers into Republican Spain by way of an underground railroad. In Spain, most of the people involved in recruiting, organizing and commanding the brigades were communists as well. In general, historians explain the larger response from foreign nationals to be tied to the growing concern about the rise of the Right and the spread of fascist dictatorships in Central and Eastern Europe. In terms of combat, the International Brigades had a decisive role, in several instances, especially in the defense of Madrid.