APPEAL FOR GERMAN HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT DURING THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR

ROLLAND, Romain. Spanien Blutet… Helft Spanien (Spain Bleeds… Help Spain). Paris: Editions Universelles, [1937]. Slim folio, original illustrated self-covers; pp. [30]. $450.

Scarce first edition of this revealing photo-documentary of the Spanish Civil War, designed to raise humanitarian awareness among Germans, with photographs of the devastation on every page.

A military revolt led by Franco in July of 1936 eventually grew into the Spanish Civil War. From early on, Franco received the support of the German Legion Condor. “The Spanish war as a people’s war was the most potent and emotionally engaging focus of the hopes and fears of democratic forces worldwide… It was also a war in which authors played an important role” (Janet Perez). This special number of the Journal of the International Solidarity Movement appeals to the German people for humanitarian support of Spanish citizens affected by the war, especially the children. It begins with the essay “Menschheit, an dich geht der Ruf!” (Mankind, to You Goes Out the Cry!) by French dramatist, art historian, mystic and political activist Romain Rolland, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915. In 1922 Rolland addressed the treatment of enemy civilians and the use of concentration camps in his pacifist drama Le Temps Viendra (The Time Will Come), based on episodes in the Boer War.

A fine copy, with only minor marks of handling.