Internationalism in the Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War, a war that took place from July 17, 1936, to April 1, 1939, was a war that was mostly overshadowed by the subsequent conflict, World War 2. Many experts argue, however, that World War II started in Spain, not Poland, due to the advancements gained. 

The level of internationalism, or states other than Spain involved in the war on both the Republican and Nationalist sides, was something that was never seen before and resulted in incidents like American volunteer soldiers being bombed by Nazi aircraft experiments, far before WWII. Studying the international involvement in Spain and its consequences is key to analyzing how Spain was truly one of the biggest benefactors of change in the 20th century world order. 

This exhibit seeks to dive into several different results of international involvement in Spain, from Nazi experiments to FBI investigations, medicine in the air to protests in our libraries. So many key artifacts will be shown to illustrate the complexity of what started as a simple rebellion in Spain led by Francisco Franco (1892–1975), such as prototype photography, tanks that derived from the war, and pieces of critical literature written by none other than George Orwell, an international volunteer. Using these various pieces, you will gain an understanding of a war that changed the world before the invasion of Poland and how it even changed the invasion of Poland itself due to many states adopting what worked in the war.