Video History

Since I went to stay with a friend for the weekend and was away from the archive, I thought I would bring along with me the complimentary DVD to the Facing Fascism exhibition. I've been wanting to watch it, but I never really sat down to do so until now. Needless to say, I'm very happy now that I've seen it. I guess what struck me about all the testimonies was the degree to which these people were involved in Republican Spain's cause, whether actively, ideologically, or emotionally. It's easy to tell from the interviews that the Spanish Civil War had a great effect on the interviewees' lives, which is really interesting considering these were Americans sympathizing with the problems of one European country.

I admire them for seeing in the Spanish Civil War what no one else at the time did--or at least not the democratic governments--that, complicated though it was, there was something of a dichotomous fight raging in this war between something more desirable for mankind and something that was not. I choose these terms to describe the sides because I don't want to simplify the war down to good vs. evil. No war is ever that simple. But I do mean to say that this war came closest to that description than any I can think of. And that's reflected in the interviewees' testimonies. One of the most poignant segments of the DVD for me was the "When the War Was Over..." segment. There were two interviews placed one after another that were really moving: Irving Schiller's and Amy Swerdlow's. Schiller seemed reach back into his feelings at the time and his words in the video were strong. He pointed to Spain as the place where fascism could have been stemmed. He said Hitler ruined the entire 20th century. It's a grand statement to make, but a quick reflection proved to me that it could be argued. Amy Swerdlow said, "Spain was a pure cause--for me." I think this quote must have summed up what many Republican supporters felt at the time. So Spain had a big effect on those who followed its convulsions. A quote from Abe Asheroff that I particularly loved: "And Spain was the place where I learned that I didn't have to know that I was gonna win in order to fight."

If I may comment on the video in its entirety, something I really liked about it was the tone of the ending, which was set by the interviewees. Vera Schiller said more than once that we're still trying to find a better way to run the world. Ultimately, I thought the video sustained a sense of tragedy that, when it came to the end, lingered. Thinking back on the testimonies, one questions whether we've moved very far since the Spanish Civil War, since that defining moment, where we capitulated.