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Distributed for University of British Columbia Press

Renegades

Canadians in the Spanish Civil War

Between 1936 and 1939, almost 1,700 Canadians defied their government and volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War. They left behind punishing lives in Canadian relief camps, mines, and urban flophouses to confront fascism in a country few knew much about. Michael Petrou has drawn on recently declassified archival material, interviewed surviving Canadian veterans, and visited the battlefields of Spain to write the definitive account of Canadians in the Spanish Civil War. Renegades is an intimate and unflinching story of idealism and courage, duplicity and defeat.

Table of Contents

Preface: Spanish Tinderbox

Introduction

Part 1: Origins of the Volunteers

1 Who Were the Canadian Volunteers?

2 Why Did They Fight?

Part 2: International Brigades

3 Going to War

4 Protecting Madrid

5 Aragón Battles

6 Retreats

7 Back to the Ebro

8 Leaving Spain

Part 3: Discipline in the International Brigades

9 Crimes

10 Punishments

Part 4: Renegades

11 The Photographer: Bill Williamson

12 The Idealist: William Krehm

13 The Doctor: Norman Bethune

Part 5: Aftermath

14 Undesirables

15 Conclusion

Postscript

Appendix

Bibliography; Index

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