Sunday, August 15, 2010

MacPap database

The MacPap database (incomplete) is here:

www.pance.ca/macpap.php

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Renegades: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War

Renegades: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War
by Michael Petrou

Published by UBC Press

Renegades: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War, by veteran journalist Michael Petrou, tells the story of the 1,681 Canadians who, between 1936 and 1939, defied Canadian law to fight fascism in the Spanish Civil war. The war pitted a left leaning, democratically elected Spanish government against a military uprising led by Francisco Franco and supported, with weapons and tens of thousands of troops, by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. By the time it was over, fascism had triumphed in Spain, and more than 400 Canadians were dead.

Until now, little was known about these men and women, and about those who survived. Petrou has changed this. He has drawn on recently declassified material, interviewed veterans, and visited the battlefields of Spain to write the definitive history of Canadians in the war. Jack Granatstein, one of Canada's leading military historians, concludes: "Based on massive research, this is the best and most complete account of Canadians in the Spanish Civil War we are ever likely to get."

Sample Chapter


limited preview available on Google books.

Canadian Volunteers in Spain 1936-1938

Canadian Volunteers in Spain 1936-1938

The list below contains the names of 1,547 persons listed on the national memorial in Ottawa. It includes Canadians in either the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion or assigned to other battalions or in other corps such as medical, communications, transportation or intelligence.

The list continues to evolve and in 2004 we still have about 25 additional names to investigate.

Many volunteers served under a pseudonym. Where we are aware of this we have used the volunteer's real name, but some names on this list may still reflect the use of a pseudonym or altered spelling. If you have information which appears to contradict any name on this list, we would like to know. Please see the contacts on the home page.

Source:
www.web.net/~macpap/volunteers.htm

Friends and Veterans of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion

The Friends and Veterans of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion

During the Spanish Civil war of 1936-1939 a beleagered Spanish Government put out a call for international volunteers to combat the forces of fascism arrayed against it. 40,000 volunteers from 53 countries answered the call forming the legendary International Brigades of the Spanish Civil war. 1500 of the volunteers travelled to Spain from Canada. Their battalion was the Mackenzie-Papineau - the "Macpaps". They fought bravely throughout the war against terrible odds, suffering heavy losses. This website is dedicated to the memory of those volunteers, the sacrifices that they made and the spirit in which they made them.

The three pointed star was the symbol of the International Brigades. The Macpaps added to it a Maple Leaf for their battalion symbol.

The battalion was named after William Lyon Mackenzie and Louis-Joseph Papineau the leaders of the rebellions of 1837 in upper and lower Canada. They sought liberty, social justice and democracy, a spirit which the Canadian volunteers carried to Spain.

Source:
www.web.net/~macpap

The Mac Paps: Canada's Forgotten Heros

The Mac Paps: Canada's Forgotten Heros

From the On to Ottawa Historical Society:

www.ontoottawa.ca/mac-paps.html