M.Phil Thesis Humanitarian relief in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39): The independent and non-partisan agencies Gabriel Pretus Nº 100147516 Royal Holloway University of London Department of History G. Pretus, Humanitarian relief in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) 1 Declaration of authorship I, Gabriel Pretus, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: ______________________ Date: ________________________ G. Pretus, Humanitarian relief in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) 2 Abstract The thesis looks at a previously unstudied topic: non-partisan humanitarian relief by international agencies during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). It defines these agencies as those offering aid independently of governments and to both sides in the conflict. Thus the thesis covers: the British and American Quakers; the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); the Save the Children Fund, Britain (SCF) and the Save the Children International Union, Switzerland (SCIU); together with Service Civil International, Switzerland (SCI) and. later in the conflict, one ad-hoc co-ordinating agency, the International Commission for the Assistance of Child Refugees in Spain (IC). This study constitutes the first fully documented history of the humanitarian work of these agencies in the conflict. It covers the conduct of the agencies; their interactions, diversities and similarities; the problems, successes and failures in their work at the start, during and at the end of the Spanish Civil War; and the way they interacted with the political authorities on both sides of the conflict. It offers an analysis of cases and situations not addressed before, while also offering its own reassessment of other controversial topics: for example, Franco’s attitude towards foreign humanitarian aid; the work of the American Quakers and the SCIU in Francoist Spain; and the question of the “safe zone” in the North as an alternative to the evacuation of refugee children. The contribution of this thesis lies in its coverage of a number of different agencies and their interaction. It discusses the different approaches of British and American Quakers, shedding light on the respective histories of these two branches of Quakerism, and on the workings of humanitarian relief in the two zones of wartime Spain (Republican and Francoist). It also describes personalities such as Mme Frederique Small of the SCIU and Rodolfo Olgiati of SCI, so important for the relief effort in Spain, whose activities have been virtually omitted by other historical works. As an initiatory study, it also offers an archival “map” of primary material that can assist future researchers. G. Pretus, Humanitarian relief in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Helen Graham, for all the support she has given me. With her outstanding knowledge of Spain, her advice has been fundamental for my work. Also thanks to my tutor, Rudolph Muhs, who gave me the initial idea for the work and helped in my research. I extend my thanks to all archivists and librarians that made my research easier and more effective in the archives in which I worked in Britain, United States, France, Spain and Switzerland, and which are detailed in the body of this thesis Lastly I must thank Marta, my wife, for her love and understanding and Della and David for their technical support. G. Pretus, Humanitarian relief in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) 4 Table of contents Declaration of authorship...............................................................................................2 Abstract............................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgements..........................................................................................................4 Table of contents..............................................................................................................5 Abbreviations...................................................................................................................8 Chapter 1: Introduction................................................................................................10 1.1 Humanitarian intervention in conflict...................................................................10 1.2 The development of independent humanitarian relief agencies............................12 1.3 Secondary sources.................................................................................................16 1.4 Archival sources....................................................................................................24 Chapter 2: Independent relief and a military coup that evolved into civil war: the arrival of the agencies (July 1936-Autumn 1937).......................................................27 2.1 The scene...............................................................................................................27 2.2 Spanish relief and the agencies: settings and operations.......................................29 2.3 The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): navigating uncharted waters...................................................................................................................35 2.4 The British Quakers (FSC): independent relief with conflicting souls.................39 2.5 Service Civil International (SCI) and Save the Children International Union (SCIU): the Swiss connection.............................................................................41 2.6 Service Civil International (SCI): forgetting pick and shovel...............................46 2.7 The Save the Children International Union (SCIU): the Union and the appeal from the Spanish (Republican) Schools .............................................................48 2.8 Quakers working in opposing camps....................................................................50 2.9 A first assessment..................................................................................................58 Chapter 3: The work of the agencies (1) (1936-1937) ...............................................60 3.1 The British Quakers...............................................................................................60 3.2 The activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross...........................67 3.3 Service Civil International: action in Spain...........................................................79 Chapter 4: The work of the agencies (2).....................................................................82 4.1 The Save the Children International Union...........................................................82 4.2 Efforts at coordination...........................................................................................99 G. Pretus, Humanitarian relief in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) 5 Chapter 5: The work of the agencies (3): the American Quakers..........................104 5.1 The American Quakers go to Spain.....................................................................104 5.2 American Friends in Republican Spain...............................................................105 5.3 American Friends in Nationalist Spain................................................................109 5.4 The new team: Earl M. Smith and Dan West......................................................122 Chapter 6: Full scale war (1). The work of the agencies and the International Commission for the Assistance of Child Refugees in Spain: relief in years of misery .......................................................................................................................................127 6.1 The International Commission: refilling empty bags..........................................127 6.2 Work by the British Quakers and the IC.............................................................129 6.3 The Save the Children International Union (SCIU) ...........................................132 6.4 Service Civil International (SCI): the effectiveness of the Swiss Connection....137 6.5 The International Commission (IC).....................................................................138 6.6 Howard E. Kershner and Peace Testimony.........................................................153 Chapter 7: Full scale war (2). The work of the agencies..........................................156 7.1 The Red Cross and the vanishing Spanish Republic...........................................156 7.2 The departure of SCI ..........................................................................................164 7.3 The Save the Children International Union: coping with the new Spain............166 7.4 The International Commission and the Quakers: closing down activities in Spain ...........................................................................................................................168 7.5 The International Committee of the Red Cross: the other side of the border......171 Chapter 8: Conclusions...............................................................................................173 8.1 Independence and non-partisanship....................................................................173 8.2 The failure of the League of Nations and the role of the International Commission (IC)....................................................................................................................174