Our Spaniards (Naši Španci) button

This commemorative button issued on the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Spanish Civil War represents the continuity of revolutionary activity by the Yugoslav volunteers in that conflict, many who fought in the Partisan movement during the Second World War and were active politically in socialist Yugoslavia. About 350 veterans were able to return to Yugoslavia after 1939, of whom over 250 joined Tito’s guerrilla forces fighting Axis occupiers and domestic collaborators. Several others fought in resistance movements in France, Belgium, and Italy. Of those who joined the Partisans, around 130 were killed, while thirty were promoted to the rank of general. Four of them – Peko Dapčević, Petar Drapšin, Kosta Nađ, and Koča Popović – commanded the four Yugoslav Armies at the end of the war. Fifty-nine, or one out of every four, were awarded the title of People’s Heroes, the highest honor for a Partisan fighter. 

After the Second World War, the Spanish veterans, known as naši Španci (“Our Spaniards”), held many influential posts in Tito’s Yugoslavia.  Twenty veterans were members of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, several were vice presidents and ministers of defense and internal affairs, and many others were ambassadors and directors of various state organizations. In 1946, about 400 Spanish veterans attended the founding congress of the Association of Yugoslav Volunteers of the Spanish Republican Army 1936–1939 (Udruženje jugoslovenskih republikanskih dobrovoljaca Španske republikanske vojske 1936–1939). Thirty-six Spanish veterans ended up imprisoned on the infamous island of Goli otok with other Stalinists after the Tito-Stalin split in 1948. On 26 September 1971, Tito designated the Association of Spanish Volunteers as a People’s Hero, making it one of four veteran organizations to hold that prestigious honor. 

The Spanish Civil War featured prominently in the socialist-era historiography, both in general history books as well as books specifically on the role of the KPJ in Spain. Čedo Kapor, a long-time president of the Spanish veterans’ organization, was one of the most active in publishing materials related to the Spanish Civil War, such as the five-volume set, Španija 1936–1939, which includes an impressive amount of documents, interviews, press clippings, and historical reflections. Several documentary films were produced, many memoirs were published, and numerous streets, squares, and schools carried names associated with the Spanish volunteers.