"What Was Really The Role Of SCW Comisarios De Guerra?" Topic
4 Posts
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Cacique Caribe | 10 Dec 2017 2:17 p.m. PST |
A) So, what did they really do? Are they the same as the "Comisarios Politicos"? About the comisarios políticos: "Su obligación era explicar —y la nuestra entender— la dirección de la guerra, el significado de los acontecimientos —políticos, económicos, sociales y militares— dentro y fuera de España. A ellos se les confiaba la educación política de los soldados" link B) Got photos of the figures you've painted, to represent the "Comisarios de Guerra" in your SCW Republican units? Thanks, Dan TMP link PS. They appear to have already been in place by January 1937:
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robert piepenbrink | 10 Dec 2017 2:54 p.m. PST |
Soviet sources assure me that they inspire the men by their presence, courage and political understanding, and bring games like chess sets to the front lines. Anything else is a lie perpetrated by the enemies of the state. This would include the lie that if a soldier was politically unreliable, or didn't seem enchanted by the official line, the commissar had a quiet word with the security forces, and that particular soldier was never seen again. Always helps to remember in reading the English-language accounts, that all the "Internationals" had to surrender their passports to the CP--and so, ultimately, to the Soviet security elements. No one had any particular incentive to see non-Communists made it safely home. And whether or not history is written by the survivors, memoirs certainly are. I wouldn't fool with them unless I was doing an RPG. |
robert piepenbrink | 10 Dec 2017 2:59 p.m. PST |
Hmph. And notice our poster boy is wearing the Reds' new uniform. Nothing directly political in that: when you have a civil war, both sides can't go on wearing the pre-war uniform. But as I noted earlier, if the Reds had pulled off a win, that's the uniform I'd expect to see Spanish soldiers wearing during WWII. |
khanscom | 10 Dec 2017 5:12 p.m. PST |
Reference "The Abraham Lincoln Brigade" by Arthur Landis. In his first chapter there is included an extract from the "Book of the 15th International Brigade (1938)" which describes the role of the Political Commissar (Commissar Delegate of War as officially named by the Spanish). Though far too long to quote, the commissar seems to be a sort of ombudsman whose duties include (among others)education (both "political" and military), maintenance of morale, oversight of the physical well- being of the soldiers, maintaining good relations with local populations, propaganda, and combat. As with all officers there were undoubtedly those who were more (or less) effective than others. Worth a read if you can locate a copy. Landis fought in Spain so should be a good source-- obvious Republican sympathies notwithstanding. |
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