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Doves of War - Paul Preston (2001)

DOVES OF WAR

Paul Preston (2001)

The next day April 8 hispanist Paul Preston published his new book "The Holocaust English. "
Hispanics come to this great me through my taste too much (I admit) and the biographies of women. By trying to know the personal histories of all women who came before me, all fighters who managed to project beyond the walls so close that society imposed on the love, art, music, wrestling, science ...

Because throughout history have been many women who have tried to make a dent in this world of men, and have achieved many of the freedoms today, these new princess of the neighborhood, these "girls" that will stand out above the rest by dint of size bra to blow knife or stiletto heels that make buttocks, Pronto culture barbershop upstairs smelling Nelly, whose "model" girl (and society) is Belen Esteban and the surgeon that swelled, they throw out.

Seria "Doves of War" my first book by this author (not go into here, to discuss, if good or bad, partial or impartial, that would be another entry) and I found it looking for biographies of women during the English civil war. what role did the woman? as lived? how was your day to day? ...
In this wonderful book I found answers to some of my questions:

Five different women from different backgrounds, ideologies and nationalities, are taken as examples of what was the full spectrum of war. The objective dimension is added to the emotional, from compassion and a desire for justice to the cruelty and selfishness. These shades provide the basis of the biographies, not from the perspective of a theoretical analysis, which the author is aware, but as a sentimental story, not the least documented and accurate and, of course, objective. Paul Preston's obsession to extend the roots of knowledge leads to appreciate the subversive world of emotions as the cause and origin of the historical performance of the individual. Thus, women in the war were a case of history not only suffered, but tragedy in hopes of freedom cleansing, to paraphrase Maria Zambrano. The five women, some famous, some less, have been chosen by the junction that was almost coincide at some point in their lives, but to materialize the meeting. A kind of inevitable fate attracted them to the centro de la acción y las precipitó en un torbellino imparable.

Dos inglesas, Nan Green y Priscilla Scott-Ellis, llamada Pip por sus amistades, son polos opuestos reunidos en una historia de contrastes y casualidades. La primera es una comunista que parte a luchar a España por convencimiento ideológico y por reunirse con su marido. La segunda, una aristócrata dedicada a los placeres fáciles de la vida que se une al bando franquista por seguir al hombre que ama. Ambas se transfigurarán y cumplirán su papel de enfermeras como un rito de iniciación. Una y otra estarán inmersas en los momentos más terribles de la guerra y conocerán de cerca el dolor, la desesperación, el hambre, la falta de hygiene, but learn to deal with them, but sometimes falter. His version of the war, from conflicting viewpoints, is an example of the capacity for suffering and humiliation, as well as reality and fantasy. Pip imagined in terms of chivalry, which fought against the dragon of communism, Nan, more practical, he felt that was the first step towards a world revolution. His diaries and letters do not stop at recording the harshest conditions and although in the case of Pip, escape to dance with Franco and Nazi officials or receive good food and have your own car, in contrast to Nan, who discussed in the Republican field lacks these relaxations, the both surrender to their task without rest. What ever could have imagined was the bloodbath that would be discussed from opposite sides of the front.

The other three women, English, also belonged to opposite sides. Mercedes Sanz-Bachiller, wife of a prominent leader of the Falange who was imprisoned when the war was active in politics. When her husband was released by the Falange had little time to enjoy it, because it was dead a few days, that loss was compounded by the child in her womb. Since then, actively joined the political struggle. Chosen charitable work and organized The Winter Relief, dedicated to helping the victims of war in general. His work became so important that it became a rival to Pilar Primo de Rivera. He traveled to Germany and was received by Göring.

In contrast, Margarita Nelken Republican was the great fighter for the rights of women, workers and the oppressed. Socialist deputy who subsequently joined the communist, Jewish, writer, art critic, caused controversy around him. He moved to the Soviet Union to seek support for the Republican cause, and joined the English tragedy personal tragedy, losing his son in the war between Germany and Soviet. His personality clashed with that of Dolores Ibarruri, The Passion. He died in exile in Mexico. These four women, in the words of Paul Preston: "They were brave, resolute, intelligent, independent and compassionate."

But the fifth, Carmen Polo de Franco, could not be classified that way. Chosen as a contrast, the historian was able to find sufficient documentation to highlight an important difference between it and the other four, who was his ability to influence public life and the cloud of fantasies "in which he lived. Marked by an insatiable desire for adulation, by greed and an excessive prudery Catholic, was a kind of prelude political intrigue, essential for making some government decisions, especially in the late Franco period.

Paul Preston, along with Irishman Ian Gibson and Hugh Thomas, one of Britain's most important English scholars who have dedicated their studies to the recent English history. Born in Liverpool on July 22, 1946. According to his own testimony, grew up in an atmosphere haunted by World War II: "All of my childhood obsessions, all the comics, revolved around the Second World War." Hence his early interest in the interwar period.

In early sixties, she began studying modern history at Oxford University, with Raymond Carr subsequently happened to the University of Reading, where he was taught by a master of Contemporary History of Europe, one of whose courses, led by Hugh Thomas, was devoted English civil war. The English conflict aroused great interest in Preston, because he saw in the synthesis of all the problems of the period before World War "In the Civil War were Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, British politics, the French anarchists Socialists, Fascists, Catholics, farmers, workers. " When exhausted all English books on the subject, decided to learn English, and began to read the help of a dictionary, then records and with the help of a Colombian students who were in Oxford.

In 1969, first came to Spain, living in Malaga, Barcelona and then Madrid. His goal was to complete his doctoral thesis on a English theme. At first, she focused her interest in anti-republican right, but then focused his study in the struggle between Catholics and the Socialists over the Second Republic. His stay in Spain continued until 1973. Its ideology was already a radical leftist and defined itself as "Franco." Many students and teachers who met in Madrid militated very active in the leftist opposition. Preston Crown of Hispanic feel represented by Brennan and Carr was less enthusiastic about Thomas and Jackson. Admire the English Marxist historian Manuel Tuñón de Lara. But he considers his true master at American polemicist Herbert Rutledge Southworth.

The bulk of his work focuses on the history of Spain since the advent of the Second Republic (1931) until the end of the democratic transition of the 80's of XX century. As with Gibson, has many detractors who accuse him of being a demagogue of ideas on the left and not be strict with their sources, just the error (or willful omission) that he detected in historians contrary to their theories.



Bibliography Paul Preston:

- Franco, Caudillo of Spain (1994)
- Doves of War and Spain and the great powers in the twentieth century
- Franco and the politics of revenge: fascism and militarism in the twentieth century Spain
- The politics of revenge: fascism and militarism in the twentieth century Spain (1997)
- Civil War (2000)
- Three Spains 36 (2001)
- Palomas war. Five women scarred by the war (2001)
- The destruction of democracy in Spain (2001)
- Juan Carlos, the King of a people (2003)
- The triumph of democracy in Spain
- Idealist under fire (2007)
- The great manipulator. Daily lies Franco (2008)




PIGEONS OF WAR: FIVE WOMEN FACING WAR MARKED BY
Author: PAUL PRESTON
Editorial: PLAZA & JANES
Pages: 544
ISBN: 8401530512