Book Reviews: Prelude to War: The International Repercussions of the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. By P. A. M. VAN DER ESCH. (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. 1951. Pp. xi, 190. Guilders 12.; cloth, guilders 15..)

• DOI: 10.1177/106591295200500412
• Published date: 01 December 1952
• Author: Henry W. Ehrmann
• Date: 01 December 1952
• Subject Matter: Articles

665

Prelude

to

War:

The

International

Repercussions

of

the

Spanish

Civil

War,

1936-1939.

By

P.

A.

M.

VAN

DER

ESCH.

(The

Hague:

Martinus

Nijhoff.

1951.

Pp.

xi,

190.

Guilders

12.;

cloth,

guilders

15..)

Miss

van

der

Esch’s

book,

her

doctor’s

thesis,

presents

a

sound

picture

of

the

political,

economic

and

ideological

issues

involved

in

the

attitude

of

the

major

powers

towards

the

Spanish

civil

war.

The

author

touches

only

lightly

on

the

problems

of

international

law,

raised

by

the

policies

of

non-intervention,

since

those

questions

have

been

dealt

with

in

Mr.

Padelford’s

definitive

monograph.

For

her

well-written

description

of

the

Spanish

cockpit,

the

background

to

civil

strife,

she

relies

on

earlier

Euro-

pean

treatments

of

the

subject.

The

main

body

of

this

study

deals

then

with

the

cynical

game

of

power

politics

played

by

Germany

and

Italy

throughout

the

various

phases

of

international

intervention

in

Spain,

and

the

weak

response

of

the

democratic

powers

to

such

policies.

The

sources

utilized

by

the

author

yield

a

great

many

new

insights

even

where

the

over-all

developments

have

already

been

known.

Together

with

a

complete

bibliography,

an

appended

&dquo;Note

on

Sources&dquo;

gives

a

brief

though

excellent

general

account

of

the

challenge

and

the

pitfalls

facing

the

sober

student

of

recent

and .

contemporary

international

affairs.

The

author’s

contention

that

Russian

assistance

to

the

Republicans

amounted

to

much

less

than

is

commonly

supposed

is

well

documented:

where

Soviet

help

was

given

it

was

another

story

of

&dquo;too

little

and

too

late&dquo;;

moreover

it

was

administered

with

the

narrowest

of

political

discrimi-

nation,

thereby

weakening

rather

than

strengthening

the

republican

side.

French

Socialists,

especially

their

leader

L6on

Blum,

and

the

British

Labourites

emerge

as

the

truly

tragic

forces.

Such

small

but

influential

minorities

as

the

city

of

London

and

the

French

&dquo;Two

Hundred

Families&dquo;

could

believe

that

their

economic

interests

were

better

protected

as

long

as

France

held

the

vineyards

of

Jerea

and

the

Rio

Tinto

mines:

but

the

progressive

forces

in

both

countries,

whose

sympathies

were

definitely

on

the

side

of

the

republican

government,

were

hopelessly

weakened

by

their

uncertainties

as

to

whether

it

was

&dquo;moral&dquo;

to

take

any

steps

that

could

increase

the

danger

of

general

war.

The

entire

monograph

furnishes

most

valuable

material

for

a

more

profound

understanding

of

the

decisive

problems

besetting

us

today:

here

the

value,

there

the

uselessness

of

diplomatic

give-and-take;

the

possible

morality

of

a

frank

defense

of

national

interests;

and

the

political

poten-

tialities

and

limitations of

international

organization

such

as

the

League

and

the

United

Nations.

HENRY

W.

EHRMANN.

University

of

Colorado.