Pablo Neruda and the Spanish Civil War

1. Pablo Neruda and the Spanish Civil War

2. Background on the Civil War • Spawning from nearly 100 years of political unrest and a previous failed attempt at overthrowing the government, the winds of Civil War blew in the once great nation of Spain. • Beginning in 1936, it was intended as a military coup by the right wing, but due to failure by the military units in key strategic cities such as Madrid and Valencia, it instead became a civil war. • Fought between the Republicans and the Nationalists, both sides committed atrocities and evoked deep passions amongst the people.

3. Nationalists Vs. Republicans • In the tense pre-WWII political climate, this civil war between political ideologies embodied the scene in Europe. • The Great Powers in Europe, while cautious about sparking a world war, were very tempted by the opportunity to gain an ideological ally. • Germany, Italy, and neighbouringPortugal supported their ideologically similar Fascist friends at the Nationalist party, and Hitler, Salazar and Mussolini supplied some ~85,000 soldiers, as well as planes, boats, arms, training, and Reichmarks. • The Republican cause, seen as a fight against Fascism, gained support for the Soviet Union in the form of arms, Mexico in the form of financial aid, and the international community in the form of volunteer soldiers (some 40,000 from 53 nations).

4. A War (But Not Really) • It’s easy to see why this war was divisive – what started as a coup had become an international war-by-proxy. • The ideologies at work ended up coalescing somewhat – you were called (and killed as) a communist for opposing the nationalists, which is a reasonable assumption because you were being supported by socialists, and you were called a fascist for supporting the nationalists, which is also a very fair assumption because they mostly were fascists. • However, there was also a wide spectrum of ideologies on the left and right – those afraid of fascism, those afraid of communism, moderate left and right wingers – it caused every Spaniard to pick a side.

5. The Arts During War • Spain was (and still is) a vibrant cultural centre. Painters, poets, writers; none were exempt from the war. • The famous Englishmen George Orwell (Eric Blair) put his money where his mouth was, and signed on with the Republicans to “fight Fascism.” • The Arts and leftist thought are closely tied, and the cause attracted much support amongst artist and authors. • For instance, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, and our hero…

6. Pablo Neruda (!) • Pablo Neruda was, at the time of the war’s outbreak, the Chilean consul in Madrid. He had spent this time working on his poetry and meeting a circle of artist friends, where his political ideology was influenced by his radically leftist friends, and allowed to grow. • One of these friends, Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca, wouldlaterproveto be thecatalystforgreatchange in Neruda’slife.

7. Poet of the People • When the war began, Neruda was startled, but not shocked – the premonitions of civil war had been coming for those who had been looking. • What shocked him and awakened his inner activist was the assassination of García Lorca, hisclosefriend. • This shockedhim and shockedtoohispoetry. • This and other atrocities led him to write Spain in our Hearts, a collection of poetry written to show solidarity to the Republican side of the conflict.

8. A Shift in Poetry • I Explain Some Things is demonstrative of his change in tone. In these passages: You will ask: And where are the lilacs? and the metaphysical blanket of poppies • In this poem, he “explains some things” about how his tone and voice in poetry are changing, and to do this references Ruben Dario, another famous Latin American poet, who was well known for political poems. In Dario’s De Otoño, he says: I know that there are those who say: why Doesn't he sing now With the madness of yesteryears • This reference prepares the reader for the stark changes that occur from Neruda’s old poetry to this poetry.

9. Poems of the People • This passages is demonstrative of his intense change in tone, and of the shock that he must have gone through. And one morning it was all burning, and one morning bonfires sprang out of the earth devouring humans, and from then on fire, gunpowder from then on, and from then on blood. … You will ask: why doesn’t his poetry speak to us of dreams, of leaves of the great volcanoes of his native land? Come and see the blood in the streets come and see the blood in the streets come and see the blood in the streets! • He ends the poem similarly to how he began it, thus ending his explanation. • The last 5 lines are haunting , and one can’t help but read them arrhythmically due to the odd spacing.

10. Poems of Mourning and Vengeance • He wrote in this collection many different poems, addressing different groups or specific people with each poem. In Songs for Mothers of Slain Militiamen, he sympathizes with the mothers of the dead in a comforting voice, like so: Put aside your mantles of mourning, join all your tears until you make them metal • Whereas in SanjurjoIn Hell, MolaIn Hell, and General Franco In Hell, he addresses (attacks) three prominent Nationalist generals, like so (to Franco): You do not deserve to sleep even though it be with your eyes fastened with pins: you have to be awake, General, eternally awake among the putrefaction of the new mothers machine-gunned in the autumn

11. Saviour of the People • In the end, all the poems and paintings in the world could not stop Italian men and German guns • Franco ended up winning, and many thousands of leftist, free-thinking, or just plain scared Spanish refugees fled to neighbouring France. • The French, lacking proper infrastructure for an influx of thousands of Spaniards, put them in internment camps, where they faced poor conditions and possible return to Spain due to both France and Britain maintaining neutrality in accordance with the League of Nations. • Neruda organized an old cargo steamer, the SS Winnipeg, that could hold about twenty people to be refitted to hold 2200 refugees, who were then shipped off to Chile, where they were greeted with open arms. • Most stayed as immigrants. • The SS Winnipeg later was captured by the Dutch and returned to it’s nominal roots via purchase by a Canadian company, but was sunk on its way to Saint John, NB.  • Everyone on board was rescued by the HCMS Mordenthough.  • Neruda called this “the noblest mission I have ever undertaken” and wrote of it “The critics may erase all of my poetry, if they want. But this poem, that today I remember, nobody will be able to erase”

12. Not-Well-Suited Diplomat (of the People) • With Franco’s government in power, a Communist diplomat who had actively opposed his regime and literally told him to go to Hell seemed like a poor choice of consul for Chile. • He was relocated to Mexico for three years, after which the rest of his life progressed. • This pivotal point in his life affected all of his later works, splitting them into two separate entities almost: the decidedly personal poems about love and lust; and the decidedly political poems about Stalin and Capitalism.

13. THE END 