Encounter - A Question of Principle

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was waged between Republicans and General Franco’s Nationalists. Thousands of volunteers from around the globe joined the fight, mostly on the Republican side. These excerpts from a 1976 documentary on the 20 or so Kiwi veterans of the conflict feature Joan Conway, who reflects on the death of her brother Griff Maclaurin fighting the fascists; Tom Spiller, another International Brigade soldier; socialist George Jackson, who discusses official apathy from the NZ Government, and Geoffrey Cox, who wrote a book about the war.

...when in the summer of 1936 Franco and the army rose, and appeared to be about to bring about such a fascist regime in Spain, suddenly the people turned against them. They stormed the barracks in Barcelona and Madrid, and they threw back the Franco forces ... a tremendous feeling of hope surged through masses of people...

– Journalist Geoffrey Cox, who was in Madrid in the early stages of the Spanish Civil War

Key Cast & Crew

Paul Leach

Producer

Colleen Hodge

Research