During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the International Brigades were the military units made up principally of foreign volunteers from 54 countries. They fought for the Spanish Republic against the troops led by General Franco, who were supported by the German and Italian military.
The exact figure for the Brigades is not known, but the total number of registered volunteers was 35,252 (although some sources claim this to be 59,380). However, there were never more than 20,000 men at any one time. 9,934 of them died.
The most numerous nationality among the volunteers was French, with around 10,000, while the Germans and Austrians totalled around 5,000, mostly exiled in Paris and Brussels as a consequence of the rise of Nazism. Other significant groups were the Italians (with 4,000 members), British (with 2,500), North American (2,000) and around a thousand South Americans. They all came from very different social backgrounds, ranging from intellectuals to manual workers, and some would become figures of notable historical importance, albeit for a variety of reasons.
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