Jewish involvement in the International Brigades is well known amongst Spanish Civil War enthusiasts. Estimates as to the percentage and numbers of Jews in the International Brigade vary between scholars. Bill Alexander believes around 180-200 of the 2100 British volunteers were Jewish, around 10% of the total. Tom Wintringham a one time British Battalion C in C put the total of Jews in the Battalion at only 3%. Estimates of the total of Jewish volunteers in the International Brigade vary from 10 to 17% with a total of possibly around 6000-10000 men and women, possibly including 400 Jews from Palestine.

Jews were encouraged by the Communist Comintern organisation to serve in the International Brigades in national units, but not in Jewish units. What this meant was British Jews fought in British units, French Jews in French units etc. The Communists did not want Jews to fight in a separate unit in case it seemed like they were supporting Zionists who wished to set up an independent Jewish state in Palestine.

Yet after lobbying by some Jews in the International Brigades they were allowed to form an entirely Jewish unit known as the Botwin Company. Sources for this unit are very scarce and mainly in Yiddish, French or in Jewish journals. I came across them by accident in a book about Jewish British Communists. There is no mention of the Botwin Company in any major work because the Communists did not want it known they allowed an entirely Jewish unit to fight in the International Brigade.

The Botwin Company was named after Naftali Botwin a young Polish Jewish Communist who had been condemned to death for shooting an 'agent provocateur'. The company consisted of mainly Polish Jews, some from France and Palestine and even four non-Jews who spoke Yiddish. The Botwin Company was founded on 12th December 1937 and served until September 1938. Some of the Botwinists volunteered to stay on in Spain and acted as a rearguard to protect the retreat of refugees to France in early 1939. Some Botwinists also served in the French resistance in World War II.

The Botwin Company was part of the 13th International Brigade the Eastern European 'Dombrowski' Brigade; they were to be the 2nd company of the 'Palafox' Battalion. The Company at first numbered only 20 but grew quickly to around 175. The language of the company was to be Yiddish and they had their own flag, song and newssheet. The flag was in Yiddish, Polish and Spanish and said 'Company Naftali Botwin. For Our and Your Freedom'.

They had their own song of which the last stanza stated:

"And in the new and war-free-times
They'll recall our fight, too
How Jewish Botwin soldiers
Drove out the Fascist plague.
No Pasaran."

The Botwin Company fought in all the major actions of 1938 and was ill armed and often poorly trained. They lost many men during the civil war as many as 1000 killed and wounded. The Company was reinforced regularly during 1938. Losses were so high four successive Company Commanders were killed. The last International Brigader killed in Spain was a Botwinist called Haskel Honigstein.

After World War II, a street in Warsaw was named after Naftali Botwin. But after a short time all traces of Naftali Botwin and the Botwin Company was erased from official records as official policy was to condemn Zionism, the new state of Israel and to refuse to acknowledge any separate Jewish force fought in the International Brigade.

Bibliography

ALEXANDER, Bill, British Volunteers for Liberty: Spain 1936-1939.
FRANK, Benis F, The Jewish Company of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps compared with other Jewish Diaspora Fighting Units.
http://www.ukans.edu/~kansite/wwpne/comment/svc.htm (Or search using Botwin Company)
HALL, Christopher, Disciplina Camaradas': four English Volunteers in Spain 1936-1939 (includes two Jewish volunteers) PRAGO, Albert, Jews in the International Brigades, Jewish Currents, 1979.
ROTHENBERG, Joshua, The Naftali Botwin Company (An episode from recent history), Jewish Frontier 47, April 1980.
SREBRNIK, H F, London Jews and British Communism 1935-1945.
WINTRINGHAM, Tom, English Captain.