Living, Coexisting and Surviving: International Brigades and Multilingualism

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This exhibition is the result of the research carried out by historians Ramon Naya Ortega and Lourdes Prades Artigas from the University of Barcelona on language learning and the fight against illiteracy among the international volunteers who took part in the Spanish Civil War. It is an innovative study, both in terms of its content and the historiographical interpretation provided by the curators.

The exhibition highlights how such a heterogeneous multilingual community was able to live, coexist, and survive during such a brief yet intense period. Despite the diversity of languages and cultures, the volunteers shared a common denominator: a commitment to fight for an ideal. This desire for unity led them to overcome language barriers. As they themselves used to say: “We speak different languages, but one common tongue.”

The exhibition has been developed from archival sources, memoirs, and press materials from the period, mainly produced by the brigadists themselves, both on the front lines and in the rear guard. These materials constitute a highly valuable primary source for the study of multilingualism and make it possible to explore in greater depth the educational, cultural, and human dimensions of the International Brigades.

The exhibition will occupy the barracks area, in the halls of the former Military Museum.

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