Spain in Our Hearts

Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939 (2016), a work of historical military nonfiction by Adam Hochschild,  provides an overview of the Spanish Civil War by revealing the stories of ordinary people affected by the crisis. Nominated for numerous prestigious awards, it went on to become a bestseller. Hochschild teaches at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California. Before writing nonfiction books, he was a civil rights activist and a newspaper reporter. He has been featured in publications such as the New York Times and Harper’s Magazine.

The Spanish Civil War took place between 1936 and 1939. Hochschild explains the differences between the two sides—the Republicans, led by the Second Spanish Republic, and the Nationalists, led by General Francisco Franco—and he considers why the Republican Loyalists ultimately lost the conflict. Critics praise Hochschild for providing an objective, impartial account of the Spanish Civil War that doesn’t place blame with either side.

Given that the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, and was immediately followed by World War II, Hochschild notes that, while most of us are familiar with World War II, we pay far less attention to the Spanish Civil War. Hochschild believes that letting the Spanish Civil War fade from our memories does a great disservice to the political significance of the conflict.



Hochschild’s thesis is that, since world democracies ignored calls for aid from Republican Spain, Hitler and Mussolini took hold of the country very quickly. It is possible to argue that, had Hitler failed to overrule Spain, he wouldn’t have invaded other countries. If Hitler hadn’t invaded other countries, there wouldn’t have been a Second World War.

Hochschild considers these controversial suppositions even if he admits they are impossible to answer conclusively. However, Hochschild does argue that Hitler and Mussolini tested out weapons during this war that they later used in the Second World War. Although Hochschild eventually concludes that the Second World War was inevitable, whatever happened in Spain, he believes the Spanish Civil War was entirely preventable.

Hochschild dedicates much space to the arms embargo imposed on Spain by France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Spanish Republic was unable to defend itself against mounting pressure from Italy and Germany, which both supplied the Spanish Nationalists with advanced and powerful weapons. The Spanish Republicans were dismayed by the attitudes toward them in Europe and there was an overwhelming sense of despair running through their ranks. Hochschild aims to capture some of this despair in the stories he shares throughout the book.



Although there are many American perspectives in the book, other nationalities are also represented. Hochschild chooses to include so many American perspectives in Spain in Our Hearts because it is the only time that Americans risked their lives to protect another country when the conflict didn’t directly affect America. Importantly, Hochschild does not include any working-class or uneducated perspectives—the subjects are all middle-class, highly educated individuals. This limited perspective has been criticized by reviewers looking for a more representative account.

At the heart of the book is the idea that fascism demands resistance, even if the war is lost. Hochschild holds that the Americans who fought did so because they detested fascism and everything it represents. Many staunchly supported communism. However, even if the fighters didn’t support communism, they could not imagine a world where fascism wins. This passion for fairness and equality, Hochschild notes, is why average Americans intervened in a war, many miles away that had nothing to do with them.

Spain in Our Hearts includes chapters dedicated to literary greats such as George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway. Hochschild contends that the war inspired Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four because Orwell abhorred the insidious ways that fascism seized control of a nation while everyone stood back and watched. Orwell used his books to explore questions around anti-Stalinism and wartime tactics. Similarly, Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls in response to the Spanish Republic’s desperate and inevitable downfall. The horrors of the Spanish Civil War live on in literature and storytelling.



Hochschild admits he can shed little new light on the Spanish Civil War itself, but there are some perspectives that most people remain unfamiliar with. The most significant of these stories is that of Torkild Rieber, the chairman of Texaco. Rieber held fascist sympathies, which affected his attitude toward the arms embargo. He broke the law by supplying Nationalists with cheap oil and credit facilities, sealing their victory over the Spanish Republicans. Hochschild admits that injustices such as this one caused morale on the other side to plummet.

Though Hochschild may hold public Spanish Republican sympathies, Spain in Our Hearts doesn’t shy away from atrocities committed by the Republicans to secure their aims. Hochschild concludes that American, French, and British ambivalence towards Spain’s fate caused the Republicans to make ill-considered and regrettable choices. However, Hochschild’s focus on American perspectives means that he avoids taking sides.