Catalogue Number
NMLH.1993.43
Object Name
Poster
Title
'Help Spain'
Place
Spain
People
Artists International Association
Events
Spanish Civil War
Date
1936
Description
A red poster with blue and yellow text saying 'Help Spain' with an image of a group of people cowering, fear on their faces, as bombs fall from planes and the city behind them explodes and catches fire.
This poster was made in 1937 as part of a campaign in the UK by The Artists International Association (AIA) to encourage people to ally themselves with the republicans in Spain fighting the right-wing fascist forces led by General Franco during the Spanish Civil War. While Franco was receiving financial and military aid from the fascist governments of Germany and Italy, the UK, along with most other countries besides the Soviet Union adhered to a non-intervention pact and refused to support the republican forces. This government inaction led to a significant breadth of grass roots campaigns encouraging both monetary support and people to travel to Spain to fight in the International Brigades, which thousands of people ultimately did. This 'Help Spain!' campaign was one of many such efforts, and the poster is designed to encourage giving aid by invoking the terror experienced by civilians during the aerial bombings conducted by Francoist forces.
The AIA was a leftist artists organisation founded in 1933 and existed until 1971. They keenly supported the republican cause, and over 1000 artists had joined the movement by the start of 1937, fundraising to support the Spanish republicans through art exhibitions. Nearly 60,000 people from 55 countries volunteered to fight for the Spanish Republic. More than 2,000 Britons volunteered, 526 were killed and many more injured. While the British government pursued a policy of non-intervention, many more individuals helped, promoted by such posters, donating money, medical aid and food to help Spanish civilians.
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