New Book Reveals How American Agents Aided Communist Rebels in Spain
Online, January 8, 2012 (Newswire.com) - AN AMAZING STORY of how American agents secretly trained Spanish Communists to undermine Spain's pro-Nazi dictatorship is revealed in a newly released book.
During World War Two the OSS (Office of Strategic Services, forerunner of the CIA) ran camps in North Africa where men were trained in guerrilla warfare then infiltrated into Spain to undermine the Franco regime.
Spain was officially neutral but General Franco was actually aiding Germany's war effort.
Details are revealed in a new edition of the highly acclaimed book, Between Two Fires - Guerrilla war in the Spanish sierras, published by Maroma Press.
This is the first-ever account in English of a brutal conflict in the mountains of southern Spain. Due to strict censorship, the rebellion against Franco of the 1940s went virtually unreported at the time.
On one side were the guerrillas, secretly organised by Communists. On the other were Franco's soldiers and Civil Guards. The sierras echoed to the crackle of gunfire as the authorities tried to track down the guerrillas.
Kidnappings and ransom payments were common. Atrocities were committed by both sides and the country folk lived in a state of fear.
Author David Baird vividly illustrates the state of siege that existed with first-person accounts of the few survivors in Malaga province of those tortured years.
In the course of his five-year investigation, he unearthed details of how initially the USA supplied arms and expertise to the Communist rebels and also of a brutal crime covered up for 50 years.
Paul Preston, respected author of The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 and many other books on recent Spanish history, says: "This superbly written book could not be more timely."
The new edition, retail price US$19.90, £12.90, or 14.90 euros, can be ordered online from leading websites such as Amazon or directly from the publisher (http://maromapress.wordpress.com/).
Mark Williams, author of A History of Spain, comments: "It's a masterful job! Every kid growing up in southern Spain should be required to read this book to place his/her life in perspective. When all the travel articles and books are forgotten this book will be author David Baird's ultimate legacy."
Ian Gibson, author of acclaimed biographies of Lorca and DalÃ, declares in his prologue: "There could be nobody better suited to tell this story than David Baird, and he has done so magnificently."
Other tributes from writers and critics around the world include: "Profoundly researched, deeply sympathetic to the subject and compellingly written." - author Perrott Phillips (London).
"Absolutely rivetting...a wonderfully evocative footnote to history presumably experienced in many parts of Spain. I can't put it down...a great piece of research, and a story beautifully told. It's a joy to read." - Phillip Grenard (Sydney).
"A great work. It should make a big contribution to the history of the Franco rule." - Charles Snyder (Washington).
"I am deeply impressed. It would be good if more people read this book to remind them how lucky they are to be alive now and not then. - Nicholas Inman (France).