Memorial unveiled at Lauriston Road cemetery for Jewish volunteers in Spanish Civil War

A fresh monument has been erected to honour the important involvement of Jewish men and women during the Spanish Civil War. Positioned at the 1700s-era Lauriston Road Jewish burial ground, situated where Hackney meets Tower Hamlets, the monument draws attention to the substantial Jewish involvement in the International Brigades. The initiative, led by Martin Sugarman from Hackney who serves as AJEX Archivist and financed by American donor Jerry Klinger, seeks to illuminate a relatively obscure period. The Spanish Civil War commencing in 1936 attracted 40,000 male and female combatants from 53 different countries who chose to resist the Franco Fascist uprising in Spain. Even though they constituted only a tiny fraction of the general population in most countries, Jewish individuals represented roughly 25 percent of the International Brigades. Within the British Attlee Battalion, numbering about 2,200 members, approximately one fifth were Jewish volunteers, the majority originating from Tower Hamlets and Hackney neighbourhoods. This figure proved noteworthy given that Jewish people comprised merely 0.5 percent of Britain’s total population during that period. The monument arrives as the globe nears the 90th anniversary of two pivotal events: the commencement of the Spanish Civil War and the Battle of Cable Street. These moments represented a crucial resistance against the burgeoning fascist movement sweeping across Europe. The United Synagogue has offered its endorsement of the monument. Commemorations for Jewish volunteers exist internationally, such as monuments on Barcelona’s Montjuïc and wooded areas in Israel’s Beit Shemesh region. Unfortunately, these memorials have encountered resistance and occasional vandalism. The placement of this new London monument guarantees that the sacrifices and efforts of Jewish volunteers will be remembered. The monument stands as a powerful tribute to their courage and persistent struggle against oppressive ideologies.