Spain has shown the world how to stand firm in the face of authoritarian threat.
They were the first country to refuse Donald Trump’s demand to support his illegal war in Iran. This heroic stance came as Spain commemorated a great but forgotten Canadian war hero.
On March 16 at Guiamets cemetery, a plaque was unveiled in honour of Niilo Makela from Timmins, Ontario. He gave his life fighting for the freedom of the Spanish people.
As the former Member of Parliament for Timmins, I was honoured to contribute remarks that were shared during the ceremony. I pointed out that this wasn’t just about remembering a battle that took place 88 years ago; it was about recommitting to the strong links between Canada and Spain today.
The fascists are once again on the move. It falls to democratic countries to meet the moment.
Here is the message that was delivered:
“As the former member of Parliament for Timmins, I pay tribute to Niilo Makela. He was one of the North’s most heroic sons. I thank the people of Spain for cherishing the memory of this young man, who was only 20 years old when he left the mines of Timmins to fight for freedom for the people of Spain. Niilo’s life is a story of sacrifice, dedication and fearlessness in the face of fascist aggression.
This commemoration comes at a crucial moment for both Spain and the people of Canada. The fascist threat has risen again. Around the world, we are watching the attack on democracy and the rule of law. Niilo Makela reminds us that we are bound together in this struggle. He teaches us that an injury to one is an injury to all of us. Canada paid a huge sacrifice in the fight against the fascists in Spain. We owe it to their memory to ensure that the fascists of today are pushed back and defeated.
No pasaran.”
I am pleased that people in Spain remember Makela’s incredible sacrifice. We could do well to remember that sacrifice here in Canada.
Makela was from my hometown, but I never knew anything about him.
In school, we were never taught about the incredible sacrifice of ordinary Canadians who went to fight the fascists when the leaders of the West were convinced that appeasement and accommodation were the most reasonable response to tyranny.
Our Prime Minister, Mackenzie King, thought that Herr Hitler had “affectionate” eyes. But young Niilo Makela wasn’t fooled.
The Finnish Canadian miner had been reading the newspaper reports describing the fascist attack on the fledgling Spanish democracy. He made the decision that if no government was willing to help the people of Spain, then he would put his own life on the line.
Makela was one of 1700 Canadians who defied their government and slipped aboard freighters, trekked through mountains and travelled under assumed names in order to defend the Spanish democracy from a fascist coup. They joined thousands of volunteers from around the world who came to fight the fascists in Spain.
Most of the Canadians were assigned to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, which was made up of volunteers from the United States. Many of the international volunteers had come for ideological reasons. Many were young communists. A number had come out of the universities.
But the Canadians were different. They were dock workers. Farmhands. Miners like Makela. They knew how to use a gun.
The commissars noted that the Canadians made “poor communists.” The Canadians didn’t go to Spain to argue ideology. They weren’t good at discipline and following rules. They went to fight and kill fascists. And they were good at it. Very good.
They soon gained a reputation as the “fighting Canucks.” And they wanted to form a distinctly Canadian unit. On Dominion (Canada) Day 1937, the Mackenzie-Papineau brigade (named after the founders of the 1838 rebellion) was officially formed.
But it wasn’t just Canadians who signed up for this brigade. Milton Herndon, a black labour activist from Chicago, served as leader of the third section of the Canadian battalion. On October 13, 1937, he was killed trying to help the wounded during a brutal battle at Fuentes de Ebro.
In a piece written in the November 1938 issue of the Volunteer for Liberty, Frank Smith described how the Canadians held on in the face of withering German artillery fire. It was a battle that cost the life of Lieutenant Lionel Edward of Edmonton:
“Our boys, who clung to their battered trenches despite the terrific shelling permitted the enemy to advance within rifle and machine-gun range and then opened devastating fire on them. Driving the fascists back with enormous losses. The enemy was completely routed. The boys in the Battalion still refer to that position as ‘Suicide Hill’ or ‘Edwards Hill.’”
This was the first major battle where the Canadian unit was put to the test. It was a helluva test. Trapped by murderous machine gun and artillery fire, the Republican line appeared to be disintegrating. The Canadians were surrounded, and the demand came from the fascists for a full-scale surrender.
“We have no orders except to hold the lines,” responded Major Ben Smith, who was later killed.
Niilo Makela had established himself as a leader among the Canadians and became the battle leader of the Mac-Paps. He led the breakout. The fascist forces came at the Canadians with tanks, but the Mac Paps, armed only with rifles and some machine guns, refused to give ground. They pushed the tanks back.
During the terrible retreat from the Ebro River in March 1938, the Canadians were left behind as the others crossed to safety. Their mission was to buy time so the volunteers from other countries could get to safe ground. Niilo Makela was in charge of stopping the fascist tanks. His comrades had so much faith in him that they believed him to be indestructible.
But the 21-year-old was killed on March 16th.
The Republican leadership was so distraught that they suppressed the news of his death because they were terrified it would leave the retreating soldiers in despair. A plaque was placed on the wall of a building in a nearby village.
Despite the valour of men like Makela, Spanish democracy could not hold. It had been sold out from day one.
The western nations blockaded badly needed supplies while fascist Francisco Franco was being heavily armed by the Nazis and the fascists in Italy. Mussolini sent nearly 800 planes, 2000 cannons, and 10,000 machine guns. Hitler used the Luftwaffe to terror bomb the civilians. The Mac Paps and other international volunteers were forced to make do with makeshift weapons, some trucks, and a few planes.
By October 1938, the beleaguered Republican government knew it could no longer hold on. As part of an attempt to win better terms from the fascists, they agreed to ask the international volunteers to leave Spain. It left the Spanish people at the mercy of fascists. Everyone knew this.
On October 29, 1938, the surviving Mac Paps marched for the last time through the streets of Barcelona. The crowds covered them in flowers. The women ran from the sidelines to hug, kiss and thank them. With tears in their eyes, they sang the Internationale with its stirring vision of global solidarity:
Let no one build walls to divide us
Walls of hatred nor walls of stone
Come greet the dawn and stand beside us
We’ll live together or we’ll die alone
But even as they hugged and wept in the streets of Barcelona, everyone knew that darkness was falling on Spain. A darkness that would soon descend on Europe. There were only 600 Canadians left of the 1700 men who had gone to fight. Many were wounded or maimed.
Canada, a nation of only 11 million people, had sent the fourth largest contingent of volunteers to the fight. Only the French International Brigade paid the kind of price in blood that Canadians did.
Within a year, thousands of other young Canadians would be heading to Europe to fight the fascist forces who had honed their murderous skills fighting against men like Makela and Herndon.
I wish that I were writing this as a way of paying tribute to history. But these are lessons we need to learn today.
There can be no peace through appeasement with fascism. We must remember the heroism of young men like Niilo Makela, who gave his life fighting for the liberty of people he had never met. He gave his life for the cause of democracy over tyranny.
Today as Spain defies Trump the commemoration of Niilo Makela reminds us of our shared history in fighting for liberty and standing up to fascist aggression. We stand together at this moment - Canada and Spain.
We say “Elbows Up”; the Spanish volunteers said “No Pasaran” (they shall not pass).
