Yesterday, I explored a new facet of the archives: photographs. I had read the essay in Facing Facism: New York and the Spanish Civil War which discussed the importance of the photograph as war time propaganda and was interested in observing the Republican propaganda for myself. I looked at a box of original photographs taken by the Photographic Unit of the Fifteenth International Brigade spanning most of the war. I learned from the box description that many of the photographs taken by this unit were used in the Brigade's newspaper, Volunteer for Liberty. Therefore, I expected to find photographs intended to boost soldier morale and foster sympathy and support for the Republican Army abroad. In my search for propaganda photographs, I too realized how difficult it is to discern between the truth and a staged photograph.

In one picture of Anti-Tank Unit Leaders, everyone's facial expressions are serious, but their body language conveys mixed signals. One of the older soldiers is standing at attention, with his feet shoulder width apart, his hands behind his back, and his shoulders pulled back. Other men are standing less erect, while one standing man even has his hands at his side. Still others are casually hunched down on their knees in front of the rest. Perhaps the body language of the men is meant to convey both their serious attitudes and their physical exhaustion. This could be used as propaganda, showing in some ways the need for physical strength and military assistance for the Republicans. In the background of the photograph is a partially destroyed doorway and a corroding wall, which add to the disintegrative tone of the entire photograph.

In another group photograph, one of Spanish cooks in the MacPap unit, the scene rather than the body language of the men conveys the political message. The men look healthy, although noticeably dirty, and they seem to be earnestly working hard at their jobs. However, they are cooking in what seems to be the ruins of a building in a large field, perhaps in the aftermath of a battle. This scene may have been chosen to portray the destruction of the rural agricultural elite by the Republican Army. Also, what they are cooking draws a lot of attention. The food looks like giant mounds of grainy muck, which again draws attention to the Republican needs for supplies and foreign aid.

In another photograph of a sound truck, dated August 1938, I saw another picture of determined men looking rather physically worn out. One of the men is sitting on the hubcap of the truck and the other man is leaning on the truck with his left arm. This body language contrasts ironically with their helmets and the scene, which suggests that they are ready for war at any moment.

A photo of American Engineers repairing a road to Quinto which was cut off by Fascists in August of 1937 again conveys the Republicans severe lack of supplies and need for external support. There are lots of engineers present on the work site, but only a few are actually helping to repair the road because there are a limited number of tools available and the men can't help without the proper tools.

A photo entitled "Tanks Going into Action" shows two small Republican tanks in the distance driving into a vast, foggy field. The enemy is not distinctly seen. This makes the two small tanks seem even smaller and meager, as they travel into a great abyss of enemy territory, where it is known heavy artillery awaits. This photo again exemplifies Republican propaganda aimed at garnering external support for the Republican cause.

A photo entitled "Internationals and Republican tank after action" is a posed group photo depicting the soldiers in a line in front of the tank, looking happy and proud. I spent a few minutes trying to figure out whether this photo was planned in this way as propaganda to boost volunteer morale or whether the men genuinely felt happy. I realized after some thought that the mere fact that the photo was taken is a clue that it was intended for political purposes. As supplies were low, I'm sure that taking photographs was reserved mainly for special events and propaganda. As the essay "Images at War: Photographs of the Spanish Civil War in New York City" asserts, photographs were very powerful as propaganda during the Spanish Civil War because with faster technology, photos were imbued with a new perception of truth. Therefore, photographs were special, especially at the end of the war when the Republicans were desperately low on supplies. I would like to find out just how many of these photographs made their way into news papers, who viewed the photos and what kind of emotions they evoked from those viewers. As of now, I can only speculate based on what I see in the photos and logical assumptions based on historical facts about the photograph, propaganda, and the Republican condition.