only one to three acres of land. Many more had no land at all. Working conditionswere unbearable———sixteen and eighteen hours per day for one peseta. Now, all this has changed. Peasants work only ten and twelve hours a day; their income is ten to twelve times higher. The peasants wholeheartedly sup- port their Government. Did not the Government give them the land? Does it not defend their interests, improve their working conditions, putting an end to the agezlong oppression of the landed aristocracy’?
Our camp was a tank training base. The two hundred men there included mechanics, transport service, medical staff, kitchen staff and guards. Spaniards were predominant in all sections of the camp. The Internationals consisted of Ger-- mans, Bulgarians, Austrians, Czechs, Serbs and one Canadian (myself).
The day began with fifteen minutes of physical culture, followed by breakfast. From 7.30 to 9.00 a.m., we read papers, had discussions on the events in Spain and the world, or listened to a report of the Political Commissar. Then we worked for three»and«a«half hours on the tanks. After dinner, we had an hour's rest. Then, back to the tanks for another threerandra half hours. Singrsongs were a usual recreation. Soon we all sang Spanish, German, Bulgarian and Czech songs. Several of the boys learned an English song from me. Harmony and fraternity existed throughout.
A Visif fo Madrid
THERE were fortyethree tanks in the camp. Some of them
had been in action at Jarama and Guadalajara, where the Italian troops established a record for speed. They retreated so fast that it was difficult at times for the Government troops to catch up with them. The new men, fory»five in all, were placed in charge of some new tanks that had recently reached the camp. Every day we had shooting practice, driving, manoeuvres and lessons on the “tank in action”. After the day’s work, the tanks were placed under the olive trees and masked with branches, so as to be hidden completely from the eye of a fascist aviator.
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