Lieutenant-Colonel Claus

The Imperial German Army was not exactly a breeding-ground for 
revolutionaries, nor above all, would one expect to find any such in 
its officer class. So, Lieutenant-Colonel Claus officer in that Army had 
no idea that he would one day find himself an internationalist, and 
an exile from his country, fighting in a revolutionary army, the con- 
rade of Frenchmen—and one of their leaders—fighting against German 
troops. 
Fort from France and Claus from Germany fought against each 
another in the Great War of 1914-18. In 1937, they fought in the 
same Brigade of the Spanish Republican Army, Claus as Brigade Chief 
of Staff and Fort as Battalion Commander. They are close friends. 
The realisation that the Great War was engineered by Imperialists 
and that the peoples of the participating countries had nothing to gain 
and everything to lose turned the German officer from a jingo into 
an internationalist, from an imperialist into a socialist. The process de- 
veloped after the War until in 1927 Claus was openly and actively 
participating in the International struggle. When the Fascist terror came 
into power in Germany he had to flee. His exile has been spent under 
the watchful eyes of police and of Fascist agents in Holland, Belgium, 
Switzerland and France. 
The Generals’ revolt in Spain was scarcely a week old when Claus 
volunteered his help for the Spanish people. He was in Spain before 
the end of July 1936. His knowledge of aircraft was first utilised. He 
has many stories of those early days of outdated airplanes when mail- 
carrying machines were utilised as bombers and the release “mecha- 
nism” was a man’s hands through a hole in the floor! 
Subsequently Claus went to the infantry, and served as a Comman- 
der on the Madrid and Teruel fronts in the winter of 1936. Appointed 
to the XV Brigade in January 1937, he became Chief of Staff when 
Major Nathan went to the XIV Brigade at the end of February. In this 
capacity he served throughout the Jarama and Brunete campaigns. 
When Brigade Commander Copic was wounded at Brunete Claus ably 
filled his place. When the Brigade was reorganised in August as an En- 
glish-speaking Brigade Lieutenant-Colonel Claus was transferred to gi- 
ve elsewhere the excellent service he gave in our Brigade. 
R. F. 

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