Bethune in Spain
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by Roderick Stewart & Jesus Majada
McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal, 2014
179 pp., illus., $29.95 hardcover
After getting divorced, being diagnosed with tuberculosis, and failing to introduce medicare to Canada, Norman Bethune left this country. In 1935, the Spanish Civil War began, and Bethune, who supported the Republican government during the war, was determined to offer his medical services. He went on to become recognized internationally as a surgeon and for creating and operating a mobile blood transfusion unit.
Bethune in Spain tells the story of the Ontario-born doctor’s medical achievements in Spain and the events leading up to them. Authors Roderick Stewart and Jesus Majada provide details about the creation and operation of the mobile blood transfusion units. Stewart, a writer in Ontario, and Majada, a retired teacher in Spain, also touch upon Bethune’s rescue of Loyalist civilians and his efforts to help children orphaned by war.
Though there are several books about Bethune, this one is notable because of its striking photos — some archival and others that have never before been reproduced. One powerful photo from Roderick Stewart’s personal collection shows people laying on the ground, possibly dead, as five fascist airplanes bomb the Malaga-to-Almeria road.
The narrative contains letters, reports, poetry, and speeches written by Bethune, which offer a first-hand account of his life during the Spanish Civil War.
— Danelle Cloutier (Read bio)
Danelle Cloutier is a Red River College student in Winnipeg and recently completed an internship at Canada's History magazine.