Description
Book SynopsisAn ordinary man’s response to extraordinarily fascist times. In late 1936, as Franco’s armies stormed toward Madrid, Stalin famously termed the defence of Spain “the common cause of all advanced and progressive mankind.” As a German emigrant to Winnipeg, Hans Ibing recognized the importance of the Spanish Civil War to the struggle against worldwide fascism in a way that most people in Canada did not—joining the International Brigades in their fight to defend the Spanish Republic was his “chance to fight Hitler.” Drawing on interviews, Ibing’s personal papers, and archival material, David Goutor recounts the powerful story of an ordinary man’s response to extraordinary times.
Trade Review“This is an intimate, intelligent, and finely wrought portrayal of one Canadian’s role in the Spanish Civil War and the great struggle against fascism in the twentieth century.” —Michael Petrou, author of Renegades: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War and adjunct professor of history, Carleton University // “A Chance to Fight Hitler deftly explores one man’s engagement with some of the great struggles of the twentieth century, notably the unemployment crisis of the 1930s in the Canadian West, the popularization of left-wing movements amid the Great Depression, the fight to defeat fascism in Spain, and conflicts on Canada’s home front during the Second World War. Through the combined insights of Ibing and Goutor we see vividly the exciting possibilities, as well as the limitations, of the Communist movement.” —Ian Radforth, Department of History, University of Toronto
