Foreign involvement in the Spanish Civil War Contingent. While not supported officially, many American volunteers such as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade fought for the Republicans. 'Spain' became the cause célèbre for the left-leaning intelligentsia across the Western world, and many prominent artists and writers entered the Republic's service. As well, it attracted a large number of foreign left-wing working class men, for whom the war offered not only idealistic adventure but also an escape from post-Depression unemployment. Among the more famous foreigners participating on the Republic's side was George Orwell, who went on to write about his experiences in "Homage to Catalonia". Orwell's novel "Animal Farm" was
Spain (Auden) notably by George Orwell in "Inside the Whale" (1940) and in E. P. Thompson's reply to Orwell, "Outside the Whale" ("Out of Apathy", 1960). The scientist Joseph Needham, a great admirer of Auden, took the title of his 1943 book "Time: The Refreshing River" from "Spain". Spain (Auden) Spain is a poem by W. H. Auden written after his visit to the Spanish Civil War. "Spain" was described by George Orwell as "one of the few decent things that have been written about the Spanish war". It was written and published in 1937. Auden donated all the profits from the