ABSTRACT
Fascism involved the abnegation of 'the universal spirit that has developed in the medical profession during the past centuries'. Every doctor aware of medicine's debt to 'men of every race, of every religion, and of every shade of opinion' should condemn fascism and work for the spread of 'a true international spirit'. This chapter analyses the Association's practical expression of its internationalism through its support for medical refugees; its response to the Spanish Civil War and the British government's official preparations for war; and the debate within the organisation over its stance on the outbreak of Second World War. The Socialist Medical Association (SMA) itself viewed medical refugees positively. The SMA had been deeply suspicious of the National Government because of its attitude to medical refugees and to medical 'conscription'; to appeasement; and to preparations for war.
