ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a document from the archives of the Institute for Marxism-Leninism in East Berlin. This collection did not come about arbitrarily: former Interbrigadist Franz Dahlem issued a call in 1968 asking former volunteers in Spain to submit their memories to the History Department of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism. The individual responsible for the archive was Professor Hans Teubner, who had been active in the International Brigades as well. Teubner safeguarded all the material that was sent to him. Thanks to his efforts, a diverse collection has been preserved, including an unpublished manuscript by Willi Bredel as well as many handwritten stories of the experiences of former volunteers. One of the texts, just less than forty pages, is an anonymous French narrative titled “Madrid lies close to Berlin.” This chapter will demonstrate how this text is informed by the agenda of the German Popular Front in Exile and their radio station, Deutscher Freiheitssender 29.8. An examination of this chapter shows that Teubner preserved a repressed memory of the civil war in the party archives of the Socialist Unity Party, namely the activities of members of the International Brigades beyond the Communist Party.
