National Joint Committee for Spanish Relief

The National Joint Committee for Spanish Relief (NJCSR) was a British voluntary association formed at the end of 1936, intended to co-ordinate relief efforts to the victims of the Spanish Civil War. The NJCSR was to act as an umbrella organization, in a field where a number of groups already existed in the United Kingdom. It concentrated on three areas: (a) care of refugees; (b) bringing civilians out of war-affected areas; and (c) medical relief.[1]

The NJCSR also acted as a pressure group. In the case of the evacuation of Basque children to the UK, it is regarded as effective in lobbying the government.[2] Its historical role is contested, however; as part of a national "Aid Spain" movement, its wide political base has been seen as indicative of a popular front, involving numerous institutions, but Buchanan has argued that support for Republican Spain was a form of single-issue politics that acted through individuals.[3]

  1. ^ Linda Palfreeman (1 January 2012). Salud!: British Volunteers in the Republican Medical Service During the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Sussex Academic Press. pp. 11–3. ISBN 978-1-84519-519-9.
  2. ^ Louise London (27 February 2003). Whitehall and the Jews, 1933-1948: British Immigration Policy, Jewish Refugees and the Holocaust. Cambridge University Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-521-53449-9.
  3. ^ Tom Buchanan (21 February 1991). The Spanish Civil War and the British Labour Movement. Cambridge University Press. pp. 137–9. ISBN 978-0-521-39333-1.