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TLS signed “W. Churchill,” one page, 5 x 8, Chartwell letterhead, June 25, 1939. Letter to J. D. Mowat, in full: "I thank you for your letter of June 22, and have noted what you say about the plight of the ninety-seven Germans and Austrians now held captive by the Spanish government." He adds a handwritten postscript: "I regret that I do not know of any action I can take." In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope. This historic letter precedes the outbreak of World War II by just a few months, and boasts a scarce autograph postscript by Churchill.
Accompanied by a letter of provenance from the original recipient, in part: "In 1938, having taken my degree in Greats at Oxford the year before, I decided to become a solicitor…This was the time when the Spanish Civil War was a very disturbing political issue. Most left wing political opinion was supportive of the Spanish Government, or opposed to the rebel, & Fascist, General Franco. Franco however was gaining the upper hand, with the support of Hitler & Mussolini. He had got hold of 97 German & Austrian prisoners, who had gone as volunteers to support the legitimate government of Spain, and was proposing to shoot them. This proposal aroused great feeling among left wing circles in the U.K., & I dare say elsewhere. The British University Labour Party discussed the matter, and we decided to write to the Chancellor of the University, Winston Churchill, to ask if he could intervene to save these prisoners. I accordingly wrote to Churchill, and this is the reply he sent to me."
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