Dolores Ibárruri Gómez (1895-1989) became famous during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) as an eloquent propagandist for the Republican (Loyalist) cause. Ibárruri was known to most of the world as "La Pasionaria" (the Passion Flower), a nom de plume which became identified with her indomitable will and gift as a fiery orator.

Born in the Basque mining village of Gallarta, Ibárruri was the eighth of eleven children. From an early age she seems to have been affected by the abominable working conditions that her father and other miners were forced to endure in order to earn a meager income. Perhaps equally influential in her formative years was her strict religious upbringing. As a youth she impressed others by her devoutness, a trait that later molded her attitude towards politics. Up to the time she left home, however, there was no...