The The olunteer olunteer ABRAHAM LINCOLN2 THE VOLUNTEER, Sept 2001 The Volunteer Journal of the...

“...and that government of the people,by the people, and for the people,shall not perish from the earth.” ABRAHAM LINCOLN

The VolunteerJOURNAL OF THE VETERANS OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE

The VolunteerVol. XXIII, No.3 Sept 2001

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An Event to Remember,New Hampshire State Senator Burt Cohen and

Studs Terkel spoke at VALB’s 65th anniversary in NY,see page 4

Chicago VALB says goodbyeChicago VALB says goodbyeto Peter Glazer, Bay Area saysto Peter Glazer, Bay Area sayshello, page 3hello, page 3

TThe Che Civil Wivil Warar ininthe Cthe Civil Wivil Warar,,

see page 6see page 6Josep Perelló remembersJosep Perelló remembersEbro’s cave hospital, seeEbro’s cave hospital, seepage 12page 12

NEW BOOK ABOUT SPANISH CIVILWAR AND CINEMA

Dear friends,I am enclosing the description of a new book about

films and the Spanish Civil War, titled La Guerra Civilespañola: cine y propaganda (Ariel Publications, 299 pages,ISBN 84-344-6626-0). Its author, Magi Crusells, is a researchfellow of the University of Barcelona and has been workingin the cinema related to the Spanish Civil War for manyyears now. His doctoral thesis was “The InternationalBrigaders in Film Documentaries.” Magi teaches history ina college in the province of Barcelona and is secretary ofthe magazine Film-Historia, a publication of theDepartment of Contemporary History of the University ofBarcelona.

The book is very well researched, with a clear andthorough style, and has the advantage that it is for every-body, not only academics. Professor Paul Preston veryrecently said to me that La Guerra Civil española: cine y pro-paganda is a very interesting book. What a goodrecommendation!

The book studies the relationship between the SpanishCivil War and cinema, using films as testimony of societyand mentalities and as new ways to understand or teachhistory.

The book has 8 chapters: (1) a chronology of the CivilWar by Spanish documentary films between 1936 and1939; (2) the Spanish production companies during thewar; (3) the foreign production companies during the war;(4) two documentary films compared: Mourir á Madrid/ToDie in Madrid (1963, dir. Eric Rossif) and Morir en España/ToDie in Spain (1965, dir. Mariano Ozores); (5) the oral historyby Spanish documentary films after Franco (1975-1977),analyzing various films, especially La vieja memoria/The OldMemory (1977, dir. Jaime Camino); (6) fiction films I, whichdescribes Spanish cinematography between 1939 and 1975,studying various films, especially Raza/Race (1941, dir. JoséLuis Sáenz de Heredia), adaptation of the script written byFranco; (7) fiction films II, which examines Spanish cine-matography between 1976 and 1999, analyzing variousfilms, especially Libertarias (1996, dir. Vicente Aranda); and(8) fiction films III, which explores foreign cinematographybetween 1939 and 1999, studying various films, especiallyLand and Freedom (1995, dir. Ken Loach). The book also hasa bibliography.

Lala Isla

2 THE VOLUNTEER, Sept 2001

The VolunteerJournal of the

Veterans of theAbraham Lincoln Brigade

an ALBA publication

799 Broadway, Rm. 227New York, NY 10003

(212) 674-5552

Editorial BoardPeter Carroll • Leonard LevensonFraser Ottanelli • Abe Smorodin

Design ProductionRichard Bermack

Editorial AssistanceNancy Van Zwalenburg

Submission of ManuscriptsPlease send manuscripts by E-mail or on disk.

E-mail: [email protected]

Letters Robert Capa Documentary Seeks Vets

AMERICAN MASTERS, the award-winning artsand culture biography series produced by WNET/-THIRTEEN for national PBS broadcast, is in theresearch and development phase for a 90-minute docu-mentary film on the life of Robert Capa (1913-1954), therenowned war photographer who devoted his life tocreating the visual legacy of five wars.

Robert Capa was committed to telling the true storyof war and its effects on the men and women whoserved. With this film, the first biographical documen-tary portrait of Capa, we have the unique opportunityto pay tribute to this extraordinary man.

It is our sincere hope that by reaching out to veter-ans who had personal connections with Robert Capa, ordirect knowledge about his life and/or work, we will beable to enhance our film with exclusive stories and orig-inal materials.

If you knew Robert Capa and have any evocative sto-ries, photos, audio recordings or moving images, please letus know so that we may share them with the audience ofthis film. If you or anyone in your family was ever thesubject of one of Capa’s photographs, please tell us yourtales of working with Capa or the anecdotes that have beentold to you.

You can reach Joanna Rudnick and the AmericanMasters: Robert Capa Project at 1-800-426-7027, ext. 2966 orby email at [email protected].

We welcome your contributions to the film.

More letters on page 22

THE VOLUNTEER, Sept 2001 3

The Chicago Friends of theLincoln Brigade gathered to celebratetheir fourth year of organized activityon June 17 and also to say goodbye toPeter Glazer, musical director and cre-ator of The Heart of Spain and We MustRemember! who is leaving Chicago tojoin the Theater and PerformanceStudies Department at the Universityof California at Berkeley. Chicagosinger Jamie O’Reilly acted as emceefor the affair, while veteran ChuckHall presented a farewell message.The Chicago Friends have resolved toenroll 100 new ALBA Associates tohonor Glazer’s work.

Chuck Hall’s remarks follow:“From the very beginning our ownPeter Glazer has been the ultimate“friend” of the Friends. In my mindJamie and Peter are linked—I first metJamie at a Gala celebration of theWomen and Labor History Project atthe UNITE Union Hall. She came upand said she was working on songs ofthe Spanish Civil War and asked if shecould come over to my house to talk.What she and Michael Smith wereworking on eventually became“Pasiones”—this tremendous perfor-mance piece that has been done fromcoast to coast and is available on CD.And it was Peter who directed thatfirst performance at the LunarCabaret—and many more after that.

The next thing that happened—inNovember, 1996—Bobby and I wentto Spain for the 60th anniversary ofthe International Brigades, sponsoredby that wonderful organization the“Amigos”—the Asociación desAmigos de las BrigadasInternationale. On the way home fromSpain, talking on the plane with Joyceand Aaron Hilkevitch, we decided tohave a Chicago celebration of the 60thanniversary.

You should know that therehadn’t been a public event in Chicagowith the Lincolns for 10 years. Therewas a big event for the 50th anniver-sary, at which time Mayor HaroldWashington issued a proclamation inhonor of Oliver Law and Veterans ofthe Abraham Lincoln Brigade. (Sadly,

that proclamation was his last officialact before his fatal heart attack a fewdays later). Incidentally, NancyMikelsons, who is here today, read LaPasionara’s speech at that event, andPeggy Lipschutz, also here, designedthe poster that was given to the sur-viving vets (which was quite a fewmore than we have today).

It was when we were planningour first event that Jamie introducedus to Peter, and it was he who orches-trated that very successfuland wonderful affair at RooseveltUniversity in May 1997 at which wecelebrated the 60th anniversary, withPeter Carroll as our main speaker. A“connoisseur” like Fred Fine, formerCultural Director for the City ofChicago, called it “perfect,” and weknow it couldn’t have been done with-out Peter.

I remember in the beginning wecalled ourselves “Chicago Friends ofVALB and ALBA.” Peter said that wasquite a mouthful, and we cut it in half,and that’s how CFLB was born.

And so it has been for 4 years.Peter has participated in our meet-

ings and helped put on a series of

successful events, including a celebra-tion of Paul Robeson’s centennial,“The Artist Must Take Sides,” andtwo successful events around “Heartof Spain,” as well as a symposium onNorthwestern’s campus around theSpanish Civil War. He worked with acommittee to help draft the first docu-ment on “Why A Monument” inChicago. And to top it off he did hisdissertation research (which he’sgoing to tell us about today) aroundthe topic of commemorative eventsand the role of theater, using VALBand ALBA events as his focus. Heinterviewed many Chicago vets aspart of his work.

Words cannot convey how muchwe’re going to miss him—but we’regoing to keep in touch. Peter has justbecome a member of the ALBA Board,and we are determined to increase ourties with ALBA. I think it would be anice tribute to Peter if we were topledge to recruit 100 new membersfrom the Chicago area in his honor,and so I’m going to propose that as agoal for the next meeting of theChicago Friends.

Spanish Consul General Lorenzo Gonzalez-Alonso and Milt Wolff

San Francisco Honors Milt Wolff and the Lincoln BrigadeThe San Francisco Board of Supervisors declared July 25 Milton Wolff day, inhonor of the Lincoln Brigade crossing the Ebro River in Spain, July 25, 1938.The day culminated in a reception at the home of the Spanish Consul General.

Chicago Friends Celebrate Fourth Year

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By Sue Susman“Why fight?” New Hampshire

State Senator Burton Cohen askedhimself when opponents took down aplaque honoring the Abraham LincolnBrigade from the statehouse wall. Hisanswer came from the Lincolns them-selves, Cohen told the 800-plusaudience who came to honor the vet-erans at their 65th reunion at theBorough of Manhattan CommunityCollege. The Lincolns “exemplifygoing beyond oneself, caring aboutsomething bigger,” said Cohen. So hecould not let McCarthyism reappearunchallenged. The result: all of NewHampshire now knows about theBridgade, and a hefty portion want torestore the plaque.

“Why fight?” asked author andradio host Studs Terkel, whose text forthe afternoon’s “sermon” was takenfrom this country’s labor and freedomstruggles, home for many Lincolns.Because, said the silver-haired Studs,the Lincolns “are crazy enough todream of a world in which peopletreat each other decently.” The audi-ence responded with cheers. “Todemonstrate,” he pointed out, is tolive, and the Lincolns and their fol-lowers have lived powerfully,demonstrating from the McCarthyite

‘50s through the current anti-global-ization movements in Seattle andQuebec—with everything in between.

Studs was introduced by Nationmagazine publisher Victor Navasky,whose readings from Terkel’s book,Talking to Myself, showed the author’sunfailing generosity—even to the FBImen whose employment he assured.Terkel, he concluded, was not onlythis nation’s oral historian, but also itsmoral historian. (Studs Terkel’s talk isavailable on audiotape; send $5 toALBA, Room 227, 799 Broadway, NY,NY 10003.)

Terkel’s fellow historians, moralor otherwise, will have a great deal toexamine, given the growth of theAbraham Lincoln Brigade’s archives,now at NYU’s Tamiment Library, andALBA’s educational exhibits that weresummarized by board member FraserOttanelli. Then there are the manyrecent press clippings read by VALBspokesman Moe Fishman, coveringveterans’ activities from one end ofthe country to the other. To completethe record, Moe noted vets’ recentdemonstrations against the Navypresence in Vieques and a managerialcoup at a local Pacifica radio station.

Then Moe summoned his com-rades to the stage, and the vets, all in

their 80s or older, stood beneath thefraying fringes of the LincolnBrigade’s banner as the audience roseto its feet. Each veteran took a minuteto explain why he went to fight,exhorting us to activism.

The emotional underpinnings ofthat activism came to life withPasiones, a musical trio presenting awider range of Spanish Civil Warsongs than we’ve heard in manyyears. With beautiful vocal harmoniesand creative guitar and clarinetaccompaniment, Jamie O’Reilly,Michael Smith, and Katrina O’Reillysang cabaret-style, showing the pas-sion, fear, and poignancy thataccompanied and moved the Lincolnsand their international comrades.

The program, directed by ALBA’sPeter Glazer and emceed with humorand skill by Henry Foner, proved tobe an inspiring success. Lots of peoplealso worked behind the scenes,including production manager SamEllis, Sylvia Thompson, Moe Fishman,Diane Fraher, Miriam Gittleson,Charles Bayor, Ruth Ost, and CampKinderland’s Social ActionCommittee.

We’ll be back for the 66th nextyear .

The vets take the stage, and Moe Fishman wins the audience’s hearts with a quick verbal riposte. After failing three timesto pronounce the word “globalization,” he quipped: “It was so much easier when we called it ‘imperialism.’”

VVAA LL BB CCee ll ee bb rraa tt ee ss 66 55 tt hhAAnnnniivveerrssaarryy iinn NNeeww YYoorrkk


By Jules PavioA national memorial monument

honoring the Canadian volunteers ofthe International Brigades will beunveiled in Ottawa on October 20 in aceremony hosted by the HonorableAdrienne Clarkson, Governor Generalof Canada, at Green Island Park. Themonument pays tribute to some 1,545Canadians, most of whom served inthe Mackenzie-Papineau battalion,which, with the Lincoln and Britishbattalions, formed part of the 15thBrigade. Other speakers at the cere-mony will include Jose Cuenta,Spain’s ambassador to Canada; offi-cials of the Canadian government; andmembers of the Mac-Paps. After theunveiling, a reception will be held atthe adjacent Canada and WorldPavilion with music, entertainment,and refreshments.

For more information about theaffair, contact Jules Pavio (705-524-1775; FAX 705-524-5943) or email:[email protected].

The monument is the culminationof many years of lobbying on the partof the Veterans and Friends of theMackenzie-Papineau Battalion. Therehas been a long-standing oppositionto a monument in the nation’s capital,but in recent years the groupsopposed have largely withdrawn ormuted their objections. The result isthat by 1999, the National CapitalCommission, a federal commissionresponsible for approving the build-ing of monuments in Ottawa, grantedits conditional approval.

What had been up to then a mon-ument lobbying activity has nowbecome a monument building activi-ty. We’ve been through fund raising,a design competition, site selection,and design reviews with theCommission, all demanding process-es that sometimes produced a certainnostalgia for the old lobbying days!

We started out on a strong foot-ing. A design competition held inMay 2000 produced 10 excellent sub-

missions. The winning entry calls fora 14-foot-high plate of corten steel,out of which has been cut a dramaticsilhouette of Prometheus, the Greekgod who brought fire to humans andwas subsequently punished by thegods for his defiance of autocraticauthority. Incorporated into the sitedesign is a memorial wall bearingstainless steel plates on which areinscribed the names of the approxi-mately 1500 volunteers who traveledto Spain from Canada.

A number of sites were proposedfor the monument, requiring severalvisits to Ottawa. As one site or anoth-er became unavailable, revisions tothe design were required. We perse-

vered, however, and now have a finesite, near the Canada and WorldPavilion, close to the Ottawa River.

We’ve also had to deal with thevery demanding architectural stan-dards of the government. Anti-graffiti coatings, extra deep footingsfor Ottawa winters, and moldingdetails on the concrete walls, amongothers things, have all added to thedesign—and cost—and extended theprocess of review and approval.Happily, we started construction dur-ing the summer.

In parallel we’ve obtained gov-ernment review and approval of the

Ca n a d i a n Vo l u n t e e r s t oU n ve i l O t t a wa M e m o r i a l

By Burton CohenIt goes up and down. Sometimes

it looks impossible. Occasionally thereis a seeming breakthrough. The oldholes in the wall where the plaquewas supposed to be are well repairedand invisible now. It is erased, whichseems to be what has been the case forthe Lincolns and many others in U.S.history. Erased, not useful to the offi-cial line. Our job is to continue to fightto make the truth known.

People across New Hampshireoften come up to me and say howpleased they are that I did “the plaquething.” Really, it’s great. My goal towake up New Hampshire to theexceptionally proud history of the vol-unteers for liberty has been met farmore successfully than I could haveimagined. The fact is, in NewHampshire people have been talkingabout the Lincoln Brigade.

It has, of course, died down quitea bit in the legislature, as we arefocused on a budget and ways to payfor the schools. There is a subcommit-tee that met once to discuss the plaque

and a possible rewording. After thismeeting the infamous, rabid UnionLeader published yet another viciouseditorial attacking me. But in doingso, they simply isolate and marginal-ize themselves. Actually, the editorialwriter has been let go from the paper.She is leaving, I am still here.

You should know that there’s astate senator on the subcommitteewho basically equates all communistswith the North Koreans, whom hepersonally fought. Lost friends, etc.Very hot about the Korean War, he is.Anyhow, his presence as head ofSenate Finance (which should makeWall Street nervous about the state’sfinances!) and admitted power amongthe Republicans makes it ratherunlikely this plaque will be hung inthe State House. However, we arelooking into other sites, at a possibleauction of the original plaque. Thefamous World Fellowship Center,which was harassed in the 1950s forits progressive politics, is interested in

New Hampshire MonumentStill on Hold

continued on page 13



By Paul Preston

About six months ago, in whatwas meant to be a judicious contribu-tion to a debate about George Orwellon the ALBA internet discussion list, Iposted the following paragraph. “ Forwhat it’s worth, my view of the prob-lem concerning Orwell’s Homage toCatalonia and, by extension, KenLoach’s Land and Freedom lies not somuch in what they say but in theiraudiences and how they are per-ceived. Orwell’s book is an interestingeyewitness account by a partial wit-ness of a tiny fragment of the SpanishCivil War. If I were assembling a listof one hundred or so important bookson the war, I would probably includeit. Unfortunately, for thousands of

people, it is the only book on theSpanish Civil War that they will everread – its year-on-year sales show thatit outsells any other single book on thewar. So, it is not a question of attackingOrwell–although his perceptions areoften wrong precisely because they areso narrow and so localised. It is a ques-tion of Orwell’s book in isolation givingthe impression that the key events ofthe war took place on the Aragón frontand during the May Days of 1937 and,worst of all, the idea that the SpanishRepublic was defeated because ofCommunist policy. Orwell’s bookmakes it too easy to forget that theSpanish Republic was defeated byFranco, Hitler, Mussolini, and the pusil-lanimity and narrow-mindedness of the

British, American and French govern-ments. Stalin has a lot to answer for butNOT for Franco’s victory.”

The immediate consequence wasthat I received some obscene hate mailfrom someone claiming to be a distin-guished scholar. I had not knownuntil then that distinguished scholars,even self-proclaimed ones, used suchwords or even knew what they mean.My distress at having to read suchfilth is not the point, of course. I sup-pose I was naïve to think that areasonable debate was possible amongthose who would claim to be anti-fas-cists. Since there are nearly 20,000books written on the Spanish CivilWar, reasonableness seems to me to bea basic requirement of debate, if onlyin recognition of the huge amount tobe read before setting off to pontifi-cate. Having spent more than 30 yearsstudying the Spanish Civil War andstill believing myself to be in thefoothills of knowledge on the subject, Inever cease to be amazed by thosewho, without having fully served thenecessary apprenticeship, launch in,not with contributions to debate, butwith exclusivist and categorical state-ments that invite no reply.

This is by way of prelude to say-ing that one of the benefits to bederived from years of study should bean ability to see more than one side ofany particular question. It should alsoprovide the wider context with whichto evaluate the many questions.Hence the final sentence of the postingto the ALBA list which saw my mail-box filled with such unpleasantness.The Volunteer has invited me toreview the collection of Soviet docu-ments on the Spanish Civil Warpublished by Yale University Press asSpain Betrayed. Before doing so, Iwanted to be able to put it into thewider context I see as so crucial.Accordingly, what follows, which isbased on an article I published in 1996in the British weekly, the NewStatesman, will, I hope, provide some

TT h e Ch e C i v i l Wi v i l W a ra r

Editor’s Note: Several weeks ago, in July, Yale University Press published a long-awaited book of documents relating to Soviet policy and the Spanish Civil War titledSpain Betrayed: The Soviet Union in the Spanish Civil War, edited by RonaldRadosh, Mary R. Habeck, and Grigory Sevostianov. The book has received wide atten-tion around the country, including reviews in the New York Times Book Review(as well as the Times’s regular edition), the Wall Street Journal, and a front-pagereview in the Los Angeles Times’s Sunday Book Review (followed by a review ofGeorge Orwell’s writings about Spain, Bernard Knox’s “The Confessions of a ‘Pre-mature Anti-Fascist,’” which appeared originally as the first ALBA-Bill SusmanLecture in 1998, and poems by Federico Garcia Lorca).

In addition, Nation columnist Christopher Hitchens published a favorable reviewof the book in the Wilson Quarterly that concluded with the following words:

“The survivors of the International Brigades publish a journal that presumablywill have to review this volume; it will be interesting to see how they confront thefrigid cynicism of the archive. It is clear that the brave volunteers were repeatedly andsystematically manipulated, and their reputation exploited, by a nexus of commissarswhose names very often turn up in the later Stalinization of Eastern Europe. Yet, per-haps paradoxically, this book is not just another rebuke to misguided idealism. It showsthat Spanish democracy was vital and vivid enough to resist the false friend inMoscow, to continue fighting Hitler´s and Mussolini´s mercenaries at the same time,and ultimately to outlive both communism and fascism. Some defeats are exemplary aswell as moving, and the murder of the Spanish Republic is indubitably preeminentamong them.”

To address these important questions, the editors have asked the preeminentEnglish scholar Paul Preston, historian at the London School of Economics, to under-take a full review of Spain Betrayed, which will appear in the next issue of theVolunteer. Meanwhile, Professor Preston has invited us to reprint selections from hisessay about Orwell and filmmaker Ken Loach (Land and Freedom) to provide a his-torical context for his forthcoming essay. Portions of this piece originally appeared inthe New Statesman.


prior thoughts on Orwell and KenLoach’s film, which owes so much toOrwell, as a preface to the forthcom-ing review of Spain Betrayed.

In 1996, the Spanish governmentgranted citizenship to the survivingmembers of the International Brigadeswho fought against fascism during theCivil War. It was a welcome but belat-ed gesture of gratitude and a fulfilmentof the emotional words spoken by theCommunist leader Dolores Ibarruri,“Pasionaria,” at the farewell paradeheld in Barcelona for the Brigaders onOctober 29, 1938. Her moving speechended: “Political reasons, reasons ofstate, the good of that same cause forwhich you offered your blood withlimitless generosity, send some of youback to your countries and some toforced exile. You can go with pride.You are history. You are legend. Youare the heroic example of the solidarityand the universality of democracy. . .We will not forget you; and, when theolive tree of peace puts forth its leaves,entwined with the laurels of theSpanish Republic’s victory, come back!Come back to us and here you will finda homeland.” It has taken 60 years, butthe Spaniards are not the only ones tobe late in giving their thanks.

The volunteers who went wereamong the first in Europe to do some-thing about the fascist menace. Italian,German and Austrian refugees sawthe Spanish Civil War as their firstchance to fight back against fascism.French (the most numerous contin-gent), British and North Americanvolunteers went to Spain out of con-cern about what defeat for theRepublic might mean for the rest ofthe world. They were the first in thefield in a war which would not enduntil 1945. These “premature antifas-cists” were reviled on their returnhome to Britain, treated as the “scumof the earth” in French internmentcamps or regarded as dangerous andun-American in the United States.

Despite this, the surviving volunteersfought in the Second World War—after all, the antifascist war was theirwar. They are not bitter about the lackof universal recognition of their con-tribution to the defeat of fascism. Theyare, however, outraged at the belieffostered by the success of Ken Loach’sLand and Freedom that the fight of thebrigaders and of the Spanish peoplewas not a fight against Spanish fas-cism and its German and Italian alliesbut rather part of an internecine leftistcivil war in which the central enemywas the Communist Party.

For all its many merits, Loach’sscript seems oblivious to two centralfacts about the Spanish Civil War: in itsorigins, it was a Spanish social war and,in its course and outcome, it was anepisode in a greater European CivilWar that ended in 1945. The anniver-sary of the electoral victory of thePopular Front in Spain, on February 19,1936, is an appropriate moment toreflect on where that left-wing alliancecame from and the Spanish problemsthat it faced and on its heroic defenseagainst, and ultimate defeat at thehands of, the forces of international fas-cism. It will be seen that Loach’s filmabout the fate of a small Trotskyist mili-tia unit fighting on the peripheralAragón front should be regarded by noone as explaining anything much aboutthe Spanish Civil War.

When the Second Republic wasestablished in 1931, people throngedthe streets of Spain’s cities in an out-burst of anticipatory joy. The newregime raised inordinate hopes amongthe most humble members of societyand was seen as a threat by the mostprivileged, the landowners, industrial-ists and bankers, and their defendersin the armed forces and the Church.For the first time, control of the appa-ratus of the state had passed from theoligarchy to the moderate left. Thisconsisted of representatives of themost reformist section of the orga-nized working class, the Socialists,

and a mixed bag of petty bourgeoisRepublicans, some of whom were ide-alists and many of whom were cynics.Together, they hoped, despite consid-erable disagreement over the finerdetails, to use state power to create anew Spain by curtailing the reac-tionary influence of the Church andthe Army, by the break-up of the greatestates or latifundios and by grantingthe autonomy demands of Basque andCatalan regionalists. These hopes, andthe atmosphere of popular fiestawhich had greeted the coming of theRepublic, were soon blunted by thestrength of the old order’s defenses.

Social and economic power—ownership of the land, the banks andindustry, as well as of the principalnewspapers and radio stations—remained unchanged. Those who heldthat power were united with theChurch and the Army in being deter-mined to prevent any attacks onproperty, religion or national unity.Their repertoire of defense was richand varied. Propaganda, through theright’s powerful press networks andfrom the pulpit of every parishchurch, denounced the efforts to carryout reform as the subversive work ofMoscow. New political parties werefounded and lavishly funded todefend the interests of the most pow-erful sections of society. Conspiracieswere hatched to overthrow the newregime. Government and trade unionofficials who sought to implement theRepublic’s timid agrarian reform wereterrorized by thugs in the pay of thebig owners. Rural and industrial lock-out became a regular response tolegislation aimed at protecting workerinterests.

So successful were the obstacleserected to reform that by 1933 theRepublican-Socialist coalition began tobreak up. That was partly a reflectionof the differing priorities of its compo-nents—the Republicans being

inin the Cthe C ivi l ivi l WW a ra r

Continued on page 8


concerned above all with institutionalreform, the disestablishment of theSpanish Church, the curbing of mili-tarism; the Socialists more interestedin labor legislation and social reform.In an electoral system which heavilyfavored coalitions, the decision of theSocialists to go it alone in the electionsof November 1933 was a tragic error.It gave power to a right-wing deter-mined to dismantle the Republic’ssocial reforms. Employers andlandowners celebrated the victory bycutting wages, sacking workers, evict-ing tenants and raising rents. Thelargest party, the Catholic CEDA, wasnot offered power because theRepublican President, the conserva-tive Niceto Alcalá Zamora, suspectedits leader, José María Gil Robles, ofharboring more or less fascist ambi-tions to establish an authoritarian,corporative state. Thus the conserva-tive Radical Party ruled. Dependenton CEDA votes, the Radicals were tobe Gil Robles’s puppets. Social legis-lation was dismantled and, one afteranother, the principal unions wereweakened as strikes were provokedand crushed.

There was an atmosphere of greattension. The Left saw fascism in everyaction of the Right; the Right smeltrevolution in every left-wing move.The Socialists began to threaten a rev-olutionary rising in the hope offorestalling the destruction of theRepublic. Gil Robles seized the oppor-tunity to insist on the CEDA joiningthe government in October 1934,knowing that it would provoke a left-ist response. The Socialist trade union,the Unión General de Trabajadores,called a general strike which, in mostparts of Spain, was a failure largelybecause of the swift declaration ofmartial law and the hesitance ofSocialist leaders. However, in the min-ing valleys of Asturias, spontaneousrank-and-file militancy impelled thelocal Socialist leaders to go along witha revolutionary movement organizedjointly by the UGT, the anarcho-syndi-calist CNT and, belatedly, theCommunists, united in the AlianzaObrera (workers’ alliance). For three

weeks, a revolutionary communeheroically held out against repressiveforces coordinated by General Francountil finally the miners were reducedto submission by heavy artilleryattacks and bombing raids. The sav-age repression that followed thedefeat of the Asturian uprising was tobe the cauldron in which the PopularFront was born, although its ambi-tions were to be anything butrevolutionary.

It was the brainchild of two men,Manuel Azaña, leader of the LeftRepublican party, and IndalecioPrieto, centrist leader of the SocialistParty. Both moderate pragmatists,they were determined to ensure thatthe divisions which led to the 1933electoral defeat would not be repeat-ed. At the same time, the smallSpanish Communist Party, promptedby Moscow’s anxiety for an under-standing with the democracies againstthe aggressive ambitions of the ThirdReich, supported the Popular Front. Inthis way, the Communists found aplace in an electoral front which, con-trary to rightist propaganda, was not,in Spain, a Comintern creation,although it did take the title ofPopular Front coined at the VIICongress of the Comintern in August1935. The left and center left closedranks on the basis of a program ofamnesty for prisoners, of basic socialand educational reform and tradeunion freedom.

In late 1935, the Radical Party col-lapsed under a welter of corruptionaccusations and pressure from GilRobles for ever more rightist policies.Elections were called for mid-February 1936. The right enjoyedenormous financial advantages inmounting a campaign aimed at fright-ening the middle classes. The electionswere presented as a life-or-death fightbetween good and evil, survival anddestruction. The Popular Front basedits campaign on the threat of fascism,the dangers facing the Republic andthe need for an amnesty for politicalprisoners. The elections held onFebruary 16 resulted in a narrow vic-tory for the Left in terms of votes, but

a massive triumph in terms of seats inthe Cortes.

The rising of October 1934 and thePopular Front victory shattered right-wing hopes of being able to impose anauthoritarian, corporative state with-out having to fight a civil war. Havingpredicted that left-wing electoral suc-cess would be the prelude to the mostspine-chilling social disasters, GilRobles did nothing to stop theyounger members of the CEDA mov-ing into the fascist Falange Española.At the same time, right-wing leadersplayed up social unrest, in both parlia-mentary speeches and the press, tocreate the atmosphere which made amilitary rising appear to the middleclasses as the only alternative to catas-trophe. At the same time, two years ofaggressive rightist government hadleft the working masses, especially inthe countryside, in a determined andvengeful mood. Having been blockedonce in its reforming ambitions, theLeft was now determined to proceedrapidly with meaningful agrarianreform.

However, the central factor in thespring of 1936 was the fatal weaknessof the Popular Front government.While Prieto was convinced that thesituation demanded Socialist collabo-ration in government, LargoCaballero, fearful of a rank-and-filedrift to the anarcho-syndicalist CNT,insisted that the liberal republicansgovern alone. He fondly believed thatthe Republicans would carry out thePopular Front electoral program then,having reached their bourgeois limita-tions, would make way for anall-Socialist government. He was con-fident that, if their reforms provoked afascist and/or military uprising, itwould be defeated by the revolution-ary action of the masses. Thus, byusing his power to prevent Prietoforming a government, LargoCaballero ensured that there would beno real Popular Front. A cabinet ofRepublicans was simply not represen-tative of the great electoral coalitionwhich had defeated the Right inFebruary. That popular aspirationscould not be satisfied by the

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Republican government was demon-strated by a wave of land seizures inthe south. Incapable of satisfying masshunger for reform and too weak to puta stop to preparations for a militaryuprising, it watched feebly as theFalange orchestrated a strategy of ten-sion, its terrorism provoking left-wingreprisals and an impression of abreak-down of law and order.

The rising took place on theevening of July 17 in Spain’s Moroccancolony and in the peninsula itself onthe morning of July 18. The plotterswere confident that it would all beover in a few days. Had they just hadthe Republican government to con-tend with, their predictions mighthave come true. In fact, Spain dividedalong the lines of the electoral geogra-phy of February. The coup wassuccessful in the Catholic small-hold-ing areas which voted for the CEDA,but in the left-wing strongholds ofindustrial Spain and the great estatesof the deep south, the uprising wasdefeated by the spontaneous action ofthe working-class organizations.

Within days, the country was splitinto two war zones and there wasevery reason to suppose that theRepublic would be able to crush therising. While power in the streets laywith the workers and their militiaorganizations, there was still a bour-geois Republican government that hadlegitimacy in the international arena,control of the nation’s gold and cur-rency reserves and virtually all ofSpain’s industrial capacity. There wasnot that much to choose between thearmed forces of both sides. What theworking class militias lacked in train-ing they made up in an enthusiasmthat could not be matched by the con-scripts of the rebel army. Thatsituation was exemplified in the navy,where left-wing sailors had mutiniedagainst their right-wing officers.

There were, however, two big dif-ferences which would eventuallymake all the difference between thetwo sides—the ferocious AfricanArmy and the help of the fascist pow-ers. At first, the colonial army underFranco was blockaded in Morocco by

the fleet. However, while theRepublican government in Madridmet only hesitance from its sisterPopular Front government in Parisand covert hostility from London,Franco was quickly able to persuadethe local representatives of NaziGermany and Fascist Italy that he wasthe man to back. By the end of July,Junkers 52 and Savoia-Marchettitransport aircraft were arriving to per-mit the airlift of the bloodthirstyForeign Legion across the Straits ofGibraltar. That crucial early aid wassoon followed by a regular stream ofhigh technology assistance. In contrastto the state-of-the-art equipment arriv-ing from Germany and Italy, completewith technicians, spare parts and thecorrect workshop manuals, theRepublic, shunned by the democra-cies, had to make do with over-pricedand obsolete equipment from privatearms dealers.

The initial reaction of the SovietUnion had been one of deep embar-rassment. The Kremlin did not wantthe events in Spain to undermine itsdelicately laid plans for an alliancewith France. However, by mid-August, it was apparent that an evengreater disaster would befall thoseplans if the Spanish Republic fell. Thatwould severely alter the Europeanbalance of power, leaving France withthree fascist states on her borders.Eventually, it was reluctantly decidedto send help. The tanks and planesthat arrived in the autumn were,together with the arrival of theInternational Brigades, to save Madridin November 1936. However, theywere also to be used to justify theintervention of Hitler and Mussolini.The motivation of both was principal-ly to undermine the Anglo-Frenchhegemony of international relationsbut they were sure of a sympatheticear in London when they claimed tobe fighting bolshevism.

Accordingly, the Spanish Republicwas fighting not only Franco and hisarmies but also, to an ever greaterdegree, the military and economicmight of Mussolini and Hitler.Besieged from outside, the Republic

also had massive internal problemsunknown in Franco’s brutally milita-rized zone. The crumpling of thebourgeois state in the first days of thewar saw the rapid emergence of revo-lutionary organs of parallel power. Amassive popular collectivization ofagriculture and industry took place.Exhilarating to participants andobservers like George Orwell andFranz Borkenau, the great collectivistexperiments of the autumn of 1936 didlittle to create a war machine. Thatwould lie at the heart of the unde-clared civil war that raged within theRepublican zone until mid-1937.Socialist leaders like Prieto and JuanNegrín were convinced that a conven-tional state, with central control of theeconomy and the institutional instru-ments of mass mobilization, wasessential if there was to be an effica-cious war effort.

The Communists and the Sovietadvisers agreed—not only was thiscommon sense but the playing downof the revolutionary activities ofTrotskyists and anarchists was neces-sary to reassure the bourgeoisdemocracies with which the SovietUnion sought understanding.Henceforth, there would be a struggleto establish a Popular Front govern-ment that fulfilled the expectations ofthe architects of the Popular Frontelectoral coalition of February 1936.That was eventually established underthe premiership of Negrín from May1937. Despite having crushed the rev-olution, incorporated the workingclass militias into the regular forcesand dismantled the collectives, it stilldid not achieve victory—not becausethe policies were wrong but becauseof the strength of the internationalforces arrayed against the Republic.

In this context, Ken Loach’s film,Land and Liberty, has to be seen asmarginal if not perverse as an expla-nation of the Spanish Civil War for the1990s. Its greatest value lies in its linkto contemporary Britain by the cine-matic device which frames its Spanishaction. The message of that part of the

Continued on page 10

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film at least is clear: the selfless hero-ism of this man has come to an end inthe despair of post-Thatcherite Britain.Otherwise, the film’s purpose is,according to various interviews givenby Ken Loach, to recapture for ayoung audience something of theemotional purity of the “last greatcause.” That is a laudable aim and onewhich is partially achieved in a num-ber of emotionally charged moments.Elsewhere, the dividing line betweencinematic licence and distortion isbreached. It is easy to see whyInternational Brigaders who faceddeath daily on the Madrid front feeldiminished by the political and per-sonal self-indulgence on the minorAragón front of the attractive boysand girls of Loach’s POUM unit.Ultimately, the problem lies in the factthat Loach’s position is virtually iden-tical to that of George Orwell.Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia is a bril-liant and painfully honest book but,contrary to the popular image of itsauthor, it is not a “true” book. That isto say, it is not true if it is taken, as it isby most readers, as an overview of theSpanish Civil War, when in reality, itis a narrow and partisan account ofone relatively marginal issue withinthe war. In both Orwell’s book andLoach’s film—and much less inno-cently in the historiography of theSpanish Civil War sponsored by theCIA-funded Congress for CulturalFreedom—a minor episode is allowedto dwarf the wider issues of the war.

With the Spanish Republic aban-doned by the Western Powers andopposed by Franco, Hitler andMussolini, only the Soviet Union cameto its aid. Of course, Stalin did not doso out of any idealism or sentiment.Threatened by expansionist Germany,he was hoping like his Czarist prede-cessors to limit the threat by seekingan encircling alliance with France. Hefeared rightly that, if Franco won thewar with the help of Hitler, Francewould crumble. Accordingly, he setout to give sufficient aid to the

Republic to keep it alive while ensur-ing that the revolutionary elements onthe left were prevented from provok-ing the conservative decision-makersin London from supporting the Axisin an anti-Bolshevik crusade. It isappalling that the revolutionary élanof the Spanish people, the Republic’sgreatest asset, should have beensquandered or that the sincere revolu-tionaries of the POUM should havebeen smeared as Nazi agents andbloodily suppressed by the agents ofthe NKVD. It is certainly true that thequest for respectability did nothing toalter the contempt felt in Whitehall forthe Spanish Republic.

However, Loach simplifies mas-sively in the underlying assumptionthat it was the Stalinist repression thatled to Franco’s victory. As Orwellhimself wrote in his 1943 essay,“Looking Back on the Spanish War,”“The outcome of the Spanish war wassettled in London, Paris, Rome,Berlin—at any rate not in Spain.” In

other words, Hitler, Mussolini, Francoand Chamberlain were responsible forthe defeat of the Spanish Republic, notStalin. It is difficult to imagine how arevolutionary Spain could have suc-ceeded without the support of Russianarms. Indeed, without Russian armsand the International Brigades,Madrid would probably have fallen inNovember 1936 and Franco been vic-torious before the anarchists andTrotskyists of Barcelona became anissue.

Loach has stated that he wasinspired to make the film by the factthat the Spanish Civil War still livedin the popular memory as an inspiringanti-fascist struggle. Ironically, likeOrwell before him, Loach has pro-duced something which may stay inthe memory more as an anti-Stalinisttract than a celebration of thoseSpanish and foreign men and womenwho gave their lives fighting Francoand his Axis allies.

TThe Che Civil Wivil Warar ininthe Cthe Civil Wivil Warar

Then and NowAbe Smorodin and Lou Gordon posed for a picture in May, 1937, a week

before they left for Spain. Still friends and comrades in the struggle 65 yearslater, they posed for a picture the day after the VALB 65th anniversary event inNew York. The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives is collecting photos of thevets from the Spanish Civil War era and of vets involved in other struggles forsocial causes, such as civil rights, anti-imperialism, and economic justice.Contact Paul Mishler at the ALBA-VALB office, (212) 674-5552.


By Kenyon ZimmerEditor’s Note: Kenyon Zimmer, an

undergraduate at Bennington College, isthe winner of the George Watt Award for2001. We proudly print a synopsis of heressay below. The complete paper, entitled“Revolution Within the Revolution:Spanish Anarchist Women in the CivilWar,” is available at the following websiteaddress: www.kalisti.com/spanish.htm.

For anarchist women, the CivilWar represented an unparalleledopportunity to break free from theconstraints of Spanish society and tochallenge the male chauvinism thatexisted within their own movement.Before 1936, there were great differ-ences in the views among anarchistmen and women regarding genderroles. The conception of the properplace of women ran from devotedmother to revolutionary equal. Thesediverse viewpoints stemmed, in part,from an inconsistent foundation, asthe anarchism of the Spaniards wasdescended from the brazenly sexistPierre-Joseph Proudhon, theambivalant Peter Kropotkin, and espe-cially Mikhail Bakunin, whoemphatically supported equalitybetween the sexes.

Women formed a small butprominent minority among anarchistswho joined the fighting. Most of thesewomen were young militants whowere already involved politically or inunions before the war. Many wereassigned to ancillary support tasks,such as cooking, laundry, and medicalwork, but others fought in the frontlines alongside their male comrades.In many regiments the sexual divisionof labor and marginalization ofwomen increased as time went on;after the first months of war womenbegan to be turned away from thearmy and were later officially orderedto withdraw from the front. Yet not allwomen left, and others still served inanarchist patrols. However, their rolewas much more important behind thelines in the social revolution.

Catalonia, which accounted for 80percent of Spain’s total industry, wasentirely under workers’ control, with

an estimated 2,000 collectives. Womenhad a significant but marginal pres-ence in many industries, ran most ofthe public transportation system inBarcelona and Madrid, and represent-ed a majority of workers in textiles,the largest industry in RepublicanSpain at the start of the war. But mostwomen did not achieve equality inthese collectives. Not only were theystill a minority in the workforce, butwage differentials remained, evenunder anarchist control. Some facto-ries and industries left in place wagescales based on skilled labor, whichaffected women disproportionately,and other collectives, undeniablygoing against libertarian ideals, keptin place wage differentials based ongender. Nevertheless, beyond the factthat nearly all collectives raised theirsalaries, many did establish a singlewage. Additionally, over half of thearable land in the Republican zonewas amassed into thousands of suc-cessful agrarian collectives. Again, adouble standard often extended towages, although roughly half of therural collectives were successful inequalizing them.

Mujeres Libres, an anarchistwomen’s organization with 20,000 to30,000 members, sought to preparewomen for revolutionary engagementthrough consciousness-raising, self-empowerment, and education. Similarto the male anarchists’ view that thewar and the revolution were insepara-ble, Mujeres Libres felt that therevolution and women’s emancipationwere indivisible. It was the onlySpanish women’s organization thatsought to liberate women rather thantemporarily mobilize them. But whilethe CNT worked with Mujeres Libresto train women for industrial andagricultural work, the anarchist move-ment refused to recognize MujeresLibres as an official organization.

During the war, however, anar-chist women were largely able toemancipate themselves in conjunctionwith the anarchist social revolution.While by no means perfect, thiswomen’s revolution within the revo-

lution made fundamental changes inthe conditions of their lives, as well asto the Spanish anarchist movement,which for the first time was forced toconfront many of its paradoxes.Though the goal of total equality wasnot met, the anarchist women of Spainin many ways came closer to reachingit than women in any other revolu-tionary struggle of the past threecenturies.

Feminist Revolution Within the Revolution

SpainSpain’’s Hists Hist oror yyInspirInspir es Ses S olooloPPerer formancformanceeBy Marya Errin Jones

I’ve never been to Spain. I don’teven speak Spanish, but the urge tocreate in the spirit of the SpanishCivil War was so incredibly strongthat it haunted my waking life andpermeated my dreams since I was18 years old.

Maybe it was my recent pilgrim-age to the beautiful, yet tucked away,monument to the volunteers on theUniversity of Washington campusthat pushed me forward, or discover-ing (and voraciously and constantlyreferring to) the continuous voice ofactivism and remembrance pouringthrough ALBA. Maybe it was look-ing at my opened right hand, and thequickening I felt when curling it intoa fist, that called me to action.

Suddenly, at the age of 31, it wasnot enough to comb through all thelibrary books I could find, trace thepath of the war on maps, and bom-bard my friends with informationabout men and women who foughtto save a country and rescue theworld. The time came for me to actu-alize my dreams. Something stirredme and gave me the courage to walkinto the dark cave of the theater andemerge with a story told in song,poetry, and gesture, of a plain work-er turned freedom fighter, in my ownproduction of Propaganda, Moon. This



By Angela Jackson

During research on the subject ofBritish women and the Spanish

Civil War, I came across the movingwords written by Winifred Bates fol-lowing her visit to the cave hospitalnear La Bisbal de Falset during theBattle of the Ebro in 1938:

“Men died as I stood beside them.It was summer time and they had beenin long training before they crossed theEbro. Their bodies were brown andbeautiful. We would bend over to taketheir last whispers and the messagewas always the same: ‘We are doingwell. Tell them to fight on till the finalvictory.’ It is so hard to make a man,and so easy to blast him to death. Ishall never forget the Ebro. If one wentfor a walk away from the cave therewas the smell of death.”

A British nurse working in thecave, Patience Darton, was amongstthose who struggled under the mostdifficult conditions to save the lives ofthe wounded. She explained in aninterview why their efforts were sooften in vain. “We tended to get peo-ple in at night because the shellingwas so enormous they couldn’t movein the day. So for the first time, we gotpeople rather long after the battle. Wegot them sometimes hours after they’dbeen wounded and some, of course,we couldn’t save because of that—they were already too bad.”

The villagers of La Bisbal de Falsetburied the dead from the hospital in acommunal grave along the entirelength of the wall in the local ceme-tery. They tried to keep a record of thenames, though in some cases identifi-cation was not possible. Among thedead were International Brigadersfrom many different countries, includ-ing Britain and America.

When the war ended, the list ofcasualties was carefully hidden. Itwas given to me when I went to thevillage last year to see the placesdescribed so vividly by Winifred,Patience, and others.

Talking to the villagers who

remembered the war added a furtherfascinating dimension to my research,so I went back several months later tocarry out interviews. Teresina Masip

told me of the death of her two littlegirls during the bombardment of thevillage. Her own burns and shrapnelinjuries meant that she spent manyweeks as a patient in the cave. JosepPerelló had witnessed the burial of thedead from the cave as a boy of 16.

Although nothing marks the site, heclearly remembers the exact location.

After discussions with the Mayorof La Bisbal de Falset and the British

International Brigade Association, Iam now co-ordinating a project toplace a memorial plaque in the ceme-tery. An inauguration ceremony isbeing planned for November 3-4.

Anyone who would like moreinformation can contact me through

EE brbr oo ’’s Cs C aa vv e He H ospitalospital

The Ebro Cave today

Inside the cave hospital in 1938


final text on the monument. Not sur-prisingly, it turned out to be asensitive issue, but we now have asuitable and agreed upon inscription,which will appear in both officiallanguages, English and French. Therewill also be a brief inscription inSpanish. Incorporated into thememorial wall will be an extractfrom La Pasionaria’s farewell speechin Barcelona. The National CapitalCommission, I might add, has beenvery supportive of our effortsthroughout this process.

Needless to say, we’re lookingforward to the event with great plea-sure. We would be delighted to seeas many of our American friends atthe October ceremony as possible. Ifyou would like to be kept up to dateon progress and receive a personalinvitation to this important unveil-ing, please send a note to oursecretary, Sharon Skup, Friends ofthe Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, 25Waxham Road, Toronto, ON, M9W3L4, CANADA.

Jules Pavio is a veteran and president ofthe Veterans and Friends of theMackenzie-Papineau Battalion.

Ottawa MemorialContinued from page 5MM e m o re m o r i a l i a l

hosting the old plaque.We (me and Republican leader-

ship in the House, as opposed to theSenate) are also working on a newversion of the plaque honoring thestate’s 12 Lincolns, and perhaps otherswho volunteered for other fights forfreedom. If we get anything approvedfor state property display, it will bequite watered down, I expect. Thepeople of New Hampshire are still, Ireport, being well protected from ThePlaque, which rests in a vault in theState House. But we are planning anannual celebration of the founding ofthe Abraham Lincoln Brigade onFebruary 12, no matter what. It took20 years for New Hampshire to finallyget a Martin Luther King Holiday.Patience and persistence!

And just when I think the letters tothe editor about the plaque have dieddown, a new rash of them appears. Inaddition to the Union Leader brandingme as more interested in honoring com-munists than solving the educationfunding crisis, a silly exaggerationaimed at undercutting my credibility inthe Senate, new letters claim theLincolns were involved in the atrocitiescommitted against nuns and priests,actions committed by anarchists in thefirst few weeks of the uprising. You andI know the Spanish governmentclamped down on such things, and it alloccurred prior to the arrival of theInternational Brigades. I will be meetingwith one such letter writer soon.

New Hampshirecontinued from page 5

The Volunteer or by email:[email protected]. Donationsfor the plaque should be sent to DaveMarshall, The Treasurer, InternationalBrigade Association, 37, ReginaldRoad, London, E7 9HS, England.

Teresina Masip with a photograph ofher two daughters who were killedduring the bombardment of the village

Patience Darton, a British nurse whoworked in the cave


By Robert Coale

The towns of Corbera d’Ebre inCatalonia and Rimont in southernFrance share a tragic page of history:both were destroyed by fascist forces.Corbera was reduced to rubble duringthe Ebro campaign in 1938, whileRimont was torched by a Nazi columnin August 1944 in retaliation forFrench Resistance victories in the area.

The two towns are now sistercities, united in their will to remindfuture generations of their struggle forliberty and the horrors of war. Thispast April, Rimont and neighboringFoix, nestled in the Pyrenees foothillssouth of Toulouse, hosted meetings toorganize a new association named“Terre de Fraternité-Terra deGermanor” (“Land of Brotherhood” inFrench and Catalan).

The previous year’s cooperationbetween Rimont and Corbera culmi-nated in the International Brigadecommemoration on October 14, 2000.(See the Volunteer, Fall 2000.) Thisyear, town leaders decided to proceedone step further and formalize thisbudding international cooperation inthe framework of a formal associationwith an eye towards coordinating themany regional activities in Spain,France and beyond. Some of thefounding organizations, in addition tothe towns and several universities,include associations of former“Guerrilleros” and political prisoners,the “Amigos” of the InternationalBrigades in Madrid and Catalonia, theFrench IB association ACER, and theCatalan Association of RepublicanStudies, to name just a few. The newumbrella organization is headed bythe passionately dynamic Guy Sauratof Rimont.

The memory of the struggleagainst fascism and nazism from 1936to 1945 in both Spain and France is thecornerstone of the new organization.The group seeks to encourage histori-cal research and access to archives

concerning the International Brigades,the Spanish Guerrilleros and SpanishRepublicans residing in France whofought shoulder to shoulder with theFrench Resistance to liberate Francefrom Nazism, and the Anti-FrancoGuerrilleros who continued the strug-gle in Spain well into the 1950s. Plansto build museums in both Corberaand Rimont are examples of how thisprimary objective is taking shape.Cooperation between archives in avariety of countries will be sought, anarea where ALBA may be of consider-able assistance.

Another aim of Terre de Fraternitéis the justice and solidarity movements.Spanish authorities guilty of massacres,deportations and other crimes duringthe Franco regime have never beenbrought to justice. Several participatingassociations would like to change thisin the wake of the Pinochet case.International solidarity with veteransof the brigades and the resistancemovement is yet another aim.

Finally, programs to heightenpublic awareness of the historical sig-nificance of the struggle that shookEurope and, indeed, the entire worldfrom 1936 to 1945 will be supported inschools and through internationalexchanges. Cultural and historicalactivities will be developed and sup-ported.

This is a considerable agenda forone volunteer association to coordi-nate. Nevertheless, after the successfulfounding weekend, members beganwork immediately. A recent meetingin Barcelona saw representatives of allpolitical parties in the Catalonian par-liament vote their support to Terre deFraternité-Terra de Germanor.Furthermore, a delegation of 18 townmayors from the “Terra Alta” regionof Catalonia, scene of much of theEbro battle, are heading to France tovisit the Museum of NationalResistance near Paris and theNormandy Battle Peace Memorial in

Caen to study the latest developmentsin archival technology and museumplanning.

Although Terre de Fraternité isjust beginning, it has already managedto unite several groups that are nowworking together toward commongoals. As the relationship betweentwo martyred towns grows into abroader movement, this association isdestined to become a major player inthe preservation of antifascist historicmemory.

Robert Coale is Assistant Professor ofSpanish at Jacksonville University andfounding member of Terre de Fraternité.

French and Spanish Towns UniteAnti-Fascist Memories

British GroupsCombineForcesBy Angela Jackson

Veterans of the InternationalBrigade Association and theFriends of the InternationalBrigade, together with archivistsand historians specializing in theSpanish Civil War, have combinedto form a new group in Britain, the“International Brigade MemorialTrust.” The aims of the Trust are asfollows:• To promote education, learning

and knowledge concerning thehistorical legacy of both the menand women who fought with theInternational Brigades againstfascism in support of the legallyelected government in Spain andthose who sustained their fight.

• To maintain contact with rela-tives and friends of theInternational Brigaders.

• To develop links with compara-ble organizations throughout theworld.



On May 3, the Franklin and EleanorRoosevelt Institute, in Hyde Park, NY,honored local world War II veterans andtheir Commander-in Chief PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt with a wreath lay-ing ceremony. Lincoln vet Lou Gordonwas one of the speakers; he alked about hisexperiences in the US Army liberatingDauchau in 1945. The West Point Colorand Honor Guard also participated in theceremony.

Looking back through the lens ofhistory, with the benefit of hindsight,we, the American generation whofought and survived World War II - asTom Brokaw wrote - did no less thansave the world. Through that lens, it isplain to see that we fought not onlynations, but a great evil. We foughtand won a battle to save humanityfrom its darkest self, a fight some saywill never end.

In the crucible of that war andfrom our vantage looking back, theHolocaust and the still-preserveddeath camps are testimony to a horrorand our victory over it. That is history,but it is also personal to me.

In the spring of 1945, I was in the1269th Combat Engineers Battalion,part of the 3rd Army, storming downthe Autobahn toward Nuremberg andMunich. When we veered off to the

town of Furstendfelbruch, we weresuddenly enveloped in a terriblestench we could not identify. We soonfound out the source. We had reachedthe rail yards of the infamous concen-tration camp named Dauchau. Theyards were 4 or 5 times the size of thefreight yards in Croton-on-Hudson.There were scores of freight cars load-ed with people in various stages ofdecay waiting for their turn to be fedinto the ovens. In the camp, the chim-neys were still smoking; the ghoulishoperations had stopped only when theGerman guards heard our advanceand attempted to flee. At Dauchau,the prisoners were mostly Slavic,French, Russian, and Gypsy.Thousands had been literally workedto death and their bodies cremated inthe ovens. Many of those we liberatedwere beyond medical treatment anddied. The freight cars that had beenthere the longest were full of rottingcorpses.

The townspeople had the gall totell us that they knew nothing aboutwhat went on, despite their presencein the midst of this rail yard and thepervasive stench! This was soon to beremedied. We were ordered to takelarge groups of people on a thoroughtour of the camp facilities. The grouptour made its way around hills of eyeglasses, hair, and more, to view thedead and almost dead. It was a tripthrough Dante’s Inferno. No one whowas on that tour will ever forget anypart of it. That includes the Americansoldiers.

In 1989, my wife and I visitedVienna, Austria. While there we visit-ed the offices of an organization offormer concentration camp prisoners.We met with one of the officials, andduring the course of our conversation,I told him that I had been part of theliberating forces of Dauchau. Hebegan to question me about details,including the exact date and even theexact time we entered the compound.I could not understand why he wasinterested in these minor details. I wassoon to find out. He suddenly stoodup and said that he had been a 15-year-old boy in the camp waiting histurn to be thrown into the massiveoven. At this point, he came frombehind his desk to embrace me withtears running down his face. AlthoughI was about 10 years his senior, helooked 15 years older than I.

I had trouble sleeping that nightthinking what the Nazi atrocitiesmeant in terms of the multimillions ofpeople whose lives were extinguishedby these vermin.

The quotation from Tom Brokaw’sbook, which I mentioned at the outsetof my talk, is worth repeating: We, theAmerican generation who fought andsurvived World War II, “did no lessthan save the world.”

What with history’s habit ofrepeating itself, we must be more alertthan ever not to tolerate genocide any-where on the globe, and to use ourstrength and our mighty resources forpeace and good will to flourish.

LLou Gou G orordon Sdon Spp eaks aeaks at Ht Hyyde Pde Pararkk

We are now planning a programof activities to further these aims.Membership of the Trust has alreadygrown substantially following ourannual meeting in London on July14, and new members from abroadwill be very welcome. Veterans andspouses/partners and widow/ers ofBrigaders will be honorary members.Other annual subscriptions will be£10.00 waged, £5 concessions andaffiliating organizations by arrange-ment.

For more information, contactD. Marshall, 37 Reginald Road,London, E7 9HS, England.

Combine Forcescontinued from page 14


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By Harry Fisher

Just back from Germany, promot-ing my book Comrades about theSpanish Civil War. But that’s not whatI want to write about. I want to tellyou about a wonderful experience Ihad in Germany. Joining me therewere my son John, his wife, Dena, mygrandson Paul and 7 singers from asinging group organized by PeteSeeger 17 years ago, the Walkabouts.This group was a huge hit. They sangsongs of the Spanish Civil War and ofthe working class during a three-dayantifascist festival in Dortmund,attended by about 25,000 from allparts of Germany.

One afternoon I was walkingaround the festival grounds, in a quietarea away from the stages and dis-plays, when I heard some beautifulsinging. I was with my Germanfriend, Uli, and we finally discoveredwhere the music was coming from.There, in a circle, were 14 people,among them my son John and myfriends from the Walkabouts group. Iasked Uli who the others were and hetold me that they were part of aGerman group that sang progressivesongs all over Germany. There were 7Germans and 7 Americans in a circlefacing each other.

The first song that I heard was aJewish radical song that the Germans(none of whom were Jewish) sang inYiddish. The song was beautiful, butwhat struck me was that there I was inGermany, the land of the Holocaust,the country that I had fought againsttwice, once in Spain as a member ofthe Lincoln Battalion, the Americanpart of the International Brigades, andthen in different parts of Europe dur-ing WWII as part of the American AirForce. Listening to these youngGermans singing a Jewish song inYiddish brought tears to my eyes.

My mind was racing. In the 1930s,in Spain, I was under bombs droppedby the Luftwaffe dozens of times, and

many of my comrades and friendswere wounded and killed. One ofthose killed was my dear friendBernard “Butch” Entin, who had beenwounded in a battle near Brunete. Hehad passed me on his way to anambulance and had told me that thewound didn’t seem bad, that heexpected to be back in a week or so.He never did come back. He got intoan ambulance with a few otherwounded soldiers and became the vic-tim of a Nazi bombing. BernardEntin’s ambulance was blown to bitsand there was nothing left of him orthe other wounded.

While listening to these Americansand Germans singing, it hit me thatthere was something left of BernardEntin. My son’s name is John BernardFisher, his middle name in honor ofmy close friend. And there was JohnBernard Fisher singing with theGermans.

Oh, my memories. More than 60years earlier I saw so much death anddestruction in Spain. About 900 youngAmericans were killed trying to endfascism and prevent another worldwar. And then in the 1940s, more ofthe Lincolns were killed in WWIIfighting against the same enemies wehad fought in Spain, the Germans andItalians. Then I was in a B26 droppingbombs all over Germany. So muchbombing; so much killing; so much

anger; so much hatred. And now myson and six of my American friends inthe Walkabouts were facing youngGermans once again, not with guns andhatred, but with music and love. Theywere singing and smiling at each other,and I couldn’t hold back my tears, nottears of sadness, but tears of joy.

One other memory. Among theWalkabouter’s songs was one aboutthe Lincolns and what they did afterSpain, helping the people of Cuba,Nicaragua, and Guatemala. The songends with the Walkabouts shoutingthe last words three times—“NoPasaran.” I saw young Germans join-ing with the Americans and shouting“No Pasaran.” To think that these arethe descendants of the people that Ifought against twice.

After more than three hours, thesinging finally ended, and the singershugged and kissed each other,promising to meet again soon. Thethought went through my mind thatfor so many years I hated Germanyand its people. How much better thiswas—Americans and Germanssinging and hugging each other.

I hope that something symbolichappened in Germany that day, some-thing that symbolized the future—afuture with no wars, only peace andlove.

Germans and Americans FacingEach Other Again


By David SmithIn early February 1937, Dan

Fitzgerald and I left Boston for NewYork. We shipped out to Spain onFebruary 7 with about 80 men. OnFebruary 14 we had dinner at a unionhall in Paris, then traveled by trainover the Pyrenees—the border wasstill open—to Figueras. After a fewdays of exercise, we went on toAlbacete. On February 24 we werebehind the Morata-Jarama front. Weembarked from the trucks and werehanded rifles and three bullets each tofire into the hillside—“a well-knownstory of our military training.”

As the men assembled again, thecaptain in charge called out, “The fol-lowing step out,” and David Smithwas the last name. The captainexplained that we 8 Internationalswere to be part of a rear guard atMorata. No amount of arguing couldchange this decision. The trucks tookoff with the other men and I wasassigned to a group of seasonedBritish volunteers in the rear guard.After I griped a great deal, the leadersaid, “So you want to get to the front?Just get out on the road and stop thenext truck.” This I did, and I soonarrived at the front.

As I wandered around, a volun-teer came over, asked a few questions,and said, “Come with me.” I was nowin the Irish section of the Lincolns. Bythe next day I was acquainted withPeter O’Connor and Johnnie Power. Ialso found Dan Fitzgerald nearby, alsoin the Irish section. We stared at eachother, embraced, and just sat togetherspeechless for a while.

On February 26 we were told thatthere would be a full attack with fullsupport, tanks, aircraft, etc., that wouldtake place the next day. On February 27we were up before daybreak waitingfor orders. Soon we were in bright day-light, but no tanks, artillery or aircraftwere in sight, and the men began togripe. Eventually some said, this will bea f— operation. Later Peter O’Connor

and Johnnie Power took me aside andtold me in no uncertain language,“Since you are new, if you want tocome through this operation, just fol-low us and do as we do.”

When the attack order camethrough, we went over the top a shortdistance and I did as instructed. Menwere falling all around us. I do nothave to paint a picture of the horriblesight of men going down in action.Among those Irish who died wereRobert Hilliard, a Protestant pastor,and Eamonn McGrotty, a Catholicpriest. Unfortunately, this operationwas not successful in the sense ofdriving the fascists back. It wasthought, however, that it showed thefascists that they couldn’t cut the roadbehind us to Madrid. Upon returningto the trenches I sat down numb andspeechless and we just stared at eachother. Later, when more machine gunsarrived, I was transferred as amachine gunner with the Lincolns. Allthe years since Jarama, I have recog-nized that I owe my life to the men ofthe Irish section.

This spring I was finally able tovisit Ireland with a friend, and inDublin I met with Manus O’Riordan,chief economist of a large union andson of vet Michael O’Riordan, who isthe author of The Story of the Irish inSpain. Peter O’Connor died last year.We visited many monuments, amongthem the memorial plaque to the

International Brigade’s ConnollyColumn at Liberty Hall, the banner ofthe Connollys in the Irish LabourHistory Museum, and the graves ofConnolly, Pierce, and heroes of the1915 uprising, and that of Frank Ryan,the leader of the Irish in Spain. Wespent time with Michael O’Riordanreminiscing about Spain and saw thewonderful posters and pictures fromthe Spanish Civil War at their laborhall. It was heartening to realize howmany of the Irish are familiar with thehistory of the Irish volunteers and tobe with Manus O’Riordan and hisencyclopedic knowledge of theInternational Brigades.

In the evening we joined the fami-ly at a songfest. About 80 men andwomen, young and old, sat alongtables with their pints of Guinness,conversing. Then someone started tosing an Irish song. No one directed thefest, but as soon as one song ended,another individual followed as theysaw fit with songs and poetry recita-tions of Irish struggles, revolutionarysongs, romantic songs–both in Englishand in Gaelic. This took place from9:30 to 1:30. We had never experi-enced such a gathering. Manus andhis sister, in good voice, sang songs ofthe Spanish War. All eyes turned tous. I am forever grateful for the oppor-tunity of visiting and reuniting withsuch wonderful comrades.

MMy Ey Expxp ereriencience with the Ire with the Ir ish Sish S ecec tiontionof the Lincof the Lincolnsolns

David Smith with Manus O’Riordan at the grave of Frank Ryan


ALBA’s planned giving pro-gram provides an extraordinaryway to make a gift, increaseincome and slice the donor’s taxbill – all in one transaction!

The charitable gift annuity pro-gram was created for our manyfriends who have expressed a desireto make a significant gift, while stillretaining income from the principalduring their lifetime. A charitablegift annuity gives the donor addi-tional retirement income, whileaffording the satisfaction of sup-porting ALBA’s continuingeducational programs and its tradi-tions of fighting for social justiceand against fascism.

HHOOWW DDOOEESS AA CCHHAARRII--TTAABBLLEE GGIIFFTT AANNNNUUIITTYYWWOORRKK??

A charitable gift annuity is asimple contract between you andthe Abraham Lincoln BrigadeArchives (ALBA). Under thisarrangement, you make a gift ofcash or marketable securities, wortha minimum of $5000, to ALBA. Inreturn, ALBA will pay you (or up totwo individuals) an annuity begin-ning on the date you specify, on orafter your sixtieth (60th) birthday.

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payments will be made – quarterly,semi-annually or annually. You can

also choose a one-life or two-life(two people dividing the income)annuity. Cash gifts allow maxi-mum tax-free income; gifts ofsecurities allow you to minimizecapital gains taxes.

DDEEFFEERRRRIINNGG PPAAYYMMEENNTTSSIf you are under 60 years of age,

you can still set up an annuity anddefer the payments until any dateafter your 60th birthday. This givesyou an immediate tax-deduction foryour gift while still guaranteeingyou income payments in the future.Because you are deferring pay-ments, your annuity payments willbe larger than if you had waited toset up the annuity until your 60thbirthday.

For more information on a cus-tomized proposal for your CharitableGift Annuity, please contact:

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ALBA BOOKS, VIDEOS AND POSTERS

Visit the ALBVisit the ALBAA wweb siteb siteeaat wwwt www.alba-v.alba-valbalb.or.orggand subscrand subscribibe te tooALBALBAA’’s nes new emailw emailnenewwslettsletterer, , ShoutsShoutsFFrrom the Wom the Wallall..

ALBALBA EXPA EXPANDS BOOKSTANDS BOOKSTOREOREBuy SBuy Spanish Cpanish Civil Wivil War bar boooks on the WEBoks on the WEB..

wwwwww.alba-v.alba-valbalb.or.orggBOOKS ABOUT THE LINCOLN BRIGADEThe Lincoln Brigade,a Picture Historyby William Katz and Marc Crawford (pbk) $15Another Hillby Milton Wolff (pbk) $15Our Fight—Writings by Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Spain 1936-1939ed. by Alvah Bessie & Albert Prago (pbk) $15Spain’s Cause Was Mineby Hank Rubin (new) (cloth) $29Comradesby Harry Fisher (new) (ppb) $15The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigadeby Peter Carroll (pbk) $15Passing the Torch: The AbrahamLincoln Brigade and its Legacy of Hope by Anthony Geist and Jose Moreno (pbk) $25

EXHIBIT CATALOGSThe Aura of the Cause, a photo albumed. by Cary Nelson (pbk) $25

VIDEOSThe Good Fighta film by Sills/Dore/Bruckner (VCR) $35Forever Activistsa film by Judith Montell (VCR) $35You Are History, You Are Legenda film by Judith Montell (VCR) $25

Make checks payable to ALBA and send to:Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archive799 Broadway, R. 227New York, NY 10003-5552Tel: (212) 674-5552Shipping cost: $3 per copy of book, album or tape.

❑ Yes, I wish to become an ALBA Associate,and I enclose a check for $25 made outto ALBA. Please send me The Volunteer.

Name _____________________________________

Address____________________________________

City___________________________ State

_____________ Zip____________________________

I enclose an additional donation of____________. I wish ❑ do not wish ❑ tohave this donation acknowledged in TheVolunteer.

Please mail to: ALBA, 799 Broadway, Room227, New York, NY 10003

Added to Memory’s Roster

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Leo Solodkin1912-2001

Leo Solodkin, who was attendingNew York’s City College when he vol-unteered to serve with the LincolnBrigade, died on April 5. A lifetime

resident of New York, he worked asan electrician after returning fromSpain, then enlisted in the U.S. Armyduring World War II. He served from1942 to 1946. He later formed a part-nership with his brother in astationery store and newspaper deliv-ery service. He is survived by his wifeof 58 years, Ada, two daughters, andfour grandchildren.

Lester L. Rowlson1916-2001

Les, who died on May 21, was oneof 6 children who grew up on a farmnear Coldwater, Michigan. They suf-fered such poverty that the deathcertificate of one of his sisters readthat death was due to starvation.

Les spent most of his adult life in

and around Detroit. He joined theCommunist Party at an early age andparticipated in all the labor strugglesthat occurred in this area. When thecivil war broke out in Spain, he wasone of the first to volunteer in 1936, atthe age of 19.

He was a truck driver by tradeand was assigned a new truck to haulartillery shells from Barcelona toMadrid. He didn’t want to drive atruck. He wanted to know why hecouldn’t take a gun and give the bas-tards what they had coming. But heaccepted the job, which lasted until hewas sent home in 1939.

When he got back to New York, afriend introduced him to the friend’ssister; they had one date before Leshad to return to Detroit. But after afew days, he went back. They elopedand got married. It was a wonderfulmarriage, most said the ideal mar-riage. They had two children, and shedied one month before he did.

During World War II, Les joinedthe Seabees and served in the Pacificbuilding barracks. They were alsoresponsible for removing explosivesfrom the beaches before invasionscould take place. Les was one of thoserare guys who went through the dan-gerous offensives, was in the mostdangerous fights, and somehow nevergot a scratch.

After the war, he and his brotherbought a used truck and startedpouring concrete basements for thebig building boom. They becameone of the biggest independentlyowned concrete builders in thecountry. They refused to hire any-one who was not a member of theunion, but when it turned out thatthere was no union for concreteworkers, they persuaded the UAWto organize such a union. They alsoactively recruited African-Americanworkers. One of their employeeswas one of the “Scottsboro Boys.”

They became wealthy but neverchanged their political point of view.Les was one of the founders of a schol-arship we vets funded at Wayne State

University. He also made sure that athis funeral, the speaker would tellhow proud he was to be a member ofthe Communist Party and a veteran ofthe Spanish Civil War.

—Marion Noble

Robert Zane Ingalls1919-2001

Bob Ingalls, Lincoln vet fromRedmond, Washington, died May 8 ofa heart attack while on a family trip.

Ingalls went to Spain from Seattleat an early age. In 1937, at age 17, hewas made sergeant in the transportsection with a crew under his com-mand running a telephone servicefrom a truck.

During World War II, Ingallsworked as foreman of final assemblyat Boeing. Later, he brought his engi-neering skills into the televisionindustry and taught at a communitycollege in Tacoma. He later designedthe internal television systems for theUniversity of Washington’s School ofMedicine and Nursing.


Added to Memory’s Roster


Barney Baley1910-2001

Barney Baley, born in Arnett, Oklahoma, died on February28 after a long illness. An active member of the San FranciscoBay Area Post, he had served in the merchant marine duringWorld War II and worked as a construction laborer afterward.

After serving in the Lincoln Brigade, he returned to hishome in southern California and wrote a book of poetry, titledHand Grenades, that was published in 1942. The poems wereboth political and autobiographical, and we publish a few selec-tions to remember this otherwise quiet man. The last poem waswritten in 1999.

LLEESSSSOONN IINN SSOOCCIIAALL RREELLAATTIIOONNSSThe workers lost; as thru the bitter agesThey have so often lost; and most returnedTo their old jobs to toil at lower wages.But some did not go back. Either there burnedIn them too fierce a rebel flame; or theyWere fingered out by stoolies.—Dad was oneOf those let out. We went one Saturday To shovel snow. We passed a dwelling. “Son,That’s Big-Bug’s place; no work for us aroundHere.” I observed the neat brick wall, barbed wireAtop. “He was my boss when. . .” So I foundThere are two classes: Those that fire and hire,And those that work or look for work with hatIn hand. . .I never quite got over that.

AALLBBAACCEETTEE——OOCCTTOOBBEERR,, 11993377Welcoming us who journeyed far to joinThe Spanish people’s fight for their New Deal,A band blared forth the Internationale;Marched us along to its familiar strains;But at the barracks played a livelier tune,A melody that sang the heart of Spain:Riego’s Hymn. It sang of heroes whoMade Spain too hot for Bonaparte to hold.And forced the native despot, Ferdinand,To recognize the people’s will. AlthoRiego was betrayed to brutal death,His spirit lives. His song rolls out today. . .No tyrants yet have killed the human race.Nor can they kill its courage and its hope!

AALLBBAARREEZZ——TTHHAANNKKSSGGIIVVIINNGG,, 11993377

Songs of all lands are medleys, here in Spain:Vienna, loved by Schubert and by Strauss,Survives the shelling of the Karl Marx House…Paris! The very name’s a red refrain!Dansons le Carmagnole! “Marchons! The plainBy tyrants’ blood shall irrigated be!”And Ol’ Man River’s seed of workers’ painBlossom in song of Soviet victory. . .So do we strike a brighter chord; so strumCowboy ballads for night-herd or trail!Chanteys that sing of salt and tarry sail!So roar the “Rich Man of Jerusalem!””Waltzing Matilda”! or “Dad’s Dinner Pail”!—The people’s songs of work and play and love.

GGAANNDDEESSAA——AAPPRRIILL,,11993388The first few months in Spain I was a goodSoldier in many ways. But even as lateAs April the thought of shedding human bloodI could not stand. I was not steeled in hate.Well I remember at Gandesa onApril Fool’s Day, a few of us held backThe Fascist drive for many hours; in fact,Till dark gave time to get set for the dawn.I was the loader on a heavy Maxim,My chosen post. The gunner left, told meTo fire if need be. Sighting, I saw some FascistCavalry, tried to press the trigger-bar,Could not. Just then the gunner came back. HeWas not so squeamish…Time and war changed me.

CCrruuzzaarr DDeell EEbbrroo——JJuullyy,,11993388 We crossed the river, dodged their planes all day; An hour from sundown they caught up with us. I felt the earth shake under me- When it was safe to rise, I saw in the terraced olive grove What looked like sacks of cement. There were six dead comrades; All of them I knew by name: Dutchy and Campbell, Lucas, little Ted, Steele from Toronto and the youth Ramon - Five sons of Canada and one of Spain. I thought of our last sing-song: Ted had sung “The Rose of Tralee,” Campbell “County Down.” Yes, songs of love and home make the best dirge For those who die that others might have life!

His family has established theRobert Z. Ingalls MemorialEndowment Fund at South SeattleCommunity College.

—Bob Reed

Martin Maki 1912-2001

A Finnish-American volunteerfrom Minnesota, Martin Maki died atthe age of 89. “He was just a veryincredible idealist,” said his daugh-ter Maria Maki of Annandale,Minnesota. Maki was a prisoner ofwar at the San Pedro de Cardenascamp. He later served in the U.S.Army during World War II.


ALBA’s photographic exhibit,TheAura of the Cause, has been shown atthe Puffin Room in New York City,the University of California-SanDiego, the Salvador Dali Museum inSt. Petersburg, FL, the Fonda Del SolVisual Center in Washington, DC,and the University of Illinois. Thisexhibit, curated by Professor CaryNelson of the University of Illinois,consists of hundreds of photographsof the Lincoln Brigaders, other inter-national volunteers and theirSpanish comrades, in training and atrest, among the Spanish villages andin battle.

New Haven, CTMarch 20, 2002-May 23, 2002Jonathan Edwards College, YaleUniversity70 High Street,New Haven, CT 06511(203) 432-0356617 627-3505

For further information about TheAura of the Cause exhibit, and itscompanion exhibit, Shouts From TheWall, posters from the Spanish CivilWar, contact ALBA’s executive sec-retary, Diane Fraher, 212-598-0968.Both exhibits are available for muse-um and art gallery showings.

ALBA’S TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS

BRING THESE EXHIBITS TO YOUR LOCALITYContact Diane Fraher, ALBA executive secretary: 212-598-0968; Fax: 212-529-4603

THE AURA OF THE CAUSESHOUTS FROMTHE WALLNew York, NYSeptember 15, 2001 - November 25,2001Puffin Room435 Broome St.NY, NY 10013212 343-2881

Lawrence, KSUniversity of KansasJanuary 19, 2002 - March 10, 2002Spencer Museum of Art1301 Mississippi St.Lawrence, KS 66045phone: 785-864-4710fax: 785-864-3112

Memory’s Rostercontinued from page 20

Dear Volunteer,I’m a journalist with a long-time

interest in the Abraham LincolnBrigade. I’m looking for any info avail-able on ALB volunteer James HamiltonMartin, who, according to Carl Geiser’sbook Prisoners of the Good Fight (pp.164,267), was among the score or so cap-tured ALB soldiers machine-gunned bytheir fascist captors on Sept. 7, 1938, inthe Sierra Caballs. He hailed fromGarden City, N.Y., not exactly a breed-ing ground for activists then or now,which helps stir my interest, and was 26years of age at his death. I’m also inter-ested in the names and stories of otherALB volunteers who hailed fromQueens, Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Thanks, Gerald A. Regan20-67 38th Street, #D3Astoria NY 11105-1641e-mail: [email protected]

absurdist melodrama as solo per-formance debuted at the RiversideTheatre in Albuquerque, NewMexico, in June.

I am committed to the lifetimeof work in front of me. Years ofwrestling with text, gesture, truth,and the need to do justice to theCause, and all of its people. I gladlyaccept this challenge and will betraveling to Spain in the fall todeepen my commitment to this pro-ject. Recent meetings with PeterCarroll and veteran David Smithhave renewed my morale and havegiven me a sense of community. Ifeel empowered and will continueto move forward. Thank you,Brigadistas! Thank you all.

More Letters Solocontinued from page 11


Contributions

DONOR, IN MEMORY OF VETERAN

Pearl Baley, Barney Baley, $100

Tibby Brooks, Al Fincle & Sam Walters, $100

Benedict Tisa, John Tisa, $50

Lillian T. Lanser, Manny Lanser, $50

Muriel Goldring, Ben Goldring, $100

Patricia Morrall, Her uncles Marvin Nelson andJohn Rody, $25

Ruth Berger, Leo Solodkin, $10

Ron Perrone, In Loving memory of John and EthelPerrone, $100

Beverly R. Keller, Leo Solodkin, $15

Vincent Webb, Oiva Halonen, $50

Jeannette Alper, Mark Alper, $50

The Simon Family, John (Doc) Simon, $50

Iva and Joe Neiman, Leo Solodkin, $20

Dorothy and Stan Bussis, Leo Solodkin, $25

Evelyn Stephans, Leo Solodkin, $25

Ester S. Rom, Sam Schiff, $50

Florence Slipyan, Sam Slipyan, $100

Matti A. Mattson, Sam Walters, $20

Mr. And Mrs. Harry Forman, Leo Solodkin, $25

Esther Glassberg, Sam Gonshak, $25

Gabriel Jackson, Bob Colodney and IrvingWeissman, $50

Beatrice Vulcan, Leo Solodkin, $50

Marcus G. Singer, Larry Cane, $50

Mrs. J. Differding, Frank Madigan & MelAnderson, $30

George Sossenko, Pedro Mateo Merino, $25

Margaret E. Berle, Al Warren and in celebration ofAnthony Toney, $50

Les Fein, Dick Fein, $50

H. Dohry, Inc., Robert G. Colodney, $100

Mrs. Polly Nusser Dubetz, Charlie Nusser, $100

DONOR, IN HONOR OF VETERANS

Marian Noble, Bob Reed, $100

Eileen and Ted Rowlson, Steve Nelson, $50

Norman Eisner, Bill Susman, $250

Bill Ritchey, Moe Fishman, $100

DONOR, IN MEMORY OF

Celia and Harold Lewis, Irving Lerner, $50

Harry Reimer, Irving Heisler, $20

Ruth Kish, Shirley Nusser, $25

DONOR, IN HONOR OF

Florence Barad and Irving Katz,The 80th Birthdayof Lou Czitrom, $80

Moe Fishman, The 90th Birthday of Ira Gollobin,$50

CONTRIBUTIONS

Jack Arnow, $25

Herbert Aptheker, $25

Jamie O’Reilly, $50


The Volunteerc/o Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives799 Broadway, Rm. 227New York, NY 10003

PRESORTEDFIX ME

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ALBA's Autumn in NYTThhee PPuuffffiinn GGaalllleerryy iiss hhoossttiinngg tthhee ffoolllloowwiinngg eevveennttss aattPuffin Room, 435 Broome Street, 212 343 2881

SSeepptt 1155--NNoovv 2255,, SSuunn 1111--66ppmmSHOUTS FROM THE WALL, Poster Show

SSeepptt 3300,, 44 ppmm Len & Nancy Tsou , "The Call of Spain"

OOcctt 77,, 44ppmm Milt WolffThe Good Fight

OOcctt 1133,, 44ppmmAbe Osheroff Art In the Struggle for Freedom

OOcctt 2277,, 44ppmm Dramatic reading by Mass Transit Street Theater from Cary Nelson, Madrid 1937 Discussion & book signing

NNoovv 1111,, 44ppmm Travels with Harry Discussion with Harry Fisher re: his European tour Forever Activists

AApprriill 11-- DDeecceemmbbeerr 3311,, 22000011 RRaallpphh FFaassaanneellllaa’’ss AAMMEERRIICCAAMore than 40 paintings by Ralph FasanellaP.O. Box 800, Cooperstown, NY 133261-888-547 -1450. www.fenimoreartmuseum.org

OOccttoobbeerr 1122,, EExxhhiibbiittiioonn ooff AALLBBAA CCoolllleeccttiioonn ooppeennss aattEEllmmeerr HHoollmmeess BBoobbsstt LLiibbrraarryy70 Washington Square SouthNew York

San Gennaro Fiesta, Ralph Fasanella

OOccttoobbeerr 1122,, 77 ppmm.. AALLBBAA--SSuussmmaann LLeeccttuurree "Poetry of the Spanish Civil War," PHILIP LEVINE, NYU's Juan Carlos Center, 53 Washington Square South

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