sign in sign up
<<
Home , Alvah Bessie, Battle of Jarama, British Battalion, Carl Marzani, Fifth Regiment, Fredericka Martin

Vol. XVII, No. 1 Spring 1995 A bullseye for the Bay Area annual VALB dinner

he Bay Area Post of the Members, we saw this tribute in the The day after the annual dinner TVeterans of the Abraham Lin- context of our unflagging ongoing of the Bay Area Post, the phone line coln Brigade held its 58th annual work. of the New York VALB office was dinner at ’s Parc With Peter Carroll, author of clogged by callers from the West Oakland Hotel on February 27. It the recently published Odyssey of Coast who unanimously pronounced was attended by a capacity crowd of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, act- the celebration a thrilling event. 750 who contributed over $9,000 in ing as MC, and Hannah Creighton, The Volunteer asked Roby the collection that concluded the daughter of Veteran Leonard Olson, Newman, son of Veteran Bob memorable afternoon. as “pitchperson,” the younger gener- Colodny, to write-up the event. As a The focus of the dinner was a ation of Associates consciously took staged dramatic reading, P o s t s c r i p t a greater part in the dinner – liter- contributor to the script, his person - to a . It told the story of the ally from “soup to nuts,” as the old alized account, which follows, cap - Lincoln veterans from crossing the saying goes. tures not only the enthusiasm of Pyrenees to present-day activism. Peter Carroll’s brief opening those who attended the affair but Those of us who collaborated in the reminded us of the greater family the quality of the multi-generational selection and editing of the material formed by the Vets and their sup- effort that created and carried it out. wanted to honor the Vets, living porters. Keith Carson, Alameda and deceased. As Associate County Supervisor, 5th District, expounded this vision. He spoke of “pendulum shifts” from Galileo’s sci- entific study to the recent Republican onslaught in Wash- ington and the need for us to remain strong in our con- victions and aware that future shifts are possible if we persist in the Good Fight. F o l l o w i n g Keith’s speech, Milt Wolff, Post Com- mander, asked the At the Bay Area dinner — L-R: Douglas Morton, David Laub, Claudia Paige, Velina Brown, Arthur Holden, Barrett Nelson, Barbara Jepperson, Michael Sullivan and Rebecca Klinger. Continued on page 6 2 THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 in the winter of ’95 by Gabriel Jackson

Madrid and Seville, principal fief and city of origin of Gabriel Jackson, historian, journalist and l o n g - the main Socialist Party leaders of the 1980’s. But the time friend of the Lincoln veterans, has graciously high speed train starved the rest of the national rail net- consented to write a regular newsletter from work, which has been running immense annual deficits, for this occasionally published journal. and which lacks essential maintenance and new equip- ment. Iberia Airlines, during the fat years, decided to invest in Argentine airlines, and the deficits resulting ’m sorry that my first newsletter coincides with from that error have become a large factor in the pre- I mostly bad news, but the unfortunate fact is that sent threatened bankruptcy of the national airline. Spain for the moment is mired in a really deep econom- Official unemployment remains at about 20 percent, ic-political crisis. The main factors in that crisis – heavy but that figure can be taken with a grain of salt because unemployment, inefficient economic organization, and of the widespread unofficial economy. There is no doubt widespread political corruption – are characteristic also that Spain has at least 50 percent more unemployment of and , but, in some ways the economic than the European average of 11 percent, and, as in all mess is worse in Spain than in the other European the “advanced” countries, a certain economic recovery is countries, and I will begin with that aspect. occurring now without, however, reducing structural The mid-1980’s witnessed lots of new foreign invest- unemployment. ment and a favorable international attitude toward Spain on account of the recently adopted democratic constitu- he country has also, for about three years, been liv- tion and the stabilization of democracy under the first Ting through an extended political crisis. First there civilian, moderately leftist government that had ever was the problem of the unofficial financing of all the been allowed to function without military interference. political parties through such picturesque methods as However, the new money was mostly invested in short- the payment of hundreds of millions of pesetas for “tech- term projects: government bonds paying high interest, nical studies” for various banks and industries, studies real estate which was rising rapidly in value, beach hous- which were never made; or the exchange, between es to be occupied a few weeks a year, etc., rather than in friends, of samsonite cash containers. Then, within the productive industries which would make the best use of past twelve months, three major financial scandals. the country’s natural and human resources. The peseta rose, and was maintained at artificially Continued on page 8 high rates, on the theory that a “strong” currency would show the world what Spain had done several times in the past – buy the best foreign technology and finished The olunteer goods rather than learn to produce such wealth domesti- V cally. The high peseta also meant that tourist receipts Journal of the declined, that Spanish beaches were more expensive Veterans of the than Greek or Tunisian beaches where the sun shone Abraham Lincoln Brigade just as brightly. and Barcelona, according to State Department per diem allowances, became more 799 Broadway, Rm 227 expensive than New York and Washington. New York, NY 10003 At the same time, tariff barriers came down as a (212) 674-5552 result of Spain’s integration into the Common Market. French butter and cheeses began to replace Spanish Editor dairy products in their own home market (with French Leonard Levenson investors also developing and controlling new supermar- kets). And French farmers who had not heard about the Editorial Board virtues of free trade did not hesitate to destroy Spanish Abe Smorodin • Bill Susman • Irving Weissman trucks carrying Spanish fruits across France to Contributing Editor Switzerland and , with much uncompensated Seymour Joseph loss to one of the few sectors in which the Spanish econ- omy was competitive. Submission of Manuscripts Also, during the years of massive capital imports Please send manuscripts typewritten and double-spaced, if possible. and a high peseta, relatively little was done to improve If you wish your manuscripts returned, enclose a self-a d d r e s s e d , the road and railroad infrastructure. Untold millions stamped envelope. were spent on the beautiful high speed train between THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 3 The monument is dedicated n impressive monument was A dedicated in Madrid’s Morata de Tajuña cemetery on October 8, 1994. It commemorates the thou- sands of Spanish Republican sol- diers and International Brigaders who died in the Jarama valley bat- tle that raged throughout the month of . After Madrid fell in 1939, their graves at Tajuña had been dug up by the fas- cists and thrown into a common unmarked pit. Jarama, following the defense of Madrid in December 1936, was the Republic’s next great military victo- ry. It preserved Spain’s democracy for two years longer until the weight of fascist arms and men, bul- warked by the western democracies’ “neutrality,” began Franco’s bloody The plaque at the Morata de Tajuña Cemetery. The inscription reads: “In memory of the thirty-year rule. Jarama was also heroic fighters, anti-fascist Spaniards and of the that, in the battle the baptism under fire of the of Jarama, February 1937, offered their lives for the cause of liberty — of Spain, of Abraham and the Europe and of the world.” Draped across the top are the flags of the countries of the . International Brigade. Jud Coleman, British volunteer from Manchester, a Jarama sur- The Morata ceremony was vivor, is in the foreground. attended by several score IBers, mainly from the Brigade associa- (Farewell) delivered by her mother at Spain and of Britain. It honors all tions in Britain and Ireland, and by the Barcelona farewell parade of the who gave their lives for liberty and over a thousand Madrileños. The IB in 1939; General Enrique Lister, peace, 1936-39. event culminated a 15-year cam- who died several weeks later [See There was detailed press cover- paign waged by broad committees of page 17-Ed], and representatives of age of the dedication in the IB veterans and supporters in the Cuban and Irish embassies. Guardian, the Morning Star by Bill Britain and Ireland. It was dogged- Alexander and the New Worker b y ly fought for in Spain by three anti- B R I T A I N — Reporting to the veteran . fascist alliances representing veter- International Brigade Association, ans of the Republican army – the Bill Alexander wrote: I R E L A N D — A November 10th wounded, the political prisoners and For all of us the memorial is a communication to The Volunteer those who served with the profound emotional symbol marking from Manus O’Riordan, son of Irish International Brigades. the strong, firm ties of solidarity veteran Michael O’Riordan, Wider geographic r e p r e s e n t a- between the anti-fascist people of enclosed press clippings from nine tion at the Tajuña dedication was Irish papers that covered the event. curtailed by a too-brief, ten-day Excerpts from his letter read: advance notice from the Madrid It was a privilege for me to be authorities. Lincoln and Jarama present at the graveside in Morata veteran Jack Bjoze, within a time de Tajuña to honor the Jarama crunch of five days, managed to dead in the company of my father, make travel arrangements. He ( vet Michael O’Riordan), delivered a brief tribute at the cere- Maurice Levitas and Peter O’Connor mony, bringing warmest greetings (the sole surviving Irish veteran of from the Veterans of the Abraham Jarama), two other Irish vets, Bob Lincoln Brigade. Doyle and Maurice Levitas (both Among the distinguished guests former prisoners in San Pedro de and speakers was Amaya Ibàrruri, Cardeñas). daughter of La Pasionaria, who spoke again the immortal Despidida Continued on page 8 4 THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995

Added to Memory’s Roster

before switching over to longshore 22 years he worked in longshore, Bill Bailey work. He was elected dispatcher at until he retired, again working ILWU Local 10 in San Francisco. around and with dusty and dan- ill Bailey, whose craggy face, gerous cargoes. B imposing stature and gravel Bailey became a celebrity again voice well suited his legendary in his ’70s, nearly running away I know he tried to remain career, died in San Francisco on with the documentaries, Seeing Red active in helping achieve those February 27 after a long pulmonary and The Good Fight. He was invited political and trade union objectives illness. He was 84. to speak at Harvard University and and if he experienced any bad days college campuses across the United it was because he could not be Bill first won celebrity in anti- States, and was interviewed by fascist circles in 1935 when he active enough. He was loyal to his Studs Terkel for The Good War. He many friends and was in pain ripped a swastika flag from the played dramatic roles in the bow of the passenger liner Bremen when they were in trouble & he Hollywood feature films On the could not help. at a dock in . Edge and Guilty by Suspicion. Several months later, Bill upgrad- In respecting his wishes I k n o w ed his anti- to the battle- Bill was extremely generous with he would have liked to have his fields of the his time, was supportive of activists, ashes alongside of those brave com- where, as an International young and old, seeking to make a rades he helped bury in Spain but Brigader, he became commissar of better world. Like Eugene Debs – “a knowing this was not possible – his the Lincoln Battalion’s machine warmer heart ne’er beat, betwixt ashes will join those of the rest of ✇ gun company. here and the Judgment Seat.” his family by being sprinkled at Bailey grew up in extreme sea. Like he would say, “May my poverty – his mother sent him bare- ashes wash up on the shores of the foot to first grade and he was sen- world,” and thank you for enrich- tenced to two stretches in reform ing his life by friendship over the Bill’s own postscript ✇ school, before shipping out at age years. 15. In his 1993 autobiography, T h e This is the text, undated and March 2, 1995 Kid from Hoboken (Smyrna Press, unedited, of a letter in Bill’s Union City, NJ) Bailey brings to handwriting that he had asked life the Irish slums, where he grew his son Michael to send to T h e up, his life at sea, his experiences in Volunteer after he passed away. Seymour Klein the Communist Party, which he eymour Klein was one of the quit in 1956, and the ups and downs Dear ————, of his trade union career. S last volunteers to arrive in My dad, Bill Bailey, often told Spain (April 1938) and was also one Bailey joined the Marine me that his telephone book contains of the last Lincoln Battalion sol- Workers Industrial Union in 1934, the names of some of the best peo- diers to be wounded – September attended the Communist Party’s ple in the world – people who in 15, 1938, on the Sierra Pandols. He national training school, and was their lifetime have done much to died June 5, 1994, in San Diego, his dispatched to a succession of diffi- improve the lot of the working man home. He was 78. cult organizing posts, including & woman to achieve a better life as As an NMU organizer, in June Norfolk, Virginia, and a sugar cane well as bring peace in this world plantation in Hawaii. of 1940 Sy led a strike, in Buffalo, and a safer and longer life for the against the Saginaw Dock and During World War II, Bailey children yet to come. Terminal Corporation. As a mer- served as business agent for the I thought that in this aspect it chant seaman in World War II he Marine Firemen, Oilers and Water- would interest you to know that sailed the Murmansk run to . tenders Union (MFOW), until he he died on —— after battling a Before the war’s end, he was award- couldn’t stand sending out any more long complication of lung prob- ed a lieutenant’s commission in the men to risk death. He shipped out lems. For some 21 years he Naval Reserve and acquired honor- himself, taking part in the invasion worked in the engine room of our able service ribbons that included of the Philippines. merchant marine, being around commendation stars for the Asiatic- Expelled from the MFOW in the and handling asbestos – long Pacific theater and the Philippine McCarthy years of the 1950s, he before anyone would dare admit it liberation. In the 1970’s Sy served edited a dissenting rank-and-file was dangerous or even permit as commander of the San Diego newspaper, The Black Gang News, safety precautions to be used. For VALB post. ✇ THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 5

Added to Memory’s Roster

their attention and energy to practi- of the , Ben Kotler calities. They became involved in hosted by the prestigious Ivy en was born on June 12, 1915. struggles that sought special relief League institution. Lennie joined B He went to school in N e w a r k , measures for jobless youth and they such luminaries as Carlos Fuentes, New Jersey, and then to Brooklyn became part of the national move- Gabriel Jackson and Ronald Fraser, College where he was graduated ment for Social Security. in bringing home the meaning of summa cum laude. He left for Spain It was with this experience under the Spanish to 1,500 in June 1938, and served with the his belt that Lennie went to Spain. students and guests. Lincoln Battalion until the IB was That was, of course, the fundamental Lennie was a thoughtful person. withdrawn for repatriation in 1938. struggle for social justice writ large. Walking was his recreation. In For 33 years, 1951-1984, Ben From on, Lennie was in recent years I would sometimes worked in the accounting department every battle. To recall them now – accompany him for miles through- of the United Electrical workers Quinto, , , Seguro de out . On those outings, union. When he retired, the UE Los Baños, Gandesa, the Ebro – is to he would talk, not so much about national leadership honored him as be reminded of Hemingway’s phrase his own experiences, rich as they “among those who hold no prominent in A Farewell to Arms, “There comes were, as about general conclusions – position in the labor movement but a time when the names of places those formed by his life, observa- whose services are of utmost impor- communicate dignity.” tions and reading. tance in its functioning.” Ben, Lennie was wounded three When the past figured in Lennie’s responding, expressed his gratitude times. Each time he deserted from thoughts, it was not something in for having been able to contribute to the hospital to rejoin the Lincolns. which he was imprisoned. It was sim- the UE’s rank-and-file principles. His I remember him walking past a ply a part of history to be viewed and widow, Ida, and daughter, Judith, group of us with a bandage around judged in a current perspective. attended the VALB memorial meet- his neck where a bullet had mirac- He was a compassionate com- ing in February. ✇ ulously avoided a vital spot. Two rade. While few of us knew of his hardened Brits were there. They own terminal cancer, he unfailingly looked at each other, shook their visited bedridden comrades. He heads and one observed, “That would perform acts of kindness in Leonard Lamb Lamb, he is a tough man.” This the quietest way. During my wife’s was in the Sierra Pandols, after we illness, he showed up at our home ennie Lamb was born on had crossed the Ebro and were one Sunday morning and drove us L September 1, 1910, and died on holding on to the ground we had for an excursion to Bear Mountain. October 21, 1994. Throughout his gained. Lennie, by then, had He did innumerable such kindness- long and constructive life, his partic- earned the battlefield commission es and made no great show of them. ipation in the history of that time, of captain. Under the harshest con- We have lost a fine and noble there was a consistency of common ditions, whether in advance or comrade. ✇ sense, courage and leadership. retreat, everyone he commanded Irving Weissman I first met Lennie in 1936. We knew him as a reassuring, calming were in the Works Progress Admin- p r e s e n c e . istration. He was in its Youth After Spain, Lennie shipped Division which was responsible for out. As a member of the National reaching local social clubs that had Maritime Union, he sailed the been set up by thousands of young North Atlantic bombing runs. After The following tribute to Carl people as havens from the seeming D-Day he became a member of the Marzani, who died December 11, hopelessness of their lives. The club- Brewery Workers Union. 1994, was written for the VALB houses were in improvised quarters Spain was a constant factor in his memorial meeting in New York on – sometimes just a storefront, some- life. In 1979, he joined the first February 19, 1995. Carl, like John times a tenement basement. Executive Board of the Abraham Cornford, had served briefly with As Lennie and the group mem- Lincoln Brigade Archives. In that role the Anarchists in Spain. He was a bers would get to know one another, he spoke to and engaged in discussion member of the Veterans of the he won their friendship with his with a wide variety of audiences. Abraham Lincoln Brigade. A fine patience and straightforwardness. I particularly remember Lennie biographical tribute to Carl by his Many of them came to know why at Dartmouth College, in April friend Percy Brazil appeared in the they were in such dire straits. 1981. The occasion was a weekend Above all, Lennie Lennie directed celebration of the 50th anniversary Continued on page 7 6 THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 Bullseye for the Bay Area VALB dinner

Continued from page 1 audience for the drama that fol- lowed. Vets in the audience to stand and Given my close involvement be recognized. About two dozen rose with P o s t s c r i p t, it is impossible for and were applauded. Milt then fol- me to be completely objective; but lowed the annual sad tradition and having spoken with a number of announced the names of the Lincoln people afterwards, including several veterans who had died in the past Vets whose words were featured in year. A moment of silence was the script, I can attest to the power- observed in their memory. It is a ful effect the production had on both moving ritual, this acknowledgment the audience and the performers. of the living and the dead, one that The story of the Lincolns was underscores the continuity, in flesh eloquently told by the nar- and spirit, that marks our organiza- rator/actor with the understated tion. eloquence and occasional biting humor of the Lincolns – crossing he dinner – chicken-with-veg- the Pyrenees into Spain (“We are Tetables and strawberry mousse, now walking in six inches of snow etc., followed. Peter Carroll then Hannah Olson Creighton and a few of our men were slipping introduced the focus of the after- and falling,” – Bill Bailey); the noon, the docudrama, Postscript to they received, they had perfected anguish of combat (“Cross-fire from a War. The musicians and musical their pronunciation of Venga Jaleo, many machine guns made an director Bruce Barthol took their J a l e o and Los Cuatro Generales, impenetrable steel wall against position at the rear of the stage, and endured the necessary tinker- advance” – John Tisa at Jarama). fronted by the actors seated in a ing with the script. Po s t s c r i p t also depicted the vital row of stools. From seven in the morning to a role of the nurses attending to the Under the direction of co-author little past noon, a crew of volunteers carnage at Brunete, Quinto, Teruel Peter Glazer, the actors, most of had helped the sound and lighting and the Ebro (“…all our lives we them members of the San Francisco designers set up the equipment have hated white moonlight because Mime Troupe, had spent long needed to transform the hotel din- it means the birds of death are busy rehearsals with the “characters” ing hall into a site amenable to the- nearby”– Fredericka Martin). (our Brigade comrades) and prepar- ater magic. At a few minutes past The interweaving of excerpts ing the songs of the Spanish Civil 2:30 pm, the houselights were from the letters of Fredericka, Lini War. With a dedication, certainly dimmed and the trumpet strains of Fuhr and Rose Freed movingly not motivated by the token stipend Si Me Quieres Escribir tensed the depicted the sense of purpose and

Happy 80th for one of the Fort Point Walkers

The “Fort Point Walking Group” at Bill Sennett’s 80th birthday party, last October 6. L-R: Earl Harju, Corinne Thornton, Nate Thornton, the late Bill Bailey, Bill Sennett, Peter Carroll, Ed Bender and Hon Brown. THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 7 sacrifice that was so fundamental to Vets have been so rich. the involvement of the Inter- We ended with more recent national Brigades in Spain. A par- testimonies, including one by VALB ticularly poignant moment in the nurse Hilda Roberts, who joined a script for me and many others was hunger strike in Laredo, , on a Marion Merriman’s diary entry – bus that was interned during a “And so tonight I sit alone at mid- Caravan for Peace en route to Cuba night in a cold room, drinking tea to – “I gave them [her companions on warm my spirits. …” – with her the bus] the feeling of the greatness hope of reuniting with her Bob, of people who had struggled and then commander of the Lincoln unfortunately lost.” Battalion, who, five months latter, We concluded with a quote from would be killed in the Ebro retreat. nurse Ruth Davidow: “The question In putting together P o s t s c r i p t , you always ask me, ‘How do you we thought it important to show the keep active after fifty years?’ and I long history of the struggle in which say, ‘How do you not?’ The cast then V A L B has been, and still is, recited Edwin Rolfe’s Postscript to a involved. We therefore made narra- W a r (The drama had opened with tive reference to the many decora- Keith Carson his Bon Voyage). The finale was a tions won by Lincoln vets as GIs in rousing version of Viva La Quince World War II, even while they were I was very proud to have an Brigada which had the audience on accumulating FBI dossiers and excerpt read from a speech that my their feet cheering, as the lights entries in the Attorney General’s father, Robert Colodny, gave came up. list of subversives. against the war in Vietnam, in Hannah Olson Creighton’s The McCarthy period was 1 9 6 9 : “That was a horrible wound warm collection speech that fol- examined soberly (“The jurors filed carved not only on the face of Spain, lowed, literally capitalized on the in, and I suddenly knew there was but on the flesh of humanity. It has impact of the play. She spoke of the no hope,” in his never healed; it is raw, it bleeds.” extended VALB family seated Sedition trial), but also with the As people cheered, I felt for a around the tables and the need to survivor’s humor of defiance and few seconds that the calendar had dig deeper and give more. As the contempt in the poem by the late advanced 25 years and another gen- band played on, people began their Ramon Durem, African American eration was being roused to resist final mingling and the 58th Lincoln vet: “Award – A Gold Watch the invasion of Vietnam. It was the Anniversary which will, I think, to the FBI Man Who has Followed kind of moment that filled always retain a special glow, was Me for Twenty-Five Years.” Postscript because the lives of the history. ✇

Added to Memory’s Roster

Continued from page 5 the last syllable of recorded time. the truck drivers. In addition to his As our final salute to Carl we duties as a driver, because of his , March 1995. can repeat with the old Romans: Av e knowledge and flair for languages, ✇ arl Marzani exemplified the atque vale – Hail and farewell. he often served as the oral and writ- C finest characteristics of the sol- Robert G. Colodny ten translator for the Regiment. He dier-scholar. His generation was interpreted and spoke in English, called upon to exhibit courage not French, German and Yiddish. only on the battlefields of Spain and Morris Sennett When Maury returned to the beyond, but also in the civic area , he remarried and where political bigots and cruel bout my brother Maury – he became the father of Richard inquisitors backed by the powers of A was a year-and-a-half older Sennett, now a professor at New the state sought to silence the voices than I and died last year at the age York University and a well known of dissent. Carl never trimmed his of 81. We lived in , both of progressive author. sails to the prevailing winds of ortho- us being natives of that city. Following a divorce, Maury doxy. He never recanted, he never He volunteered to go to Spain in moved to Detroit, and later the fam- flinched. Withal, he wore his virtues April or May of 1937. I had gone ily settled in California. At the time modestly. His example lights the of his death, Maury lived in Desert earlier in February. I was already ✇ way for our children and their in the First Regiment de Tren and Hot Springs. grandchildren until, as the poet said, he was added to that outfit as one of Bill Sennett 8 THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 Spain in the winter of ’95 Continued from page 2 Civil Guard, the elite police force of the initials GAL, were concentrated the last century and a half, has fled in the years 1983-4, and have been Mario Conde, ex-president of one of to no one knows where with hun- an open secret ever since 1983. But the principal banks, Banesto, stands dreds of millions of pesetas extract- only recently have journalistic accused of creaming hundreds of mil- ed from the “reserved funds” of his investigations led to a judicial inves- lions from his own investors by buy- department – after having collected tigation which now threatens to ing and reselling, at enormous prof- fat illegal commissions for years on expose and discredit a number of its, various businesses under his con- the construction contracts for civil well-known political figures. trol. The debts are in Spain, owed to guard barracks. Having related so much bad thousands of Spaniards, and much of These two scandals are especial- news, I also want to assure the the money is in Switzerland, assur- ly serious because they call in ques- readers of this letter that, in my ing us that Conde will not starve. tion the good judgment of the Prime opinion, fundamental Spanish A second whiz kid financier, Minister, Felipe Gonzalez (not him- democracy is not threatened by Javier de la Rosa, lost millions for a self accused of any personal corrup- these scandals. On the contrary, it Spanish bank in the mid-80’s, then tion), in having named those gentle- is a sign of health that swindlers lost more millions for Kuwaiti men to their posts. can be imprisoned, and that police investors, and finally is in prison for abuses can be investigated by inde- losing millions in private and public inally, a CIA-like operation of pendent judges and by a free press. money in Catalonia. The question Fthe early 1980’s has come home Such correctives were not available none of my Catalan friends can to roost. Some officials, not yet fully either during the Franco dictator- answer for me is why the regional identified, evidently used public ship of 1939-75 (where lots of such authorities ever trusted de la Rosa money to subsidize the assassina- economic and police crimes with a cent after his previous tions and attempted assassinations occurred) nor during the superficial- known, indeed well-publicized, pre- of about twenty Basque terrorists. ly democratic but actually oligarchi- vious failures. Since the terrorists were managing cal system of the Spanish monarchy More important from an institu- to kill an average of one person a between 1875 and 1931. However, tional point of view, the governor of week, women and children included, both the economic sloppiness and the bank of Spain, once truly and the official police seemed unable the political scandals show that respected as a financial statesman á to capture them, some desperate while Spain has become a free coun- la Voelcker or Greenspan, turns out government personnel decided that try, with democratic institutions, it to have enriched himself on the secret state-subsidized terrorism is still a country with too little expe- basis of inside information while he was the only answer to the problem. rience of economic efficiency and was governor. And the chief of the The activities this group, known by democratic practice. ✇ The Jarama Monument is dedicated Continued from page 3 anti-fascist poet Rafael Aberti, and Jarama: it was to his advantage when drinks John McGrotty, brother of were being served. It was a moving experience to be Eamon McGrotty, who fell at at Morata for the Jarama memorial Jarama, was brief and to the point. Peter O’Conner, on behalf of the union at Waterford Glass pre- unveiling and to see so many He simply said, “On behalf of the International Brigaders from families of the dead, a thousand sented the sponsoring Spanish organizations with a crystal vase around the world receive some kind thanks for keeping their memories of recognition at last for the anti-fas - alive. May they rest in peace.” i n s c r i b e d with a salute to “our Spanish comrades who fought in cists’ fight. (Incidentally, the fight Whereupon he produced a bottle of goes on here in Wales as well; not “Paddy’ whiskey,” poured some into the anti-fascist struggle, 1936- 1939. No Pasaran.” only did the socialist choir Ray and the cap to sprinkle on what he I are in sing to collect money to referred to as “hallowed ground,” W A L E S — From a letter by repair a bookshop attacked by and then passed the bottle around Wendy Lewis, niece of Lincoln Bri- racists, but just before we left for for a 57-years’ delayed Irish wake! gader Sidney Shosteck, Bob Merri- Spain a group called Combat 18 In Morata itself I was delighted man’s aide killed at Belchite, and (Hitler’s initials) set fire to the to make the acquaintance of Lincoln her husband Ray Davies, nephew of International Brigade memorial in vet Jack Bjoze. Jack’s long hair led Harold Davies, a Welch volunteer in Cardiff, and the plaques have been him to be mistaken for the great the British battalion, killed at removed for cleaning.” ✇ THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 9

Rebels Without a Pause

Institutes (TCI) in midtown Man - Ralph was recently commissioned by Seminar on hattan. He serves as unit chairper - the Smithsonian Magazine to do a son for the college, representing 250 painting about the South Bronx area Spanish of his co-workers. … of New York City. It will appear in Asked about the union today, he the April issue of the magazine. said, “I really support the efforts of Tony had a retrospective exhibit Civil War at the UAW to involve its members last Fall at his alma mater, the politically.” He is also active in his School of Univ. of neighborhood Democratic club, the Education. He has donated two Village Independent Democrats, paintings to the Brandeis archives. where he is chair of the labor com - One is of Toledo, motivated by a Washington mittee. He believes political action is visit there by Tony and his late wife From wide awake Seattle, we critical for the labor movement. ✇ Edna. learn that the University of Wash- He writes: “Edna and I visited ington recently instituted a series of Toledo during the 1986 50th anniver- seminars to specially interest new A Davidow/ sary trip to Spain by the IB ve t e r a n s . students. Veteran Abe Osheroff, pro- Toledo fascinated me as an inner fessor in the Romance Language Montell island, made immemorial by El Department, is leading one on the Greco – a painter I’ve always loved. Spanish Civil War. He reports: “I ended up doing several “We are now in the 4th week of health film Toledo paintings. Included was the the Winter Quarter, and it is an largest, given to the Vets and now exciting experience. In addition to project to Brandeis. Naturally, I put selected readings, we will employ Pasionaria in a prominent place and film, poetry, music and a slide show Health Education Media, Inc., also a reference to the machine gun- of Spanish Civil War posters. headed by Ruth Davidow, VALB ners defending democracy against “There are two objectives in the nurse/veteran, is producing a docu- fascism [Tony was wounded while course, one – to make history come mentary film targeted on the grow- serving with the Special Ma- alive and be exciting; and two – to ing worldwide rise of homelessness chinegun Battalion of the 15th demonstrate the continuing rele- and neo-fascism. Judith Montell will Army Corps – Ed.] vancy of that Good Fight. What a direct the film. Her Forever Activists “The second painting deals with great way to spend your old age!” ✇ earned an Academy Award nomina- the Lincoln vets’ anniversary march tion for its portrayal of the after- in New York City, celebrating our Spain life of the Lincoln Brigade vet- own effort to aid the unending Union paper erans and their organization. struggle against fascism, abroad The planned film is about and and at home.” by activists and it will serve as a Tony also had a laudatory review features bio “how to,” demonstrating that an of Siquieros: His Life and Works, understanding of history con- published in the People’s Weekly of Van Felix tributes to one’s ability to halt the W o r l d . The lengthy biography by ravages of greed and reaction. Philip Stein, copiously illustrated, The newsletter of New York The address to which financial has a chapter dealing with the City Local 210, Technical Office support and queries may be sent is: renowned artist’s service in Spain.* and Professional Union, UAW, Health Education Media, Inc., 1207 That career had a storybook range – Issue No. 3, Winter, 1995, devotes De Haro, San Francisco, CA 94107. ✇ from frontline Lieutenant Colonel in half of its four pages to a biography the famous Fifth Regiment com- of veteran Bill Van Felix. Under the manded by Lister and Modesto, to title “60 years of labor activism,” its Vet artists diplomatic missions in , and lead paragraph quotes Bill: espionage in fascist Italy. ✇ People ask me all the time why, at work at the age of 80, I’m still active in so many things. I guess it’s because I Both Ralph Fasanella and *Siquieros, His Life and Works, by can’t imagine living any other way.” Philip Stein. New York: I n t e r n a t i o n a l Anthony Toney, Lincoln veterans Publishers, 416 pp. text, plus 72 pp illustra- Activism is a life-long habit for with long and acclaimed careers as tions, color and b&w, $49.50, cloth; $29.95 Bill, a teacher at Technical Career painters, remain hard at work. pa p e r . 10 THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995

John Bernard Fisher, the composer of The Last American Heroes, is the son of Veteran Harry Fisher and the late Ruth Fisher. He is a triple namesake of the VALB – added to the Fisher birthright, “John” was bestowed in honor of John Murra, and the “Bernard” for Bernard Entin, killed in the . THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 11 12 THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 Book Reviews

reality in order to win petty, ideo- nent citizens Roy Cohn and David Another logical brownie points. Schine might have concocted in Now comes a long-time “investi- order to put a smirk on the face of brownie gator” for the United States House Senator Joseph McCarthy. The of Representatives who purports to author asserts, with reference to the be an expert on the KGB, terrorism 2,800 , that they were pointer and nefarious Soviet activities. In untrained, poorly armed, led mainly this booklet, Romerstein, who has by incompetents, so that the out- worked in the Soviet archives con- come was never in doubt. There is HEROIC VICTIMS: cerning the International Brigades, the implication that the same tags Stalin’s Foreign Legion in is committed to portraying the could be applied to all the Brigades. the Spanish Civil War International Brigades during and There is no question about the by Herbert Romerstein. after the Spanish conflict as mere wretched armament of all the ele- The Council for the Defense of puppets of the . ments of the Spanish Republican Freedom, Washington, DC, 1994. $7.95. Paper. 118 pp. The very title of the book is a armies. But whose fault was this? gratuitous insult to the 40,000 vol- Our investigator should go to the s an optimist, I had thought unteers from 53 countries who went Public Record Office in A that with the end of the Cold to die in defense of the Spanish where the files of the London-based War there would be an end to the Republic. This is the kind of little Non-Intervention Committee are deliberate distortion of historical verbal stinkbomb that those emi- now open. There he will be able to An exchange on The Odyssey and eter Carroll’s treatment of In 1969, this tale was incorpo- tongue in an unreachable cheek, POliver Law in The Odyssey of rated in a putative history, Between explained that “since both men are the Abraham Lincoln Brigade tends the Bullet and the Lie, which dead, we will never be able to con- to undercut Law as a man of his- repeated the Herrick concoction and firm the story.” toric proportions. Commanding the specified Oliver Law as the com- In two lengthy interviews with Lincoln Battalion, he was the first mander. Cecil Eby was the author Peter Carroll I told him everything African American to lead white sol- and his Spanish work was financed I knew of Oliver Law, whom I had diers in a unit of that size. by a Fulbright fellowship, a conduit greatly admired. In a 1991 letter to I was a battalion runner in those days not free of me he wrote: attached to Law’s command post McCarthyite influence. Eby (the … I’ve found another vet who and was no more than thirty feet historian?) described his source as a saw Oliver Law killed and complete - from him on July 9, 1937, when he vet who was “still living, but not ly confirms your story. Plus, I’ve was struck down by a bullet. He was available for an interview.” found another who attests to Law’s leading the attack on Mosquito Hill Herrick’s lie festered on library courage and competence at Jarama. during the Brunete offensive. I saw shelves for another 17 years. On June So I think we can put an end to all him fall and then the effort of his 22, 1986, it emerged from the wood- those lies and rumors once and for runner, Jerry Weinberg, to drag him work in a three-page Village Voice all. to safety. That’s the essence of Law’s interview by Paul Berman. It had performance in his martyrdom. been enhanced by incorporating the here’s one other item in T h e A false trail of slander against Herrick slander that Law had been TO d y s s e y that I’d like to see Law, which the Odyssey regrettably mortally wounded by his own men changed. Attributed to Law, avoids blasting, began over 25 years who, before he died, “…pissed on him. addressing Merriman, it reads: ago. Its start was a novel, Later on they refused to bury him.” … a row of Italian bombers H e r m a n o s, written in the mid- After VALB’s repeated protests appeared. Seeing a metallic glint, 1960s, about the Americans in and picketing that demanded con- the black volunteer Oliver Law, a Spain. The author was an IB volun- firmation, Herrick tossed in the six-year veteran of the U.S. Army, teer turned informer – William He- names of two long dead Lincoln shouted in his southern accent to rrick. Among other pure fictions, it Brigade heroes: Doug Roach an Merriman, “Lookeee boss, they’re describes the shooting by an African American, dead for half a dropping leaflets.” … American of a commander whose century, and Joe Gordon, a After the raid and a long, long stupidity was always getting his Merchant Marine casualty of World silence, the unabashed Law men killed in battle. War II. Berman, with a short Continued on page 16 THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 13

reconstruct the obscene ballet of all German-Soviet pact of August 1939. And the second consequence was the Western world’s diplomats, who, There is no question but that there that, about a year later, the broken under the pretense of preventing was a certain degree of historical fragments of the French army were the spread of the Spanish conflict, blindness that distorted the vision, in flight towards what was now a maintained an iron embargo not only of the Spanish Civil War hostile frontier. When the great against armaments for the Republic veterans, but of large parts of the moral challenge came in Spain, it while Germany and Italy, whose population of the western world. It became clear that the British elite, representatives sat on this is important to recall some of the in and out of government, preferred Committee, carried out a veritable indisputable facts of the case. The Franco to the Republic. When the invasion of Spain. This was the Polish government, in whose United States Congress, under pres- Committee, at one of whose sessions defense and France sure from right-wing and Catholic the Italian representative said, declared war against Germany, was forces, passed the Neutrality Act, “The Italian troops who are now in a semi-fascist state that had partici- the isolation of the Spanish Spain will not leave until they have pated with the Nazis in the dis- Republic was complete. The Nobel assured the victory of General memberment of Czechoslovakia. It Laureate poet Pablo Neruda, who Franco!” This was gallows humor was a state notorious for its mis- had been in Spain, and saw the that will be remembered long after treatment of its Jewish, Russian prophetic quality of its struggle, the wretches who listened in silence and Ukrainian populations. The wrote the following: have been forgotten. political figures in the west, who had been passive while the Spain tore the earth with her nails t should be remembered that Rhineland was occupied, Austria When was most beautiful. I whenever the Republic achieved grabbed, Czechoslovakia betrayed, Spain poured out her enormous any parity in armament, its ama- were now at the helm of govern- tree of blood teur forces could carry the field. At ments supposedly committed to an When London tended its garden Guadalajara, where four mecha- anti-fascist struggle. These were the and its lake of swans. nized Italian divisions and two of same politicians, in the main, who the best fascist divisions attempted had refused an alliance with the The American volunteers along to seize Madrid, they were crushed Soviet Union and had been virtual with their embattled brethren of the by two Spanish divisions (Lister co-conspirators in the expansion of other International Brigades, con- and Campesino) and two of the the power of the nascent interna- tributed generously to this enormous International Brigades, the 11th tional fascist axis. They had accept- tree. That is why, when they left and 12th. This came about because ed Japan’s claim that its marauding Spain, they were told, “You can go for the first and last time, the in China was “to suppress Red ban- proudly; you are history, you are leg- Republic, thanks to Soviet ship- dits.” In the Ethiopian crisis, end.” There is nothing in any archive, ments, could put over the battlefield Leopold Amery, speaking in the anywhere in the world, that can falsi- 40 bombers and 60 fighter planes. It House of Commons, said, “His fy that sad farewell, or that a goes without saying that if the same majesty’s government is not dis- Romerstein can distort out of context. ratio of armament had been main- posed to give modern weapons to Of course the nature of the war tained, the Republic could have tri- black Africans.” changed when the Axis attacked the umphed, and world history there- Soviet Union. It changed again when after might not have taken the trag- efore the Germans invaded the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor ic turn that it did. B , the highest reaches of and the European Axis declared war As to the competence of military French society had been penetrated against the United States. Then, and leadership, there is no question but by local fascists and secret agents of only then, did World War II assume that the Americans and Canadians Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. the character of a people’s crusade were more amateur outfits than the There were two results of this politi- against fascism. other Brigades. But then one must cal rot: the Spanish refugees who Of course the veterans advocat- recall that the embattled farmers at crossed the Pyrenees in flight from ed a second front in Europe, a front Lexington and Concord were civil- Franco were treated with extreme to be opened as soon as material ians with guns. One might say the brutality. They were herded onto means were available. We had not same thing about the ragged Sans beaches, with little water and no been a military kindergarten in Culottes who stopped the feudal sanitation. They were ringed with Spain. We realized the terrible con- invaders of revolutionary France. barbed wire and guarded by sequences for Americans, above all, Romerstein seeks to indict the Senegalese troops who spoke nei- if the eastern front collapsed. It was Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln ther Spanish nor French. Of course Brigade for their response to the the American veterans protested. Continued on page 16 14 THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995

News From Abroad

shared equally. Wages and pensions work of a few, towards achieving Russia are lagging far behind living costs. the erection of a memorial monu- The final result is that the newly- ment and the unveiling of plaques ercy Ludwick’s latest Moscow rich are becoming richer, and the to honor the Mac-Paps. … The Pmissive [Dec. 30, 1994] reports poor, poorer. As regards Sasha selected rock [from Gandesa] is that he examined an interesting IB [Percy’s wife] and myself personal- finally in Toronto.. The unveiling archive document. Dated October ly, we have privileges. As Second will not take place until the 23, 1938, and addressed to the World War veterans, we have a fifty Spring. Army of the Ebro, his letter percent discount on rents, electrici- “With the Gandesa Memorial describes it as: ty, telephone bills, free drugs and Rock bedded down for the winter, “… a ‘List of distinguished com- transport, and above-the-average awaiting resurrection in the spring, rades in the 15th Internationals, pensions... attention was directed to our major ‘signed by as the “Spain and the International ambition – the erection of a com- ‘Commissar, of Internationals of the Brigades arouse little interest now memorative monument in Ottawa, 15th Brigade’: with us. Our work among the a decision voted by the Mac-Pap “The numbered names are: schools has come to an end. veterans several years ago. The ‘1. Major, Sam Wild, British; 2. Idealism is not to the taste of our Mac-Paps also voted in favor of Commissar, John Gates, American; youngsters today. They are very engraving on the monument the 3. Malcolm Dunbar, Major, British; pragmatic. names of all Canadian volunteers. 4. Captain, James Ruskin, British; “Some ‘historians’ call the Inter- … Sculptors will be invited to sub- 5. Captain, Owen Smith, American; national Brigaders ‘soldiers of for- mit designs from which a committee 6. Captain, George Fletcher, tune’ who went to Spain to become of judges would select the winning ✇ British; 7. Commissar, Robert rich and have a fine time. Even the sculpture.” Cooney, British; 8. Captain, John decisive role of the Soviet Union in Power, Irish; 9. Major, Milton Wolff, overthrowing Nazi Germany during American; 10. Commissar, George the Second World War is being Watt, American; 11. Major, E. C. questioned. England Smith, Canadian; 12. Commissar, “Things with us, as usual, go to extremes. Seventy years of Soviet Frank Rogers, American; 13. rom London, Bill Alexander rule have brought nothing but dis- Soldier, George Murray, British; 14. writes: aster. But many people, however, do F , American; 15. “Thank you for sending me the not agree with this. Teniente, William Matvenko, photocopies of Bernard Knox’s “Although our numbers are Canadian; 16. Captain Robert reviews in the N.Y. Review of Books dwindling, our Spanish bureau is Walker, British; 17. Soldado, Tony – actually he had sent them to me. I still functioning, thanks to a hand- Martin, Canada; 18. Teniente, am in correspondence with him over ful of enthusiasts. Pasionaria’s cen- Percy Ludwick, British; 19. Soldado, his comments on ’s A tenary next year will hardly be Jim Bourne, American; 20. Moment of War, which is a complete marked officially. Teniente, Manuel Estevez, [no fantasy – Laurie did not get nearer “I’m sorry to end my letter on country given].’” the front than Barcelona. such a pessimistic note. Sasha and I More currently, Percy contin- “Our members for many reasons send you and all the American vets ues: – old age, poverty, etc. – could not our regards and best wishes for a “Things with us seem to be join us in Madrid in October. The happy New Year. Salud! ” ✇ going from bad to worse. This decisive thing is that the memorial December alone, food prices in went up.” ✇ Moscow have grown by fifty per- cent. Rents, electricity and tele- phone bills have also risen steeply, Canada and nobody knows when all this Sweden anarchy is going to stop. Sober- rom Etobicoke (Toronto) The minded people understand that the FAssociation of Veterans and rom Stockholm, our Swedish built in the Soviet Union Friends of the MacKenzie-Papineau Fcomrades inform us that their has proved itself inadequate, that Battalion, in a communication organization has been dissolved. is inevitable in Russia. signed by Paul Skup, informs that: Reduced now to only a few sur- But the trouble is that the cost of “There has been some continuing vivors, they are unable to continue the economic reform is not being progress, thanks to the dedicated functioning. Arrangements have THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 15

News From Abroad been made for maintenance of their mentary on the veterans of the vets from the USA, Britain and records and archives. International Brigades and the Ireland are seen and heard. Among Nearly 500 Swedish volunteers Spanish Civil War. them are Steve Nelson, George served in Spain. They fought in all The authors of the film are Emil Watt, Milt Wolff, Bill Bailey, Bill the IB campaigns, as well as the Weiss and Jorge Amat, who was its Alexander, Bernard Knox, Bill guerrilla forces of the Republic – director. Their finished work, a Susman, Milt Felsen, Charlie 162 died in battle. ✇ three-hour long documentary, was Nusser, and Bill Alexander. telecast serially last year. A copy Full critical evaluation of the brought here in January was eager- film’s storyline was hindered by the ly and appreciatively previewed by lack of English subtitles. However, France the VALB staff in New York, as well our VALB and ALBA cinema experts as Veteran film experts Milt Felsen are aiding the director-author’s rep- and Bill Susman in . resentative, Laura Barton, to obtain French film crew, back in The exciting core of the picture a showing at a U.S. film festival. A 1993, on location in the USA, consists of much wartime footage They are strongly urging the produc- taped interviews with a number of and contemporary interviews with ers that it be shortened to increase Lincoln brigaders for a projected IB veterans of many European its chances for the documentary government-sponsored TV d o c u- countries. Many English-speaking market in the USA. ✇ Thanks from Cuba 8 Books on the IB Havana City, reviewed in NYRB November 18, 1994 Dear Friends, n omnibus two-part review of eight books by and It was with great pleasure that we received in our A about International brigaders appeared in successive Cardiocenter at the William Soler Pediatric Hospital issues (December 1 and 15, 1994) of the prestigious Ne w in Havana, your donation of a Dinamap Vital Signs York Review of Books (NYRB). They were written by Monitor which enables us to measure the arterial Bernard Knox, himself a veteran of the International pressure of our patients through a non-invasive Brigades’ British Battalion and World War II. method. We are moved by your valuable contribution The earlier NYR issue dealt with five titles: Fallen and the gesture of solidarity that it represents. S p a r r o w s : The International Brigades in the Spanish This was the first pediatric hospital inaugurated by Civil War, by Michael Jackson; The Odyssey of the the Cuban Revolution over 30 years ago and it bears the Abraham Lincoln brigade, by Peter N. Carroll; T h e name of William Soler, a child who, at the age of 14, Prisoners of the Good Fight, by Carl Geiser; R e m e m - was killed in the City of Santiago de Cuba, struggling bering Spain: Hemingway’s Civil War Eulogy, and the against the tyrannical regime of Fulgencio Batista. Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, essays by Over these years, our hospital has turned into one Milton Wolff and Cary Nelson (includes a tape of hem- of the most important multi-disciplinary pediatric ingway’s recording of the eulogy); and Another Hill, An centers in the country, and its Cardiocenter provides Autobiographical Novel by Milton Wolff. medical attention to pediatric patients with congeni- The second set of Knox’s reviews included: E d w i n tal heart disease who are referred to us by a national Rolfe: Collected Poems, edited by Cary Nelson and cardiopediatric network across the country. At the Jefferson Hendricks; Edwin Rolfe: A B i o g r a p h i c a l same time, hundreds of children from Latin America Essay, by Cary Nelson and Jefferson Hendricks, and A and Africa who have needed such services have been Moment of War: A memoir of the Spanish Civil War, by operated on in our Cardiocenter. Laurie Lee. ✇ In spite of the difficult economic situation that our country is facing at present, we have been able to con- tinue providing such high cost service and medical By arrangement with the NYRB publisher, read- attention to these patients and their families, thanks ers of The Volunteer may obtain a photocopied set of to the efforts of our government and the solidarity of the Knox reviews by sending $5 to the VALB at 799 friends from all over the world. Broadway, New York, NY 10003-6811, requesting With our very best wishes, “NYRB reviews,” and, of course, including the Dr. Felipe Cárdenas sender’s address. 16 THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 Another brownie pointer

Continued from page 13 As to the competency of our officers, . look at the World War II record of The Soviet officers who gave one thing to go from the beaches of Thompson, Wellman, Bottcher, tactical and strategic advice to the Normandy to meet the Red Army on Watt, inter alia. Spanish Republican forces went on the banks of the Elbe River. It to command the armies that would have been infinitely worse to his response to Romerstein’s dia- destroyed the Wehrmacht. Let us go from that point of departure to Ttribe would not be complete with- note particularly the turning point meet them on the Volga or in the out mentioning the World War II at Stalingrad, where the field com- foothills of the Ural mountains. achievements of our foreign brothers. mander, Eremenko, the four divi- So the premature anti-fascists Colonel Rol of the 14th International sional commanders, and the sector of Spain then embarked to meet Brigade commanded the insurrection commanders, including Rodimtsev their old enemy on all the far-flung that liberated Paris. Tito’s partisans, and Chuikov, were all veterans of battlefields of World War II. who pinned down more German the Spanish front. It wasn’t lack of Romerstein asserts that in Spain troops than were deployed against military skill that made us victims. we were incompetently led. He finds the Fifth and Eighth Armies in Italy, It was the crushing superiority, in the archives the mordant gripes were led by 13 generals, twelve of often ten- and twelve-to-one in mod- of the foot soldier. This was proba- them came from the 13th ern weapons, that made our sacri- bly true of the Greek infantry at International Brigade. General fice both unnecessary and tragic. Marathon and for soldiers ever Walter of the 13th International Next year, the world will cele- since. Romerstein would probably Brigade commanded one of the brate the 50th anniversary of the tri- be shocked if he heard what soldiers Polish armies that marched from umph of the Allies over fascist bar- in the Pacific had to say about Warsaw to Berlin. Colonel Pacciardi barism. We are certain that during General MacArthur or Admiral of the 12th International Brigade those festivities the premature anti- Nimitz. The Americans of the became the first minister of defense fascists will be well remembered. ✇ Spanish war offered their services in the post-war World War II It a l i a n Robert G. Colodny to the American government and its government. Captain Wintringham Professor Emeritus military officials. Where we were of the 15th International Brigade of History, University of accepted, we did as well as any unit. organized the home guard for ; VALB An exchange on The Odyssey and Oliver Law

Continued from page 12 Peter Carroll responds whether Wolfe made the story up completely or was influenced by exclaimed, “Boss Merriman, them do not disagree fundamentally someone else’s “information.” In any was sure powerful leaflets.” (p. 99) I with Harry Fisher’s assessment case, my research supports Harry’s of Oliver Law. But there are a cou- views about the death of Oliver It is unthinkable that this “min- ple of points that may be of interest Law. strel show” performance in a “south- to your readers. Herrick’s novel was The question of the “powerful ern” accent was put on by Law in not the first fictional account of the leaflets” should not be taken liter- any setting worth quoting seriously. assassination of a “Negro” comman- ally. As Harry points out, I found Even the sources cited are most sus- der of the Lincoln Battalion. In two totally independent sources pect – Herrick for one, an insensi- 1959, a novelist named Bernard saying exactly the same thing. tive turncoat and proven informer, Wolfe published The Great Prince Herrick assured me he had not and Millie Bennett, a reporter, who Died, in which an African American heard it from someone else, but was not at the scene. named “Sheridan Justice” is savage- “with his own ears.” And Millie Pete Carroll, in a recent letter to ly tortured and killed by his own Bennett, a very close friend of me, quotes an “unnamed battalion men. I suspect (although I cannot Robert Merriman, recorded the officer,” who attributes cowardice and prove the point) that Herrick’s ver- story as if she had heard it from inexperience to Law at Brunete. On sion was inspired by Wolfe’s Prince. him. But so what? After a terrific the charge of cowardice – I’ve refuted One reason I make that claim is bomb explosion, a soldier like Law that above, and “inexperience” quite that both of the veterans Herrick might well crack a joke to ease the accurately describes a characteristic claimed had informed him of the tension. And the story was repeat- possessed by all the early Lincoln assassination, as I explain in my ed not to show Law’s ignorance, Brigade commanders. ✇ book, vigorously denied his charges. but the human quality of his Harry Fisher That does leave open the question of humor. ✇ THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 17

Culling the mail sack

✇ Ronald V. Dellums, Member of Congress, writes mance by Luis Oropeza of his play, The Assassination of to the Bay Area Post from Washington, D.C.: Federico Garcia Lorca. They will be exhibited later this “Dear Milt and Friends of the VALB: I regret that I year at the Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art along- am unable to join you for the annual dinner. I under- side a show of works of Picasso.” stand this will be a special event commemorating histor- ✇ ical art and photos, songs and other testimonials. From L o n d o n, Thelma Frye (stage name “As always, I wish you the best. I especially enjoy Thelma Ruby) writes (in part): the times I have had the opportunity to join in these cel- “I enclose a contribution and would like it to be record- ebrations because I always receive inspiration from all ed as being “in memory of my beloved husband Peter Frye of you. Your ongoing work to support the work of local and our friends Charlie Nusser, Al Prago and Steve and international activities to achieve a better world is Nelson.” It is so tough to lose a bunch of friends and even more important than ever. I look forward to continuing more tough when they die at the same time. I can’t tell to work with you.” you how much I miss Charlie’s wonderful, frequent letters and his cuttings from . As I read the ✇ A comprehensive, compact history of the nurses who biographies of the vets who have recently died, it rein- served in the Spanish Civil War appears in the Nu r s i n g forces my belief that you are a unique and great bunch of History Review, Volume 3, 1995, under the title Heroines of human beings and I am very privileged to know you. the Good Fight. The author is Frances Patai, New York “As for me, it has been a mixed year. I did a very good associate of the VALB, and Adjunct Lecturer at Manhattan comedy TV series. It has been bought by the U.S. – called Community College of the City University of New York. So Haunt Me. I am in three episodes of the 2nd series and Within a carefully annotated 25 pages, Patai pre- 4 episodes of the 3rd. It’s about a Jewish ghost! sents a concise and moving study of the cadre and the “I am going on a trip to China, and when I get back, caliber of nurses who served in the Medical Bureau to I go into Fiddler on the Roof, playing Goldie opposite Aid Spanish Democracy. Topol’s Tevye. It will be the fourth time I have done the Their history and their heroism, paralleling that of part and the third opposite Topol. The only certain dates the frontline soldiers, is described and documented by are Eastbourne and Birmingham here in England, but the testimony – oral and written, contemporary and ret- there is a strong probability that afterward we will go to rospective – of the women Volunteers themselves. Dublin, Oslo, Hong Kong, the U.S. and Israel.” ✇ We have a West Coast aviso from Herman and ✇ Bill Wheeler has moved diagonally cross-country Mildred Rosenstein that their son Paul was elected mayor from Mission Hills, California, to Athens, . He of the city of Santa Monica, California, in December. reports that , his VALB neighbor in , has already booked him to lecture at a ✇ Further proving that the electoral climate of Unitarian Church, free-for-all discussion group. Southern California is indeed very special, Raven B. Earlygrow, mayor of Point Arena, CA, writes: ✇ From Kansas City, Kansas, Fred Whitehead’s “My father George (Auvan) Chaikin brought back a journal, People’s Culture (new Series #24/25) plugs the fairly significant collection of posters, postcards and cal- VALB and The Volunteer. This occasionally published endars from Spain. Following his death several years critical/cultural newsletter deserves some hearty reciproc- ago, I had them mounted and they had their first public ity – a year’s supply (6 issues) may be had for $15 from: showing last month in conjunction with a stage perfor- People’s Culture, Box 5224, Kansas City, KS 66119.

Added to Memory’s Roster Abroad

the legendary 5th Regiment that the outbreak of World War II. As a Enrique Lister saved Madrid in the winter of 1936- general, he commanded a division (Spain) 37, Lister rose to become a division in the Nazi rout at Stalingrad. and army corps commander whose The Lincoln vets and friends ithin a few weeks after units were always in action along- who participated in the 1986 50th Wattending the dedication of side the International Brigades. anniversary trip to Spain will vivid- the Morata de Tajuña monument at When the Republic fell, Lister’s ly recall Lister’s host role at the Jarama, Enrique Lister died in a army group retreated into F r a n c e . major events in Madrid and Madrid hospital on December 9, He found exile in the Soviet Union, Barcelona. ✇ 1994. He was a commandante of where he joined the Red Army at Continued on page 18 18 THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 Book on VALB letters from Spain nearly done; more material sought

he first book-length collection of of the letters we are using could not be nurses, doctors and social workers. Tletters written by American volun- higher. Many of you will be surprised We have tried to represent all the teers in Spain is nearly done. It will be by the detailed and often unique sto- Americans who came to the defense about 500 pages and will include let- ries people were able to write home of the Spanish Republic. ters, diaries and photographs. We’ve from time to time. Even those of you Those of you who have letters, signed a contract with a New York who were in Spain may discover diaries or photographs you would publisher, Routledge; they are excited things you did not know before, espe- like to have considered for the book about the book and plan to work hard cially as some of the volunteers who can call Cary Nelson at 217-256- to get it in bookstores across the coun- lost their lives in Spain will tell their 0649 or send them to his home try. We expect the book to be in print stories for the first time. address: 808 South Lynn St., in January of 1996. The book is divided into eleven Champaign, IL 61820. Time, howev- Veterans and their family mem- chapters: Why We Went – On the er, is very short. If you would send bers across the country have been Way to Spain – In Training – In original letters or photos we will generous in sharing their precious Spanish Villages and Cities–In copy them and return them to you. and irreplaceable documents with Battle: 1937 – In Battle – 1938 – We are especially interested in let- us. Both the New York office and the From Madrid to Barcelona – The ters about Jarama and letters from ✇ Bay Area Vets have worked hard Medical Services – The Regiment de African American volunteers. and successfully not only to gather Tren – Politics – On the Way Home. Cary Nelson letters for the book but also to collect It includes letters by soldiers, and Jeff Hendricks a series of extraordinary testimoni- als from prominent Americans to place on the book’s jacket. The collections at Brandeis and ALBA-George Watt Berkeley have been an important and essential resource. The quality Memorial Essay Contest o encourage the study of the awards is April 1, 1996. For the Memory’s Roster T Lincoln Brigade and the inaugural year, essays written in Continued from page 17 Spanish Civil War, the Abraham 1994-1996 will be eligible. Essays Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) must be at least 5,000 words. announces establishment of the Applicants should submit 5 copies Lloyd Edmonds ALBA-George Watt memorial of the essay, typed, double spaced, (Australia) prizes for the best college student with an SASE for return. Entries essays about the Spanish war, the should be mailed to: mirah Inglis writes with the anti-fascist struggles of the 1930s, news of the death of Lloyd A or the lifetime histories of the Peter Carroll, Chair Edmonds, veteran of the Interna- Americans who participated in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade tional Brigades, who served in Spanish war. Archives the Transport section. Lloyd died Box LII, Brandeis University Two prizes of $500 will be on September 18, 1994, of a Waltham MA 02254 heart attack. He was buried pri- awarded each year – one to the vately but there will be a public best undergraduate paper, one to The first awards will be memorial service for him in the best graduate student paper; announced on June 1, 1996. The M e l b o u r n e . runner-up awards of $250 may be judges will be appointed by the Inglis included an obit which presented if the papers submitted ALBA executive committee. noted that Lloyd unveiled the IB merit them. Papers will be judged Funding for this generous memorial in Canberra almost a on the basis of originality, effec- award came from private donors year ago, and this year, on the tiveness of argument and quality who wished to commemorate the anniversary of the unveiling, a of writing. Papers must use both memory of veteran George Watt group of vets will gather at a pic- primary and secondary sources (1914-1994). With additional dona- nic where “We will think of Lloyd and must have been written to ful- tions, ALBA hopes to enlarge the and drink a toast to the memory fill a course or degree requirement. awards to include prizes for high of a fine man.” ✇ The deadline for the first school student s as well. ✇ THE VOLUNTEER, SPRING 1995 19

Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives cordially invite you to our PROGRAM

58th Annual Tony Randall, actor — Master of Ceremonies Anniversary Cary Nelson — English Literature Professor, Univ. of Ill. Mimi Turque, actor — Kiss of the Spider Woman Dinner Henry Foner — Retired president, Fur & Leather Union Jerrold L. Nadler — U.S. Representative, 8th CD, NY Sunday, April 30, 1995 Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln brigade at the Sheraton-New York 799 Broadway, Suite 227 52nd St. & Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10003-6811 • 1-212 674-5552 ❑ Enclosed please find my check for $______for______Cocktails: 12 noon • Dinner: 1 pm tickets to the 58th Anniversary Dinner at $45 each. Check box if fish or vegetarian preferred to chicken: $45.00 ❑ Fish______(no.) Please make your reservations early ❑ Vegetarian______(no.) Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade ❑ I cannot attend the dinner, but I am enclosing my check for $ ______799 Broadway, Room 227 to acquire and catalog the IBArchives and for the ongoing activities of ALBA and VALB. New York, NY 10003-6811 Name (Print) ______

Address ______If you wish to attend please fill out the adjacent coupon, City______State______Zip_____ cut it out and mail it in as soon as possible. Please make checks payable to the VALB and mail to the above address.

An appeal

Yes! I believe that a contribution to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade has a unique quality. It brings The Volunteer to its readers, free of charge, helps meet the expenses of the office where the persisting Veteran staff carries on; and assures VALB support for causes consistent with its 60- year tradition.

Here’s my contribution of $______

Name ______

Address ______

City ______State ______Zip ______

Mail to: Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, 799 Broadway, Rm. 227, New York, NY 10003 Contributors

Zelda Alberti for Tony, $25 ✇ Al Amery in memory of Rudy Haber, $10 ✇ Isabel Auerbach, $10 ✇ Andres Avellaneda, $20 ✇ Mark, with Jeanette Alper, in memory of my brother Ben, $50 ✇ John Bandres, $10 ✇ Irving Barr, $50 ✇ Chris Brooks for Charlie Nusser, Harry Levine and Paul Wendorf, $25 ✇ Leila C. Broughton, $25 ✇ Megan Cogswell in memory of my father Theodore Cogswell, $50 ✇ Joe Differding for Mel Anderson and Frank Madigan, $30 ✇ Sophie Fitzgerald, $15 ✇ Dr. P.A. Freeman, $25 ✇ Thelma Frye in memory of my beloved husband Peter Frye and our friends Charlie Nusser, Al Prago and Steve Nelson, $200 ✇ Irving Gold, $10 ✇ Alan Gonzales, $50 ✇ Herbert Grossman, $10 ✇ H. David Hammond, $10 ✇ Marianne Iceland for Ben, $45 ✇ Martin Jacobs, $30 ✇ Clarence Kailin, $20 ✇ Charles Kaufman, $20 ✇ Lillian Kaufman for Sid Kauman, $200 ✇ Thomas Keenan for Felix Kusman, $50 ✇ Karel Kiliminik, $20 ✇ Hazel Klein in memory of Sy Klein, $10 ✇ Irene and Irving Kohn in memory of Sophie Saloff, $100 ✇ David Kolodoff, $10 ✇ Al Koslow, $10 ✇ Dana Lehman, $50 ✇ Clara Levine, $20 ✇ Betty Marion, $20 ✇ Aurelia Masarsky for Charles Nusser, $20 ✇ Chris McFail,$20 ✇ Thelma Mielke, $25 ✇ Annie Moy in memory of George Chaikin ✇ Ruth E. Neri in memory of my father, Dino Neri, $50 ✇ Edith and Sol Newman, $20 ✇ Warren Nusser for Charlie Nusser, $25 ✇ Perley B. Payne for Tom O’Flaherty and Luke Hinman, $100 ✇ Blas Padrino for Steve Nelson, $25 ✇ John Penrod, $25 ✇ David Rafiel, $50 ✇ Jeffrey Lee Rocket, $20 ✇ Adolph and Lillian Ross, $50 ✇ Lillian Ross, $10 ✇ Samuel Schiff for the Americans who served with the Garibaldis, $35 ✇ Rosemarie Schober in memory of Hans Beimler, $100 ✇ Lou and Ev Schwartz, Janet Schwartz and Howard Spivak, Karen and Sarah Schwartz, on Herb Freeman’s birth- day in memory of Jack Freeman, $200 ✇ Roy Selby, MD, for all the Lincolns, $50 ✇ Max Shufer, $50 ✇ Sam Sills, $25 ✇ Roberta Soules, $10 ✇ Birdie and George Sossenko in memory of Carl Einstein, $30 ✇ Sonia Stolman in honor of Moe Fishman, $30 ✇ Vivian Stromberg in honor of Norma Becker, $65 ✇ Loretta Szelich for Ann Reel and Lenny Lamb, $10 ✇ S. Savilla Teiger for the 80th birthday of David Goldberg ✇ Corinne Thornton for Bill Bailey and Rudy Valuch, $40 ✇ Arendje Visser for Bill Bailey, $25 ✇ Lise Vogel, $50 ✇ S.C. Volinsky, $10 ✇ Al Warren in memory of Maury Colow and Steve Nelson, $100 ✇

The Volunteer c/o Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade 799 Broadway, Rm. 227 New York, NY 10003

(Return Address Requested Please Forward)