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“...and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” ABRAHAM LINCOLN TheThe Volunteerolunteer JOURNAL OF THEV VETERANS OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE

December 2007

The Bay Area post was serenaded at their annual picnic by Bruce Barthol, Nayo Ulloa, and Heather Bridger, accompanied by vets (left to right) Ted Veltfort, Hilda Roberts, Milt Wolff (in back), Dave Smith, and Nate Thornton (far right). Photo by Richard Bermack.

INSIDE Puffin Education Grant, inside cover. CP Archives, page 7. National Monument dedication March 30, page 1. Journalists of the Spanish Civil War, page 9. Winner, National History Day Competition, page 2. Paul Robeson in Spain, Ch. 2, page 11. Vandalism, Dark Side of Memory, page 3. War Medicine, page 14. Spanish Civil War Exhibits, page 4. Book Reviews, page 19. Letter From the Editor The long-dreamed plan for a national memorial to the The Volunteer Abraham Lincoln Brigade is about to be realized. Many Journal of the people deserve special appreciation for the long hours they Veterans of the have put into the project, but what has also emerged is Abraham Lincoln Brigade amazing grassroots support, not only from the usual sus- an ALBA publication pects, but also from people who have not been involved in 799 Broadway, Suite 341 our activities. Contributions small and large have come New York, NY 10003 from unexpected sources. (212) 674-5398 I think that’s because this memorial looks in two direc- Editorial Board tions: to the past and to the future. It is not merely Peter N. Carroll • Gina Herrmann nostalgic, but also historical, and the process continues to Fraser Ottanelli • Abe Smorodin unfold. Book Review Editor The creators of the memorial, Ann Chamberlain and Shirley Mangini Walter Hood, make this point explicitly in the description of Art Director-Graphic Designer their objectives: "To make active the process is perhaps what Richard Bermack is most difficult in art; to enable the viewing of a work to Editorial Assistance become an act of participation or of bearing witness." Nancy Van Zwalenburg “Our challenge,” they go on, “is to create a memory that actively engages and provokes the imagination of Submission of Manuscripts Please send manuscripts by E-mail or on disk. those who visit it. We want to inspire movement; to narrate, E-mail: [email protected] to motivate and to direct observers to listen, understand, and act. We want to create a theater of history in which any people could imagine themselves participating in the story poised to assume this solemn duty. The inauguration of the of Americans so impassioned by their beliefs they gave national memorial in San Francisco this spring and a public their lives in the Spanish Civil War fighting fascism.” event we are planning for next fall will mark this sad but unavoidable transition. At these events, in the presence of Some years ago, the last nationally elected officers of the last remaining veterans of the Abraham Lincoln the VALB drew up a legal agreement providing for ALBA Brigade, ALBA will reaffirm its pledge to honor and per- to become the sole entity to represent the veterans organi- petuate their outstanding legacy. zation beginning in 2008. With their numbers —Peter N. Carroll dwindling—there are 43 vets alive at last count—ALBA is Puffin Foundation Gives $1 Million! In a dramatic gesture of support to ALBA, the orga- Rosenstein, long a supporter of progressive arts, cul- nization’s most loyal and generous benefactor, The tural, and educational projects throughout the country, Puffin Foundation, Ltd. of Teaneck, New Jersey, has stressed the importance of continuing the legacy of announced the creation of a special $1 million fund “to “activism and commitment of the Abraham Lincoln further the cultural and education policies set forth in Brigade as an inspiration for present and future ALBA’s mission statement.” generations.” According to the terms of the new grant, the fund is “This is a tremendous boost to our organization, to be used exclusively for ALBA cultural and educa- promising to continue our recent successes in promot- tional programs, relying primarily on the fund’s annual ing public awareness of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade earnings to underwrite specific projects. through education and outreach programs,” said the Recognizing ALBA’s remarkable expansion during delighted ALBA Chair Peter Carroll. “This gift the past decade, Puffin Foundation President Perry Continued next page The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Memorial: Aiming for March 30 Debut Brigade, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, the San Francisco Mayor’s Office, the Port Commission, the Arts Commission, the City Attorney and our own pro bono counsel, our friends and supporters who helped and sent in monetary contributions, and the two brilliant artists—Ann Chamberlain and Walter Hood—who designed our memorial with its vision of past and future. Come to San Francisco to pay trib- ute to the legacy of those 3,000 women and men who went to Spain to con- front the terrors of fascism. Pay tribute to the 800 who did not come back and to the others whose lives were forever The monument team: (l to r standing) Walter Hood, Judy Montell, Emily Lazarre, Dave Smith, Ann Chamberlain, and Alice Shaw; (seated) Chris Reed, Linda Lustig and changed by the experience of war. Martha Olson-Jarocki. Photo by Peter Glazer. Honor the progressive tradition they embodied. Carry on the legacy of even years of committee meet- Join us! Join this remarkable com- commitment to social justice and ings, another year of contract munity that put together an incredible democracy. Snegotiations—it’s all over but the memorial to the Abraham Lincoln We are still planning the day’s sandblasting and the celebrations. Brigade: The Bay Area Veterans & events, but count on seeing dignitaries March 30, 2008. Write it down! Associates of the Abraham Lincoln from Spain, including Judge Baltasar Garzón (who indicted Chile’s dictator Pinochet), as well as home-grown challenges us to do more than The Puffin Foundation has also celebrities, longtime allies, and we’ve ever done before.” supported the publication of exhi- upstarts you’d like to know. Expect For the past 15 years, the Puffin bition catalogues and special issues entertainment, but solemnity, too. Foundation has encouraged and of The Volunteer, as well as the More details will follow in mail- supported nearly all of ALBA’s ALBA-Susman Lectures, the serial- ings to all, but don’t be shy about projects, including the exhibitions ized graphic story “Paul Robeson telling your friends. “Shouts From the Wall: Posters of in Spain,” and numerous symposia, As John Sayles has said, “in a the Spanish Civil War,” “Aura of panel discussions, and film world run by cynics, in a time when the Cause,” “They Still Draw screenings. caring about someone you’ve never Pictures: Children’s Art in “We are eager to carry the met is seen as weakness or treachery, Wartime,” “The Cultural Legacy of work forward,” said Carroll, “but how much strength have we taken the Abraham Lincoln Brigade,” and clearly we could not do it without from the thought of them, how much most recently, “Facing Fascism: the support of the progressive com- pride and comfort to be able to say, New York & the Spanish Civil munity. We are very grateful to Mr. ‘But what about the guys in the War,” which opens this month in Rosenstein and our supporters at Lincoln Brigade!’” Spain. the Puffin Foundation.”

THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 1 Wisconsin Student Wins First Place in National History Day Competition This article is reprinted from the Holmen dad and said, ‘It’s OK. We came and Courier (Wisconsin) with permission of we had fun.’” the River Valley Newspaper Group. But when he heard the emcee say By Adam Bissen / Lee “Cody Haro, Holmen, Wis., first Newspapers place,” Haro said, “I couldn’t believe it. HOLMEN, Wis. — As he sat in the I ran down the steps of the stadium, University of Maryland’s old basket- and I almost fell. It was all a big blur, ball arena and heard the names of two running down there and getting the of the top finishers in the National award.” History Day competition, Holmen For taking first place in the senior High School junior Cody Haro didn’t individual exhibit division, the think he would be returning to National History Day organization Wisconsin with a medal. presented Haro with a gold medal and Yes, his project on American sol- $1,000 monetary award. diers fighting in the Spanish Civil War But the day of accolades didn’t was meticulously researched and took end there. Near the end of the cere- first place in the state finals. But after mony, held June 14, the University of Minnesota presented Haro with an additional award: a $20,000 and black and white photos came out scholarship. wrinkled by the humidity. According to Mary Nugent, Haro’s “So we know Cody’s project didn’t National History Day adviser at win on glitz,” Nugent said. “It won on Holmen High School, Haro is the first the story and his research and his Wisconsin student to take first at the analysis.” national finals. Haro’s project was on the When he began researching his Abraham Lincoln battalion, a group of project last summer, it was Haro’s goal about 3,000 American volunteers who to place at the national competition. fought against fascism during the He spent every weekend for five Spanish Civil War of 1936-39. months with his nose in a book, then In addition to a mountain of created a three-sided display with books, periodicals, radio reports and matted photographs that was as big as published interview transcripts, what contest rules allowed. likely impressed the History Day His project was good enough to judges the most about Haro’s project win the state finals in April, but after was the extra effort he put into gather- seeing the museum-like displays of arriving in Maryland on June 9, Haro ing research. Haro drove to Madison his 107 competitors, Haro almost wasn’t sure if his project would even to interview a 92-year-old veteran of tuned out the emcee as he was about finish in the top 25. the battalion. Later, he flew to San to announce the winner. Some students presented projects Francisco to interview the unit’s final “When my name wasn’t in the using mounted flat-screen monitors commander. third or second places, I turned to my and LCD systems. Other creations “It was a pretty good investment, I resembled museum displays encased guess, flying out to California to inter- Adam Bissen is a reporter with the in plastic. After shipping his board to view the captain. I spent a little money Holmen Courier and Onalaska Community Maryland, some of Haro’s text boxes Life. Continued on page 16 2 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 VANDALISM Dark Side of Memory

By Angela Jackson esearch to recover the memory of the civil war here in Spain Rhas many facets. Good aspects give victims of repression a voice after many years of silence. It’s good to be told repeatedly, in dozens of inter- views recorded with those who experienced the war at first hand, that the International Brigaders always treated local people with respect and were renowned for their generosity. Bad memories remain almost over- whelming—loss, persecution, exile. Recent attacks on the symbols of memory and remembrance on Hill 705—two plaques honoring the The plaque on Hill 705, unveiled in 2005 to commemorate the British and Irish who International Brigaders were stolen died in the Battle of the Ebro, has been stolen and graffiti left in its place. and others defaced this summer— strike the beholder first and foremost Franco as his personal emblem. moment. As historian Paul Preston has as abhorrently ugly. One of the miss- Moreover, the use of a stencil to paint commented, “It’s a tribute to the role ing plaques was unveiled in 2005 by the fascist symbol of yoke and arrows played by the International Brigades Welsh Brigader, Alun Menai Williams, belies any suggestion that the perpe- in the struggle for democracy in Spain to commemorate the British and Irish trators acted on the spur of the Continued on page 8 who died in the Battle of the Ebro. It remains unclear whether the vandalism was carried out by “four or Second Case of Vandalism five kids from another town—not poli- Guillermo Casañ ticians,” as claimed by Pere Martí, the the plaque in 2004—a replacement mayor of the nearby village of Pinell he plaque to honor the memorial will have improvements. de Brai, or by a more organized group. International Brigades in the They are thinking of erecting a monu- The slogan left behind by the vandals, TBenicàssim cemetery was found ment, instead of a plaque, with the “The Falange Continues the Fight,” is broken on October 21. It is not known name of the internationals who died certainly a clear political statement in who is responsible, but the possibility in this coastal town. For the inaugura- support of fascism. It can’t have been of an accidental fall has been rejected tion, they are also studying the idea of easy to remove the heavy steel plaque because the plaque was well fastened inviting veterans of the I.B., or their bolted to the wall, and few young peo- to the wall. The municipal govern- representatives, from the countries of ple today could spray paint the ancient ment has ordered the police to open those buried here. symbol of the “Victor,” adopted by an investigation. Although the vandalism was Historian Angela Jackson is head of According to Ramón García, hardly mentioned in the press (only the the Catalan organization No Jubilem la board member of the “Associació leftist Levante gave one page coverage), Memòria, dedicated to preserving the Republicana Gonzàlez Cherma”—the this memorial was an issue a few history of the International Brigades. organization that promoted placing Continued on page 8 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 3 Photos Document War’s Legacy

By Rob Snyder Gerda Taro and Robert Capa. The two Equally strong is “This is War! he Spanish Civil War—whose went to Spain together. Robert Capa at Work,” which takes heroism, destruction and The exhibit presents more than 80 Taro’s partner through Spain, his work Twrenching political disputes of Taro’s photographs, along with from China, and his coverage of were documented by some of the best magazines that give visitors a valuable United States forces in Europe during photography of the 20th century—still sense of how her pictures appeared in World War II. The exhibit devotes spe- sparks strong feelings in New York European publications. In this show, cial attention to some of Capa’s most City. Now a fine quartet of exhibits at the first major exhibit of Taro’s work, famous works: the “Falling Soldier” the International Center of we get a good sense of the range of of the Spanish Civil War, the D-day Photography recalls photographers her work. invasion, and the deaths of G.I.s in who figured prominently in the war If her photos emphasizing the combat during the final days of the (Gerda Taro and Robert Capa), visual clenched-fist salute of the Popular war in Germany. media in the Republic, and the execu- Front look like cliches of socialist real- Just as “Other Weapons” situates tion of Republican civilians. If you ism, the bulk of her work is more visual media in the larger context of thought the war was part of the past, impressive. Her photographs of a war the war, “This is War” shows how you will be awakened by works like orphan eating soup, a man and a Capa’s photos were reproduced in the photo of an execution bullet, dug woman of the Republican militia major magazines, such as LIFE. The up from a mass grave of Spanish relaxing together, and a blood-stained result is an exhibit that lifts Capa’s work out of the narrow realms of art— in which his photographs are In contrast to these three exhibits, which use images to recover presented simply on their own—and the world of the 1930s and 1940s, “Dark is the Room Where We presents them in the context of the Sleep, a Project by Francesc Torres” introduces to Americans the media and culture of their time. grim echoes of the civil war in the Spanish present. In contrast to these three exhibits, which use images to recover the world of the 1930s and 1940s, “Dark is the Republicans. (Francesc Torres, “Dark stretcher memorably depict the inte- Room Where We Sleep: A Project by is the Room Where We Sleep,” 2007, rior emotions of the war. The intimacy Francesc Torres” introduces to copyright Francesc Torres.) of her best work, 70 years later on, is Americans the grim echoes of the civil Gerda Taro, often remembered as still impressive. war in the Spanish present. In this Robert Capa’s partner in love and So is her courage. In July 1937, cov- installation, Torres, a Barcelona artist, business, emerges here as a photogra- ering Republicans’ retreat from depicts the excavation of an unmarked pher in her own right. Born Gerta Brunete, she jumped onto the running mass grave of 46 civilian supporters Pohorylle in Germany, where she was board of a car. She was killed when of the Republic killed by Franco’s a leftist activist, she fled to Paris to the car was sideswiped by a tank. In forces. The grave, outside the village escape Nazi persecution. There she Paris, tens of thousands mourned her. of Villamayor de los Montes in north- became the business agent of a young While the Taro exhibit introduces ern Spain, is one of many that date Hungarian photographer and devel- an under-appreciated photographer, from the war. It is one of the few, oped her own photography. “Other Weapons: Photography and however, that has been uncovered Eventually they took the names under Print Culture During the Spanish and documented. which they would be better known: Civil War” explores the media culture The photographs depict every- of Republican Spain in wartime. thing from the grave to surviving Rob Snyder wrote about the local press Displaying posters, photographs and relatives to volunteers in the excava- in Facing Fascism: New York and the magazines, “Other Weapons” is a tion. But perhaps most moving is the Spanish Civil War. He teaches history at valuable integration of media history, centerpiece of the final room in the Rutgers/Newark. political history and art history. Continued on page 5 4 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 Spain’s Memory Wars By Gina Herrmann

n conjunction with the International Center of Photography’s exhibitions Ithis fall, ALBA and the King Juan Carlos I Center of NYU co-hosted a symposium about how the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship are remembered and represented in photography, autobiography, history books, and the classroom. The sympo- sium opened with a preview of four related photographic exhibits at the ICP, including Spanish Civil War pho- tos of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro. The exhibit of Taro’s photos is particu- larly noteworthy since it is the first time this pioneering war photojour- nalist has had a show dedicated exclusively to her work. Photo from Dark is the Room Where We Sleep by Francesc Torres. Artist and cultural critic Francesc Torres presented his new exhibit and of Constancia de la Mora, head of the companion book Dark is the Room Republic’s foreign press office during The exhibitions at ICP, which will be Where We Sleep, a photographic itiner- the Civil War and a tireless advocate on display from September 25, 2007, ary of the opening of a Republican for the Republican cause during her through January 6, 2008, are “This is mass grave in Spain. Other highlights years of exile. Presentations by NYU’s War! Robert Capa at Work”; “Gerda of the symposium included the pre- Juan Salas and Jacques Lezra engaged Taro”; “Other Weapons: Photography sentation of new historical studies: questions of memorial retrieval. Salas and Print Culture during the Spanish Angela Cenarro’s La sonrisa de la delivered an extensive powerpoint Civil War”; and “Dark is the Room Falange, a study of Francoist female project on veteran Harry Randall and Where We Sleep: A Project by social service organization la Sección his team of photographers, who docu- Francesc Torres.” Femenina; and Soledad Fox’s biography mented the Spanish Civil War under the auspices of the XV International Brigade. Salas’s presentation reminds Representations of the Spanish Civil War, War's Legacy us how much of the mystique of the edited by Noel Valis. This provided a Continued from page 4 Brigades relies on images, and not sto- unique forum in which college and show: an illuminated pedestal that ries alone. Lezra delivered a personal university professors on the panel dis- displays a battered watch that and deeply poetic account of his own cussed pedagogical and ideological belonged to one of the victims of the efforts to trace, through family oral issues surrounding the theme of the shooting. Its hands are missing, so it accounts and in official archives, his civil war, US activism, and the legacy records no particular moment in family’s experience with Francoism of the Lincolns with a group of high time—and thereby it reminds us of and exile. school teachers in the audience. how the crimes of the past echo into The symposium concluded with a the present. round table discussion on approaches Gina Herrmann teaches in the Spanish The exhibits will be up through to teaching the Spanish Civil War Department of the University of Oregon. January 6, 2008. based on the book Teaching

THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 5 Bay Area Picnic “They may have won all the battles, but we had all the good songs.” Tom Lehrer

Photos by Richard Bermack.

Chicago Honors Vets enthusiastic Yiddish lullaby, and a scene based on debut 10 years Lorca’s Five O’Clock in the Afternoon. ago. The sec- “Performing the show again,” ond was part said the soprano Jamie O’Reilly, “I see of the Ernest the moral of Pasiones rings truer than Hemingway ever now. Having met so many Photo by Iwona Biederman. “Big Book” Brigaders, and said good-bye to he popular musical duo Jamie Humanities Series held at the them, I feel the responsibility to carry TO’Reilly and Michael Smith author’s home town Oak Park Public the story. With the train bombings in revived their production of Pasiones Library. Madrid, American civil liberties to honor Chicago area volunteers of The folk-cabaret weaves about threatened, and, sadly, the Iraq war the Spanish Civil War with two per- 20 songs with poetry and reminis- raging on, the Spanish Civil War and formances last September. The first cences of the Spanish Civil War, the renowned efforts of those volun- was part of the Rhinoceros Theater ranging from Andalusian folksongs, teers who fought fascism and for Festival, where the show had its international anthems, labor songs, a democracy is a timely subject.”

6 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 The Lincoln Brigade in the CP Archives and his comrades captured the experi- ences of the volunteers and their wartime activities, from tedious rou- tine to front-line heroics. The Daily Worker photographs allow us to expe- rience visually the impact of the war on the civilian population. They depict the solidarity, bravery and commit- ment of the Spanish people. Many of these images were published world- wide as part of the campaign to rally support for the Spanish Republic. The photos on this page provide a glimpse into this wonderfully rich archive. A number of these photographs are currently on view as part of a July 7, 1937, Spain, on the Aragon front: Loyalist soldiers, one of them a woman, are Tamiment Library exhibition, “Art and shown operating a field telephone. Politics: Posters of the Spanish Civil War.” They can be seen at the NYU By Michael Nash The Daily Worker photographs pro- Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square ost of the nearly 3,000 United vide a very different view of the war South, in New York until January 31, States citizens who joined the from the images in the Abraham 2008. MAbraham Lincoln Brigade Lincoln Brigade Archives, most of were motivated by left-politics, with which were taken by Harry Randall Michael Nash is head of the Tamiment the majority following the leadership and the other photographers of the Library at NYU. of the Communist Party. The CP and 15th International Brigade. Randall the Young Communist League were the primary recruiters for the International Brigades. On the home front, the party rallied support for the anti-fascist struggle, publicized atroci- ties committed by the Franco forces, brought world attention to the devas- tation caused by the German and Italian bombing, and raised funds for refugee aid and war relief. As one would expect, the Archives of the Communist Party, USA, and the Daily Worker photo morgue acquired by New York University’s Tamiment Library last year are a rich source for Spanish Civil War history. These images provide fascinating views of Spain at war and the role of the inter- national brigades in the fight against fascism. Madrid, Spain: When a rebel plane bombards Madrid, the population rushes to the wreckage to salvage fuel for winter. THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 7 Vandalisim Continued from page 3 that supporters of the Falange feel suf- ficiently insecure to take the trouble to ascend a remote mountain track to attack the symbol of that role.” Nevertheless, there have been many messages of support for the mon- ument, and the Catalan government provided funds for a replacement plaque. A re-dedication ceremony was planned for November 10 as part of the annual weekend of events organized by the local association, No Jubilem la Memòria, working together with the British group, the International Brigade Memorial Trust. The veteran brigader and president of the trust, Jack Jones, unveiled the plaque, and Paul Preston International Brigade veterans attended the ceremony to unveil the plaque in May 2005. spoke at the ceremony. The event showed support for those who wish to honor their dead in public remem- brance and to turn an ugly incident Vermont Hosts SCW Forum into something more notable. by Peter N. Carroll Anthony Bradley’s paper on Irish vol- Second Vandalisim “Looking Back on the Spanish Civil unteers, including the poet Charles Continued from page 3 War,” this year’s annual Hispanic Donnelly, who was killed at Jarama, Forum at the University of Vermont in focused on issues that related to Irish years ago. The previous conservative Burlington, brought together an nationalism. municipal government ordered the interdisciplinary group of scholars to Anthony Geist and Peter Carroll plaque removed after a motion of cen- explore various aspects of current presented talks about the Lincoln vol- sure against the progressive political research. Organized by Gayle Nunley, unteers, capped by a screening of coalition, and the new mayor placed the program emphasized connec- Geist’s documentary, Souls without one in honor of all the Spanish Civil tions between the war in Spain and Borders. Another presentation by War dead. However, thanks to pres- similar controversies of later times. Antonio Gomez of Dartmouth sure from the progressive parties, Focusing on the recent strikes College preceded a screening of the associations and the press, the plaque and rebellions in Oaxaca, Mexico, the film Pan’s Labyrinth. was restored. musicologist Alex Stewart discussed A quote from historian Helen This town, once the site of an I.B. thematic links between the songs of Graham summarized the consensus: hospital, rendered a tribute to the the Spanish Civil War and contempo- “Spain’s Civil War, as a war of cultures, internationals in 1996 and installed rary radio broadcasts, drawing remains a parable for our times. The the plaque in one of its most beautiful parallels between lyrics and musical parable remains, even though the villas, now a cultural center. A few influences. Similarly, Helen Scott forms of our inhumanity to one years later, this plaque was also examined connections between another are each time differently con- found broken on the ground, but it Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia and figured.” was believed that it had fallen acci- Ken Loach’s film, Land and Freedom. dentally. It was restored with a better fastening to the wall.

8 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 Journalists of the Spanish Civil War

By Paul Preston men and women from all around the Barcelona, the correspondents saw the t the end of the Spanish Civil world who flocked to Spain to join the overcrowding caused by the endless War, Frank Hanighen, who International Brigades. Those volun- flow of refugees fleeing from Franco’s Ahad briefly served as a corre- teers believed that to fight for the African columns and from the bomb- spondent in Spain, edited the Spanish Republic was to fight for the ing of their homes. They saw the reminiscences of several of his com- very survival of democracy and civili- mangled corpses of innocent civilians panions. He commented, “Almost zation against the assault of fascism. bombed and shelled by Franco’s Nazi every journalist assigned to Spain Alongside the regular troops sent by and Fascist allies. And they saw the became a different man sometime or Hitler and Mussolini to support heroism of ordinary people hastening other after he crossed the Pyrenees. Franco and the military rebels, a to take part in the struggle to defend After he had been there a while, the smaller number of volunteers also their democratic Republic. queries of his editor in far-off New went to fight for what they perceived Observation became indignation, York or London seemed like trivial as the cause of Catholicism and anti- and sympathy became partisanship. interruptions. For he had become a Communism. A similar range, and As Louis Delaprée, the correspondent participant in, rather than an observer breakdown, of sentiments could be of Paris-Soir, wrote a mere eight days of, the horror, tragedy and adventure which constitutes war.” The well-trav- Observation became indignation, and sympathy elled American correspondent Louis Fischer similarly noted that “[m]any became partisanship. of the foreign correspondents who vis- ited the Franco zone became Loyalists, found among the nearly 1,000 newspa- before his death in December 1936: but practically all of the numerous per correspondents who went to “What follows is not a set of prosecu- journalists and other visitors who Spain. Along with the professional tor’s charges. It is an actuary’s process. went into Loyalist Spain became active war correspondents, some hardened I number the ruins, I count the dead, I friends of the cause. Even the foreign veterans of Abyssinia, others still to weigh the blood spilt. All the images of diplomats and military attachés win their spurs, came some of the martyred Madrid, which I will try to scarcely disguised their admiration. world’s most prominent literary fig- put before your eyes—and which most Only a soulless idiot could have failed ures: Ernest Hemingway, John Dos of the time defy description—I have to understand and sympathize.” Passos, Josephine Herbst and Martha seen them. I can be believed. I demand In the sense of becoming what Gellhorn from the United States; W.H. to be believed. I care nothing about Fischer called “active friends of the Auden, Stephen Spender and George propaganda literature or the sweetened cause,” there is a link between many Orwell from Britain; André Malraux reports of the Ministries. I do not fol- of the writers and journalists who and Antoine de Saint Exupery from low any orders of parties or churches. came to Spain and the thousands of France. Some went as leftists, rather And here you have my witness. You fewer as rightists, and plenty of those will draw your own conclusions.” Paul Preston is the author of many books who spent brief periods in Spain were It was not just a question of corres- on the Spanish Civil War, including simply jobbing newspapermen. pondents describing what they ¡Comrades! Portraits from the Spanish Civil However, as a result of what they witnessed. Many of them reflected on War, and Doves of War: Four Women and Spain, as well as biographies of Franco saw, even some of those who arrived the implications for the rest of the and Juan Carlos. His most recent book, without commitment came to embrace world of what was happening in Spain. on war correspondents, was published in the cause of the beleaguered Republic. What they saw and what they risked Spain as Idealistas bajo las balas in 2007 Underlying their conversion was a were perceived as harbingers of the and will appear in English in 2008 as We deep admiration for the stoicism with future that faced the world if fascism Saw Spain Die. The present article draws which the Republican population was not stopped in Spain. on material from that book. resisted. In Madrid, Valencia and Continued on page 10

THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 9 Journalist Continued from page 9

Their experiences led them into a deep became convinced of the justice of the The 2nd installment of frustration and an impotent rage with Republican cause. In some cases, such the blind complacency of the policy- as Ernest Hemingway, Jay Allen, Paul Robeson in makers of Britain, France and America. Martha Gellhorn, Louis Fischer, and Spain They tried to convey what they saw as George Steer, they became resolute par- the injustice of the Republic having tisans, to the extent of activism yet not By Joshua Brown been left defenceless and forced into to the detriment of the accuracy or hon- & Peter N. Carroll the arms of the Soviet Union because of esty of their reporting. Indeed, some of about Paul Robeson’s the Western Powers’ short-sighted the most committed correspondents adventures with the Abraham adoption of a policy of non-interven- produced some of the most accurate Lincoln Brigade in 1938. tion. They felt, in the words of Martha and lasting reportage of the war. Gellhorn, that “the Western democra- Like many others, Fischer found Supported in part by a grant cies had two commanding obligations: his emotions deeply engaged with the to The ALBA Arts & Letters Program from The Puffin Foundation, Ltd. they must save their honor by assis- cause of the Republic. Comparing the And created in collaboration with ting a young, attacked fellow impact of the Russian revolution and The Bay Area Paul Robeson Centennial democracy, and they must save their the Spanish Civil War, he wrote in Committee skin, by fighting Hitler and Mussolini, terms that echo writings by other pro- at once, in Spain, instead of waiting Republican correspondents: until later, when the cost in human “Bolshevism inspired vehement pas- suffering would be unimaginably gre- sions in its foreign adherents but little ater.” Accordingly, many journalists of the tenderness and intimacy which were driven by their indignation to Loyalist Spain evoked. The pro-Loyal- write in favor of the loyalist cause, ists loved the Spanish people and in the Republican zone was down- some to lobby in their own countries, participated painfully in their ordeal right life-threatening in the rebel and in a few cases to take up arms for by bullet, bomb and hunger. The zone. In the Francoist zone, some, the Republic. Soviet system elicited intellectual like Edmond Taylor, European A small number of men came as approval, the Spanish struggle bureau chief of the Chicago Daily journalists and ended up in the brought forth emotional identification. Tribune, Bertrand de Jouvenal of International Brigades. One such was Loyalist Spain was always the weaker Paris-Soir, Hank Gorrell and Webb the son of Ring Lardner, the American side, the loser, and its friends felt a Miller of the United Press, and novelist. Jim Lardner came to report constant, tense concern lest its Arthur Koestler and Dennis Weaver, for the New York Herald Tribune and strength end. Only those who lived both of the News Chronicle, were died fighting at the battle of the Ebro. with Spain through the thirty-three among those imprisoned and threat- Claud Cockburn, Hugh Slater and tragic months from July 1936 to March ened with execution. More than 30 Tom Wintringham, all of whom 1939 can fully understand the joy of journalists were expelled from the arrived with credentials from the victory and the more frequent pang of rebel zone but only one by the British Communist paper, the Daily defeat which the ups and downs of the Republicans. The rebels shot at least Worker, abandoned journalistic work civil war brought to its millions of dis- one, Guy de Traversay of to join the International Brigades and tant participants.” L’Intransigeant, and arrested, interro- take part in the fighting. Louis Fischer On both sides, correspondents gated and imprisoned about a dozen also joined the International Brigades. faced danger from snipers, the bomb- more for periods ranging from a few Without going so far, many of the ing and strafing of enemy aircraft. On days to several months. correspondents who experienced the both sides, there were difficulties to be There was physical risk from horrors of the siege of Madrid and the overcome with the censorship appara- shelling and bombardment in both inspiring popular spirit of resistance tus, although what could be irksome Continued on page 17

10 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 The 2nd installment of Paul Robeson in Spain

By Joshua Brown & Peter N. Carroll about Paul Robeson’s adventures with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in 1938.

Supported in part by a grant to The ALBA Arts & Letters Program from The Puffin Foundation, Ltd. And created in collaboration with The Bay Area Paul Robeson Centennial Committee

THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 11 12 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 13 War Medicine

By Dr. Sidney Vogel Let me describe the system as it And here is perhaps the appropri- Editor’s note: The following article is operated in the Spanish Re­publican ate place to pause and pay tribute to the extracted from an unpublished manuscript army during 1936-39. When the line of first-aid man, the unpublicized but all- by Dr. Sidney Vogel, who served as a vol- battle shifted, and often during the important cog in the mechanism that is unteer physician in the Spanish Civil War. very heat of battle, stretcher-bearers war medicine. During an offensive a The complete manuscript is in the Steve went out onto the field and picked up wounded man may lie out in the fields, Nelson Papers of the ALBA collection the wounded. The stretcher bearers in the mud and cold anywhere from [ALBA 008, Box 11, folder 33]. It is or­ganized their work in relays. One four hours to four days. It depends on printed with permission of Lise Vogel. group would carry the wounded from the first-aid man. While he lies there, the field to a prearranged point. bacteria enter his wounds, cold and icture to yourself the scene of Another group would carry them starvation sap his resistance, pain and war. Fields of dry stubble. from there to a still further point and hemorrhage weaken him, until he is no PPlumes of smoke in the distance so on until they arrived at the classifi- longer capable of fighting off the inevi- and the sporadic clatter of rifle fire. In cation post. If there was extensive table infection. It is the first-aid man the foreground the long wavering line bleeding the stretcher-bearer took care and the stretcher-bearer—often the of a trench and in the trench, huddled of it on the field. A tourniquet takes front-line doctors—who pick him up, and weary, the vanguard of an army. but a few seconds to apply. If there who immobilize fractures, who stop The scene is dominated by inactivity. were bandages (and often there were hemorrhages, who often give anti-teta- And then comes an offensive. not) he applied them. Otherwise the nus injections. And less tangible than Thousands of men flung against a wounded were not treated until they these but as important almost is the shifting wall of steel. Thousands of reached the classification post. Here, a effect of a good first-aid man on soldier men moving through a barrage of lead doctor examined them and classified morale. If a man knows he is not going and explosion, huddling for shelter, wounds according to the need for to be left out on the field to bleed to matching the frail mech­anism of the immediate treatment.... death, if he can depend on the courage human body against the inhumanity From the classification post, the and efficiency of the first-aid man— of gunpowder and metal. wounded were transferred to the first then he is likely to go into battle with And after the offensive—the torn hospital behind the lines....This hospi- fortified will.... and mutilated dead, the even more tal...might be anywhere from eight to Let us further the picture of war torn and mutilated living. And that twenty kilometers behind the lines, medicine. Any layman knows that a most silent and dangerous enemy— depending on the shifts in the battle man who is shot in the belly is in a the soil of the dry field, the breeding line. Sometimes the front changed so very critical condition....A bullet that ground for poisonous germs which quickly that the hospital was actually enters the abdomen may very likely penetrate the wounded flesh, pene- at the front or just behind it....[But] strike the gut, a large blood vessel, or trate the shattered bone carrying wounded in the front hospitals could it may penetrate one of the major contamination into the body. not stay there permanently. They had organs. There is a great deal of bleed- Who picks up the wounded? Who to be moved to make room for oth- ing. The chances of survival are very gives them first-aid? What does it con- ers....Only the most serious cases could slim. Most of these cases die before sist of? Where are they operated be moved by stretcher ambulance. The they can be picked up and operated upon? Who puts on the casts? Who majority had to sit up through a tor- upon. Belly wounds are common war gives blood transfusions? Why does turing ride over bad roads. And the wounds and the immediate mortality one man die from and another survive torture of a wound was nothing com- is, as I have said, terrific. But even for the same wound? In short what is the pared to the torture of a helpless man those who are picked up and trans- medical apparatus of an army that riding in an ambulance over an open ported the scales are tipped in takes the human debris of an offensive road under an open sky, with enemy advance. Abdominal wounds are asso- and repairs it for further use, rebuilds planes zooming overhead; leaving ciated with shock...which is it for the job of living after war? destruction in their wake.... accentuated by exposure, hemorrhage,

14 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 cold, privation, and the transportation shows marked pallor, is thirsty, cold— I had only two weeks more in by stretcher and ambulance over bad all evidences of the cir­culatory Spain. I made an appointment with the roads. This presence of surgical shock function distorted or disturbed. doctor in charge of blood transfusion. It makes every abdominal case a poor Medical men have come to regard was only four blocks from my hotel. opera­tive risk. But worse than this—a shock almost as a symbol of the rav- As I approached the building I penetrating wound of the abdomen is ages of war on the human system. was sure I had mistaken the address. inevitably infected. If the missile enters Surgically, shock is tremendously sig- Stretching from the corner of the any part of the gastrointestinal tract..., nificant, particularly in war where it is street to the entrance of the hospital there is unleashed in the belly cavity a so common. Shock of itself can kill. was a long line of workers, waiting. It veritable horde of bacteria which bring But beyond this it is a surgical axiom looked very much like a food line. on the inevitable peritonitis. that a patient suffering from shock Beyond the entrance, winding for The chances of survival in belly should not be operated upon. The two flights up the stairs, the line con- wounds are in inverse ratio to the time operation only increases the shock. tinued, ending before a large white that has elapsed since the wound was The conditions that bring on shock— door. received.... Many surgeons consider pain, privation, cold, hunger, thirst, I had seen many things in Spain, eight hours the limit of exposure with- bleeding—are the everyday conditions many magnificent examples of the out treatment if the man is to be saved. of war. Shock becomes a reversal of people’s heroism and courage that a If the surgeon does not get the patient what civilization has achieved doctor does not forget. But I had never until nine or ten hours after the through the centuries. And to treat seen anything to equal the sight in wound was received, the chances of shock, to cure it, becomes to the doctor that room be­yond the waiting line. saving his life are very slim indeed. In a symbol of the whole reason and pur- It was a big room and bare. Four an offensive, if the work is so heavy or pose of war medicine. To treat shock tall windows flooded it with light. On the number of surgeons so inadequate we reverse the process of privation, the floor, arranged in two rows of four, that cases have to be chosen, the doc- the everyday process of war. We sup- were eight wooden tables draped with tors will choose those cases that still ply heat, blood by transfusion, we give hospital sheets. And on each table lay have a chance, that have been exposed complete rest and freedom from pain a pa­tient. They were giving blood. less than eight hours, and let the oth- (often by morphine), we prevent fur- The scene had at once a theatrical ers wait. “Because they’ll die anyhow, ther aggravation of the original injury, and fairy tale like quality. From eight with or without my operation, so give we attempt to bring the body back to human bodies the life blood was flow- them plenty of morphine.” This may normal. And to do this requires speed, ing, with quiet and orderly precision, sound callous but it is really useless efficiency, organization. The treat- into eight glass bottles, guided and wasting valuable time helping to kill ments are simple. What can be done is controlled by eight white-robed assis- someone when the same time might simple to do. But the problem in war is tants. And beyond them, running the be spent saving another man’s life. to make it possible for the doctor to do show, the doctor in charge, a white- Now if there were enough surgeons— it, make it possible for the wounded to gowned impresario. but in an offensive there never are.... be treated before shock has sapped the Bottled blood for transfusions in I have already spoken of shock— body of its resistance, before infection war time! We had used this blood in surgical shock. When a layman uses has poisoned the human system. all our hospitals. We called it canned the term shock he associates it with I have said nothing of blood trans- blood. It was sent to us in refrigerator something sudden, quick, overwhelm- fusions because the Service of Blood cars and it was a great life-saving con- ing, with heavy overtones of fear, the Transfusion at the Spanish Front tribution. In the heat and strain of war whole affecting the nervous system.... deserves special emphasis, becomes a we had little time to test donors and But to the doctor, shock—surgical concentrated example of what organi- give direct transfusions. Too many shock—has a very specific meaning.... zation in war medicine can do for the were needed. There was too little time. Medically speaking, shock is a condi- saving of human life. We needed blood to save lives and we tion of marked circulatory disturbance. Let me take you with me into needed it fast. We use[d] bottled blood The patient has a low blood pressure, a Barcelona during the last days of the and saved thousands of lives. I had rapid and thready pulse, breathes rap- war. I was invited to visit the “Service used it but I had never seen it bottled. idly or irregularly or both, is restless, of Blood Transfusion for the Front.” Continued on page 16

THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 15 War Medicine Continued from page 15

I stood there a littIe awed by the woman’s place of work. Everything was they must not eat before a transfusion. sight. The doctor in charge came over. minutely worked out. Since the canned And on the following morning they “Well, doctor” he said, “what do you blood was good for only eighteen days, would be there waiting in line outside think of our system?” the Blood Service had calculated how the hospital, ready to take their turn in “What do I think?” I said. “It’s much blood would be needed during giving blood for the Spanish Republic. amazing. It’s like a Ford fac­tory, like a offensives and how much during inac- It would serve no purpose here to blood factory with an assembly line.” tive periods. The Blood Service drew discuss the technical details involved He was a Spanish doctor and he very little more blood than was needed. in the preparation of canned blood. was vastly pleased with the analogy. The day of my visit—the period of the But it is important to know that the “Oh, it is very simple,” he said. great Fascist offensive—386 blood technique grew out of the need. It is “We take eight at a time. I alone insert extractions were made. important to know that this was orga- the needle. The assistants take care of The citizens of Barcelona, to a nizational medicine at its best; that, in the rest. By the time I am finished man, were blood donor conscious. Spain, where surgeons worked forty with the eighth table the first table has Each factory, each hotel, each place of hours at a stretch, where men were a new patient and the process repeats work or point of concentration had its brought in bleeding from the field, itself. Like a Ford factory,” he said. “responsable” whose job it was to where surgery was almost always I looked around me. A new group round up the donors when they were emergency surgery, nothing short of of donors was being admitted. As needed. The doctor had merely to tele- such a technique could have saved each one entered an assistant placed a phone the “responsable” in Factory A human life. tourniquet around his arm. He was and say “Tomorrow morning we need War kills, and the medical staff, then turned over to another assistant so-and-so and so-and-so,” naming the against terrific odds, does what it can who placed him on the table, pre- people from the file. The workers all to reduce the death toll. pared his arm, and then called out, had their instructions. They knew “Pintor, Pintor.” For a moment I did not under- History Day stand. “Pintor,” I said to myself, “that Continued from page 2 means painter.” And then a young fel- low came running with a bottle of on the plane ticket, but I guess the iodine. It was his sole function to swab $20,000 scholarship to Minnesota pays the arms of the donors with iodine off,” Haro said. before the needle was inserted. I dis- Prior to accepting the scholarship, covered, later, that in civil life, he had Haro had been torn between attending been an artist. the University of Minnesota and the Again I expressed my admiration University of Wisconsin-Madison, but for the “system.” The doctor was the scholarship made him decide on proud. “It is nothing” he said, “I will Minnesota. He plans to study political show you later.” science and pre-law. Later, when the morning’s work But for now, Haro has a summer was done, he showed me. I had not and his senior year of high school exaggerated when I said Ford factory. ahead of him. At a recent photo shoot Cody Haro with Milt Wolff. Up to January 1st, 1939, 26,000 donors he announced his latest goal will be to were filed and indexed by name and lead the school’s Quiz Bowl team to “This proves what he can do, and blood types in Barcelona alone. Each the national finals. I have no doubt that he is going to be of these donors had been examined, “He’s a wonderful person and he’s somebody that we are going to be had had his blood tested and grouped. going to do real well with his life,” hearing a lot about later on.” Beside each name was the man or Nugent said of Haro.

16 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 Journalist Continued from page 10 zones, although the rebel superiority journalists and writers supported the omitted material deemed sympathetic in artillery and aircraft meant that it Republic but often had difficulty get- to the loyalists. was greater for those posted in the ting their material published as The managing editor of the New Republic. Moreover, the close control written. The powerful Hearst press York Times was the short, stick-toting exercised over correspondents in and several dailies, such as the Chicago Virginian Edwin L. “Jimmy” James the rebel zone kept them away from Daily Tribune, were already deeply (nicknamed “dressy James” by Damon danger at the front. Within the rebel hostile to the democratic Republic. Jay Runyon because of his brightly colored zone, there were of course enthusiasts Allen, for instance, was fired from the suits, which led others to compare him for Franco and fascism, and not just Chicago Daily Tribune because his arti- to a bookie). A keen bon viveur, James among the Nazi and Italian Fascist cles provoked so much sympathy for was always keen to get off in the eve- contingent. Nonetheless, Francis the Republic. There were cases of the ning and so cultivated an irresponsibly McCullagh, Harold Cardozo, and Catholic lobby using threats of boycott hands-off management style that gave Cecil Gerahty among the British, or the withdrawal of advertising to enormous freedom to the night manag- and Theo Rogers, William P. Carney, make smaller newspapers alter their ing editor, the deeply conservative Edward Knoblaugh, and Hubert stance on Spain. Presbyterian, Raymond McCaw. In Knickerbocker among the Americans, Dr. Edward Lodge Curran, presi- turn, McCaw gave considerable free- were in a minority. Many more of dent of the International Catholic dom to his deputy, Neil MacNeil, a those who accompanied Franco’s Truth Society, boasted in December fiercely partisan Catholic, and his assis- columns were repelled by the 1936 that his control of a large sum in tant, the equally fanatical convert savagery that they witnessed with the advertising business permitted him to Clarence Howell. These night editors rebel columns—among them John change the policy of a Brooklyn daily controlled the group of desks known as Whitaker, Webb Miller, and Edmond from pro-Loyalist to pro-rebel. Other the “bullpen,” in the southeast corner Taylor. Those in the rebel zone were more liberal newspapers were sub- of the newsroom. They had free rein in kept under tight supervision and jected to pressure to prevent the deciding what stories would get promi- their published despatches were publication of pro-loyalist news. nence and in the editing thereof. scoured to pick out any attempts to Herbert L. Matthews, the meticulously Matthews was convinced that bypass the censorship. Transgressions honest New York Times correspondent, these men treated his copy with “sus- were punished by harassment, was constantly badgered with tele- picion, anger, and, at times, disbelief.” and sometimes imprisonment and grams accusing him of sending They printed material from William P. expulsion. Accordingly, they could propaganda. In 1938, the Roman Carney, his counterpart in the rebel not relate what they had seen in their Catholic Archdiocese of Brooklyn zone, despite knowing that it was daily despatches and did so only helped organize a campaign specifi- unashamedly partisan and sometimes after the war, in their memoirs. cally aimed against Matthews and his even faked. In contrast, they cut The correspondents in the reporting, which led to the paper los- Matthews’s articles, tampered with his Republican zone were given greater ing readers. In Spain for the North wording, and buried entire stories freedom of movement, although they American Newspaper Alliance, because they were perceived to favor too had to deal with a censorship Hemingway also had cause for fre- the Republican side. McCaw issued machinery, albeit a much less crude quent complaint about his material orders that whenever Matthews wrote and brutal one than its rebel equiva- being changed or simply not used. He about the “Italian troops” who fought lent. Nevertheless, given that the bulk and others, including Herbert with the rebels, the phrase was to be of the press in the democracies was in Matthews, Jay Allen, and George replaced by “insurgent troops.” right-wing hands, pro-Republican cor- Seldes, believed that both the cable Matthews had gone to Guadalajara respondents found publicizing their desk and the night desk of the New after the Italian defeat there. He views often more difficult than might York Times were manned by Catholic reported what Italian prisoners had have been expected. It is ironic that a militants deeply hostile to the told him and what he had high proportion of the world’s best Republican cause who edited or Continued on page 18

THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 17 Journalist Continued from page 17 seen of captured Italian weaponry and task of providing the material for his- government to get Britain to permit documents. McCaw’s device made tory, but history will never fail so long food supplies to get through to a nonsense of his despatches. Moreover, as the newspaperman writes the truth.” blockaded Bilbao. The Russian McCaw cabled Matthews, accusing Writing the truth meant, to quote Mikhail Koltsov wrote so enthusiasti- him of simply sending Republican Martha Gellhorn again, “explaining cally about the revolutionary élan of propaganda handouts. In mid-Decem- that the Spanish Republic was neither the Spanish people that, in the atmo- ber 1937, with Sefton Delmer of the a collection of blood-slathering Reds sphere of the Soviet purges, he became Daily Express, Hemingway, and Robert nor a cat’s-paw of Russia.” She would an embarrassment and was executed. Capa, Matthews courageously have no truck with what she called The body of work produced by reported on the Republican assault on “all that objectivity shit,” refusing to war correspondents during the Teruel. His articles were ruthlessly cut, adopt a morally repugnant neutrality Spanish conflict, endlessly mined by while William Carney’s fabricated equidistant between two very differ- subsequent historians, was truly “the despatches about a triumphal recap- ent sides. She felt, as did Hemingway first draft of history.” Herbert ture of the city by the rebels were and Dos Passos, Geoffrey Cox and Matthews believed that “a journalist printed. Hemingway was convinced Willie Forrest, Louis Fischer and Jay who writes truthfully what he sees that this was deliberate sabotage. Allen, Henry Buckley and George and knows on a given day is writing Matthews, in fact, took enormous Steer, that those who fought and those for posterity. The scepticism and criti- pride in his work, and his personal who died in defence of the Spanish cisms that I met in some quarters ethic demanded that he never wrote a Republic, “whatever their nationality during the Spanish conflict made me word that he did not fervently believe and whether they were Communists, feel at times that I was working more to be true. In Spain, he would endure anarchists, Socialists, poets, plumbers, for the historical record than for the the bitterness of seeing the side he sup- middle-class professional men, or the daily reader.” ported lose. Over 30 years later, he one Abyssinian prince, were brave and The story of the correspondents is concluded, “All of us who lived the disinterested, as there were no fundamentally about the courage and Spanish Civil War felt deeply emo- rewards in Spain. They were fighting the skill of the men and women who tional about it. . . I always felt the for us all, against the combined force wrote about what was happening in falseness and hypocrisy of those who of European fascism. They deserved Spain. It illustrates many of the differ- claimed to be unbiased and the foolish, our thanks and our respect and got ences between the harsh ambience of if not rank stupidity of editors and neither.” military dictatorship in the rebel zone readers who demand objectivity or A few who became loyalist parti- and the fact that, for all its difficulties, impartiality of correspondents writing sans went further than just writing the the Republic tried to function as a about the war… those of us who cham- truth, indeed well beyond their jour- democracy despite wartime conditions. pioned the cause of the Republican nalistic duties. Hemingway gave an The rediscovery of the correspon- government against the Franco ambulance and dispensed advice to dents and their writings has a wider Nationalists were right. It was, on bal- military commanders. Fischer helped significance in the history of the ance, the cause of justice, morality, both to organize the Republic’s press Spanish Civil War. The fact that so decency.” Matthews was savagely services and to repatriate wounded many of the correspondents wrote and denounced as “a rabid Red partisan” International Brigaders. Jay Allen lob- campaigned for the lifting of Non- by the leading Catholic propagandist bied tirelessly for the Republic in Intervention underlines the extent to Dr Joseph Thorning. Nevertheless, it America, then went into Vichy France which the Spanish Republic was did not diminish his passionate com- to help Spanish refugees and impris- betrayed by the democracies—to their mitment to writing the truth as he saw oned international brigaders. In own very real detriment. The fact that it: “The war also taught me that the consequence, he suffered incarceration the Western powers turned a blind eye truth will prevail in the long run. in a German prison. George Steer while Franco destroyed the democratic Journalism may seem to fail in its daily campaigned on behalf of the Basque Continued on page 20

18 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 Book Reviews

his close friend for 35 years? Whatever Rehashing the Lies the reason, it’s a good example of why objectivity is so vital to any historian. Comrades and Commissars. The Lincoln falsehoods; on Ronald Radosh, whose • Eby charges Peter Carroll with Battalion in the Spanish Civil War. By Cecil commentary often flagrantly contra- “scholarly malpractice” (p. 427), citing Eby. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania dicts the very evidence he cites; on John Haynes’s and Harvey Klehr’s State University Press, 2007. Robert Gladnick, also a bitter anticom- claim that the US government never munist. These and, in fact, all accounts referred to ALB vets as “premature By Grover Furr beg for critical scrutiny. anti-Fascists” (New Criterion, 09.02). n page 356 of this book, Cecil Eby also cites as fact testimony But why doesn’t he tell his readers of Eby recommends one account from the Subversive Activities Control Carroll’s response (with Daniel Oof ALB Commander Robert Board, HUAC hearings, and Francoist Bertwell) in The Volunteer of December Merriman’s death as “the most objec- historians. Such sources—like all ’03, where a U.S. Congressman is tive.” It is the only time Eby shows any sources—cry out for critical assess- quoted using the phrase on January 2, concern with objectivity—the careful ment. They get none here. 1945? Because most readers will not evaluation of often contradictory evi- When it suits his purposes, Eby know about it? dence. Elsewhere Eby ignores the reports rumor and allegation as fact. • Eby cites Gerald Howson’s well-known canons of historian Apparently he did not find enough remark that Joseph Stalin referred to research. Absent a devotion to objec- such rumors, for in addition he lards the Comintern as a “shop of cheap tivity, any historian’s bias must his account with many cynical goods” (lavochka). But Howson cites overwhelm him, as Eby’s does here. remarks, sarcasm and “cheap shots.” no evidence for this assertion. This Much of the text is taken from Whole pages have no citations at tale has been traced to Soviet NKVD Eby’s 1969 book Between the Bullet all, so generally we don’t know where defector Walter Krivitsky (Paul and the Lie. Though the author Eby got his assertions of fact, let alone Flewers to H-RUSSIA July 20, 2000, has added much more material, how to assess their accuracy. This http://tinyurl.com/378267 ) whose the basic framework remains the leaves him free to select those that best book was heavily ghost-written by same. Unfortunately, so do the fit his own biases. Without objective professional anticommunist publicist errors of methodology and bias that criteria, that’s all that’s left. Isaac Don Levine (Gary Kern, A Death fatally marred the earlier work. Here are a few cases of outright in Washington). Evidently Stalin never Eby sets out to write an explicitly fraud: said it! But it makes the whole anticommunist work. He culls through • On pages 189-190 Eby states, internationalist effort, of which the many works, mainly memoir accounts, without citation, that Lincoln Battalion ALB was a part, look like a swindle. to select those that put the Soviets, the commander Oliver Law led his men If you don’t try to discover the International Brigades, and commu- into “ambushes.” This assertion is truth from the beginning, you are not nists generally in a negative light. made only by Herrick, who claimed going to stumble upon it by accident But memoir accounts conflict with one of Hy Stone’s brothers was killed along the way. Eby’s book will no one another. Furthermore, memories in one such ambush. This is impossi- doubt be employed as a fount of anti- are not like photographs. With the ble, since neither brother was with the communist propaganda. But it is passage of time they change, recreate Lincolns. worthless as history. What a pity— themselves. Often people come to Of course Eby knows this, for else- and what a waste! believe they witnessed and experi- where he cites the sources that enced things that never happened. document it. So why does he repeat Grover Furr is an associate professor of Eby relies heavily on the work of this falsehood? Out of loyalty to English at Montclair State University in New Jersey. William Herrick, whose book is full of Herrick, a fellow anticommunist and

THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 19 Book Reviews

Books in Brief exception of Picasso—the Spaniards found it difficult to define their politi- By Shirley Mangini full of anguish and hope for the cal reactions to the war through their Republic, as in this fragment from the visual language. The Complete Poetry. By Cesar Vallejo. long poem “Hymn to the Volunteers Greeley explains that while Miró Edited and translated by Clayton for the Republic.” struggled to express his Catalonian Eshleman. University of California identity in some of his more surrealist Volunteers, Press, 2007. work that deals with the subject of the for life, for the good ones, kill war, Dalí expresses his notion that fas- his bilingual edition of Peru’s cism was intimately tied to violence death, kill the evil ones! greatest avant-garde poet is of and sexual perversion in his surreal Tspecial interest because of Do it for the freedom of all, paintings of the period. According to Vallejo’s commitment to the Spanish Greeley, the lesser-known painter José Republic. When the civil war began, of the exploited and the exploiter, Caballero—who was closely allied the poet was living in Paris. He for a painless peace—I glimpse it with Federico García Lorca during the quickly became an activist by joining Republican period and actively the Committees in Defense of the when I sleep at the foot of my forehead worked with the poet on his govern- Spanish Republic and participating in and even more when I go around ment-funded project, the traveling “La the Second International Congress of Barraca” theatre group—employed an shouting— Anti-Fascist Writers in Defense of apolitical type of surrealism, ambigu- Culture. Vallejo wrote one of the most and do it, I keep saying, ous about his politics. The author poignant books of poetry about the traces how Caballero uneasily dealt for the illiterate to whom I write, civil war, entitled Spain, Take This Cup with working for the Franco Regime from Me, before he died in 1938. for the barefoot genius and his lamb, after the war and how this impacted Published posthumously, the book is his avant-garde style. Masson, like for the fallen comrades, Picasso, used the theme of the bull- their ashes clasped to the corpse of a fight as a way of portraying the brutal Journalist violence of the civil war. But it was Continued from page 18 road! Picasso, with “Guernica,” Greeley Republic with the help of Hitler and explains, who most brilliantly repre- Surrealism and the Spanish Civil War. By Mussolini has been indirectly justified sented the civil war through the Robin Adéle Greeley. Yale University by two recent trends. In Spain, a group Press, 2006. bodily expressions of his subjects. The of pro-Franco propagandists, styling author states, “It is a painting which themselves as “revisionists,” and, in n this highly original study, Greeley manages to incorporate the elusive the United States, a number of neo- discusses the juncture of art and quality of memory into the work itself, conservatives have resuscitated the Ipolitics through an analysis of and to bind that quality to an analysis idea that the Republic was a Soviet Spanish painters Joan Miró, Salvador of history.” satellite. The story of the independent- Dalí, José Caballero, and Pablo Picasso minded American, British, and French and the French artist André Masson radicals who fought with their pens and their surrealist representations of against non-intervention is a valuable the civil war. She compares how the www.alba-valb.org counterpoint to this narrow and ill- French Surrealists deployed the style founded view. as a political tool, while—with the

20 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 Added to Memory’s Roster

One of Ben’s noteworthy engineer- Ben was active in scouting in ing accomplishments was designing Whittier, California, and helped to the tracks for rides in Disneyland, run the Air Explorer Troop 939A for including the Peter Pan ride, the several years. Jungle Boat ride, and the Mark Twain Ben moved to northern California Steamboat ride. These rides all opened in 1970, where he frequently par- in 1955. They have been enjoyed by ticipated in Bay Area Post events. children from all over the world. In 1986, he traveled to Spain for Ben migrated into the healthcare the 50th anniversary recognition field in the 1960’s, managing health of the International Brigades. care and nursing home facilities for Ben is survived by his wife of 68 over 30 years. He was elected a Fellow years, Sylvia Lane, and his children, in the American College of Nursing Leonard Lane of Corona del Mar, Home Administrators. He was a long- Reese Lane of Burbank, and Nancy time advocate of better health care for Lane of Hillsborough, California. Benjamin Lane the aged. He was also instrumental in A ceremony celebrating Ben’s life (1916-2007) developing a role for nurse practitio- was held on October 20 in San Diego. ners and other allied health Another will be held in March in con- Benjamin Lane, who went to Spain professionals in working with mental junction with the unveiling of a hoping to pilot planes in the health and elderly patients in both in- monument to the Abraham Lincoln Republican air forces and instead patient and out-patient facilities. He Brigade on the San Francisco served on the ground with the opened a number of mental health Embarcadero. Abraham Lincoln Brigade, died of care facilities in California. —Nancy Lane pancreatic cancer on September 21, 2007, in San Diego, California. Born on April 27, 1916, in St. Louis, IN LOVING MEMORY Missouri, to Leo and Sophie Azarch Levine, Ben studied at the University Gideon Rosenbluth of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana for one 1919 - 2007 year. He left school to follow his pas- sion for flying and worked in the * * * nascent airplane industry in St. Louis. Courageous fighter for justice In 1937 he joined the Abraham Lincoln Union activist Brigade in Spain and fought with the Great friend to generations Brigade until 1939. He returned to Los Loving father and grandfather Angeles, where he met Sylvia * * * Eisenberg. Following a whirlwind He never stopped speaking out courtship, they were married in 1939. against oppression and hypocrisy wherever he saw it. During World War II, Ben served And he never hesitated to speak truth to power. in the U.S. Army Air Corps. After the * * * war, he graduated from the University He will be missed. of Southern California with a degree in mechanical engineering. He com- * * * peted with the USC track team and The friends, comrades and family of Gideon Rosenbluth became accomplished with the javelin.

THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 21 ALBA’S PLANNED GIVING PROGRAM Tax Advantages for Charitable Gift Annuities A Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) is a contract between you and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA). A CGA is one of the simplest, least expensive and most conservative charitable planning tools available today. A CGA is a wonderful way to increase your present monthly income and provide a charitable deduction in the tax year of the asset transfer. Simply make a gift to ALBA in either cash or marketable securities (minimum $5,000) and in return, ALBA will pay you (or up to two individuals) an annuity beginning on a date you specify, on or after your 60th birthday. Easy to design and establish, you decide how frequently payments will be made: quarterly, semi-annually or annually. Cash gifts allow maximum tax-free income and gifts of securities enable you to minimize capital gains taxes.

For further information on a customized proposal for your CGA, please contact Anne Taibleson, Executive Director ALBA 799 Broadway New York, NY 10003 212-674-5398

PUFFIN FOUNDATION LTD. ANNUAL GRANT SEARCH

The Puffin Foundation encourages a continuing dialogue between “. . . art and the lives of ordinary people.” We are resolute in our support of those artists whose work, due to their genre and/or social philosophy, might have difficulty in being aired. We especially encourage new artists to apply for a grant. Grants are made in all fields of the creative arts, including music, dance, theater, documentaries, photography, fine arts, etc. Applicants may apply for a year 2008 grant in writing prior to Dec. 30, 2007. Average grant awards range between $1,000.00 to $2,500.00. SASE required. Puffin Foundation Ltd. 20 Puffin Way (formerly East Oakdene Ave.) Teaneck, NJ 07666-4111

22 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 National Monument Contributions

Supporter ($1,000 - $4,999) • Aris Anagos in memory of Carolyn BECAUSE OF YOU, our incredibly loyal supporters and friends, Anagos • The Czitrom Family in the construction and installation of the San Francisco NATIONAL memory of Leo Gordon, Joe Gordon MONUMENT honoring the courageous volunteers of the Abraham and Ben Barsky • Marjorie Fasman Lincoln Brigade is paid for! • Joan Junas Fisch in memory of And the funds required for the 20-year maintenance fund to the City of San Francisco are practically there – only $60,000 more to go! Stanley Junas (a/k/a Matejunas) • The ALBA dream is coming true, BECAUSE OF YOU. Peter Goodman • Dr. and Mrs. The National Memorial dedication ceremony in conjunction with Meyer S. Gunther in honor of Dr. the Bay Area Annual Reunion will be a major San Francisco event in Aaron Hilkevitch • Lois Sontag in the spring of 2008. Participating will be local and national celebrities memory of Dr. Edward Barsky • and political and civic leaders. There will be fabulous musical enter- tainment. Please check our website for updates (www.alba-valb.org) Friend ($500 - $999) or contact Anne Taibleson, ALBA’s Executive Director, at 212-674-5398, • Gerold Gino Baumann • Lotti [email protected]. Tobler-Berenson in memory of Mitch See you in the springtime! Berenson • Roger Lowenstein in mem- ory of Moe Fishman • Chic Wolk •

Associate ($100 - $499) • Catherine S. Abbe • Shirley Amsbury in memory of Clifton H. Amsbury • Pearl G. Baley in honor of Barney Baley • Michael C. Batinski • Giovanna Benadusi and Fraser Ottanelli in memory of Moe Fishman • Ruth Bennett • Ulrich Bodek • The Borodofsky Family in memory of Joseph Siegel • Suzanne and David Cane in memory of Lawrence Cane • Claire Carsman in memory of Sam Carsman • Paul Cox • Ruth Goldway in memory of Steve Nelson • Annette Halpern in memory of Joseph Isaac Siegel • Susan A. Hammer in memo- ry of Esther Silverstein Blanc • Robert Harrison in memory of Esther Silverstein Blanc • Casey Kasem • Rhea K. Kish in memory of Leslie Kish • Emily Lazarre and Mickey Bloom in memory of Bill Lawrence Lazarre • Ruth Levitan in memory of Esther Silverstein Blanc • Jane Lewenthal • Peter and June Luskutoff in honor of Hank Rubin • Paulina K. Marks • Bruce F. McClintic • Kevin McKinnon • Jay and Judy Nadel in memory of Esther Silverstein Blanc • Diane Newman in memory of Esther Silverstein Blanc • Milton Okin in memo- ry of Moe Fishman • Char Prieto • Fred W. Rohl • Kathie Sheldon and Steve Tarzinski • Roberta Silverstein in memory of Esther Silverstein Blanc, my great aunt and a great woman! • Patricia Tanttila • Nancy and Len Tsou in memory of Dong Hong Yick, Chi Chang and Jack Shirai • Noel Valis • Douglas Wheeler •

Donor ($1 - $99) • Leonard R. Bacich in memory of Moe Fishman • David and Samara Balfour • Terence Bayes • Lawrence Bendoski • Edith Bluestone • Myrna Brier • Fred B. Chase in memory of Homer B. Chase • Ken Cloke in memory of Richard Cloke • Martin Comack • Sally Connolly • Charles and Alice Dekker • Phyllis and Alan Entin in memory of Moe Fishman • Nadine Etkes • Brian Ferris • Martin Fishgold in memory of Irving Fishgold • Richard Flacks • Rory Flanagan • Noel W. Folson • Virginia Franco and Herbert Shore • Joseph Friedman in memory of Karl Amatniek • Paul L. Gittelson • Eugene and Madeline Goodwin • Tim Grier • Saul Halpert • Henry Horowitz • Robert Inget • John L. Kailin • Marian Kroon in memory of Freddie Martin and Moe Fishman Continued on page 23 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 23 National Monument Contributions continued from page 23

• Jose Alejandro LaLuz • Leo Lang • Jeanne Lassen • Lorinda Lassen in memory of Esther Silverstein Blanc • P. Herbert Lieberman • Miriam and Victor Ludwig remembering Herman “Gabby” Rosenstein • Linden P. Martineau • Shaun O’Connell • Mike and Brendan O’Connor • Geoffrey R. Paul • Rosemary and Ray Porter • Vicki C. Rhea • Joseph Scherr • Peter Selz • Florine and James Sikking • Albert Silverstein in memory of Esther Silverstein Blanc • Luise Stone • Guy Stuart • Ann Weissman in honor of Irving Weissman • Andrew Whitman • Ruth and Norman Williams • Ed Yelin and Abby Snay in memory of Esther Silverstein Blanc •

General Contributions Sponsor ($5,000 and above) • Jesse Crawford •

Associate ($100 - $499) • The Boston Foundation in memory of Hy Tabb • Louis H. Blumengarten in memory of Moe Fishman • Peter Carroll and Jeannette Ferrary in memory of Moe Fishman, Ben Lane and Hy Tabb • Wendy Chavkin • Marti Copleman • Jim Fernandez and Marisa Carrasco in memory of Moe Fishman • Ilana Heller in memory of Hy Tabb • Barbara Kass and Dr. John Price in honor of Judy and Jay Greenfield's 50th Anniversary and Jay's 75th Birthday • Jack Lerman in honor of Norman Berkowitz • Fred and Claire Lisker in honor of William Sennett • Elizabeth Liss and Marjorie Liss in memory of Sylvia Liss • Milton Okin in memory of Moe Fishman • Charlotte Pomerantz Marzani to the shining memory of Moe Fishman • H. David Prensky in memory of Leo Kaufman • Suzanne and Alan Jay Rom in memory of Samuel Schiff and Moe Fishman • Rita Schwartz in honor of Judy and Jay Greenfield’s 50th Anniversary and Jay’s 75th Birthday • Helene Susman in loving memory of Bill • Anne Taibleson in memory of Moe Fishman, Ben Lane and Hy Tabb • Wellman & MacGregor • Peg Yorkin •

Donor ($1 - $99) • Beverly Adelstein in memory of Harry Haberman • Cora Carlis in memory of my uncle Hy Tabb • Sally Connolly • Alan G. Deale • Anne and Sidney Emerman in honor of Manny and Sadie Klein • Marjorie Feldman • Willard C. Frank, Jr. in memory of Robert G. Colodny • Amy Freeman • David C. Friedman • Linda Grant • Paul L. Gittelson • Fred Hirsch • Dale C. Hopper in memory of Albert John Baumler, Harold Edward Dahl and Salter Traker • Institute of Social Medicine and Community Health • Arnold Krammer • Marian Kroon in memory of Moe Fishman • Sharmila Mujamdar in memory of Ben Lane • Betsy Blair Reisz • Eric D. Richert • Leonard J. Rosenfeld in honor of Thomas Sarbaugh • Sandra and Martin Rosencrans in honor of Jay Greenfield’s 75th Birthday • Edith Ziefert •

We welcome contributions to specific ALBA programs, such as our website education modules, traveling art exhibi- tions, publications and administrative office operations.

The above donations were made from August 1 through November 1, 2007. All donations made after November 1 will appear in the March 2008 issue of The Volunteer.

We are grateful for your continued support.

24 THE VOLUNTEER December 2007 Preserving the past… to change the present. Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) is an independent, nonprofit educational organization devoted to enlightening the American people about our country's progressive traditions and democratic political values. Over the past twenty-five years ALBA has created the largest U.S. collection of historical sources relating to the Spanish Civil War, including letters, diaries, public documents, photographs, posters, newspapers, videos, and assorted memorabilia. This unique archive is permanently housed at New York University's Tamiment Library, where students, scholars, and researchers may learn about the struggle against fascism. For more information go to: WWW.ALBA-VALB.ORG

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March 30, 2008 Unveiling of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade National Monument and Bay Area Annual Reunion, San Francisco

Getting ready for the unveiling, Chris Reed and Alice Shaw display a tile from the monument. April 27, 2008 Photo by Peter Glazer. New York Annual Reunion, Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, New York University

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