Austin Bryan 12/14/2020 Subversive Patriots

Presidential historian Jon Meacham recently stated that “history [...] has a wonderful way of changing how we view things. In real time, people or events that are dismissed or derided can

1 come to look better and loom larger in retrospect.” ​ Such a historiographical lesson is perhaps ​ indispensable in evaluating the merit of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade’s commitment to fighting in Spain. It is commonly accepted today that the allied effort in the second World War was an absolutely necessary and righteous rejection of Nazism, Italian fascism, and Japanese imperialism. What’s less commonly considered is the pre-war reluctance, throughout the 1930s, of democratic Europe and the United States to oppose the territorial expansion, and military buildup, of fascist European regimes.

The notion of negotiating with Hitler appears, with historical hindsight, akin to madness.

The hard lessons learnt from Munich, however, prove that within the contemporaneous political landscape, , and tangentially non-intervention, were considered reasonable policies to the end of avoiding another calamitous war. Waiting in the wings for his history-defining service as the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill was a famous dissenting voice within conservative circles regarding appeasement. Less widely acknowledged in their prescient assessment of the danger of fascism were the roughly 3,000 American volunteers who combated a fascist uprising in Spain, on the eve of global war.2 ​ The is an historical event which, when viewed from the future, does assume greater significance as a prelude, of sorts, to the following world war. The war began as an attempted military coup initiated by several prominent Spanish generals, in July of 1936. As

1 Jon Meacham, "Ronald Reagan's Farewell Address," C13Originals, 2020, ep. 5. 2 C​ ary Nelson and Jefferson Hendricks, 1937 (New York: Routledge, 1996), 1. the (the formally recognized, left-leaning, and democratic government of Spain) successfully resisted the capture of eastern Spain by the fascist rebels, the coup became a prolonged civil war that would ultimately end in April of 1939, in a nationalist (fascist/rebel) victory. Early in the course of the conflict, assumed leadership of the nationalist faction, supported with arms and air support from and Fascist Italy.

The Second Spanish Republic, in turn, received munitions from the Soviet Union in exchange for

Spanish gold reserves. While the republic was still formally recognized by the United States,

Great Britain, and France up until its eventual defeat, these nations assumed positions of neutrality and policies of non-intervention in regards to the Spanish Civil War.3 ​ The American reluctance to become entangled in the conflict can be explained by a general isolationist sentiment that characterized the US approach towards Europe in the 1930s.

The British and French policies towards Spain can be understood as partially stemming from a miscalculated acceptance of false German assurances of non-intervention. The republican war effort was bolstered, however, by the presence of international volunteer soldiers who were organized into the by the Soviet organization Comintern (). The American volunteers were organized into a Washington Battalion and an

Abraham Lincoln Battalion, later combined and collectively referred to as the Abraham Lincoln

Brigade. Most of the Lincoln volunteers veered left to far-left in their politics, and demonstrated in their writings a coincidentally limited understanding of the totalitarian nature of the USSR.4 ​ But in more earnestly considering the perspective of these early American anti-fascists, it becomes clear that much of their commitment to preserving Spanish democracy can be drawn from their own objections to the political and social climate of America at the time. The service

3 Ibid., 1; Brian Domitrovic, “There Must Be ,” Forbes; Nelson and Hendricks, 3. ​ 4 Ibid., 3; Ibid., 307. ​ and writings of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade expressed discontentment with the politics of

1930s America, and a desire for change. Namely, these grievances are best understood through the issues of racial injustice, isolationism, and the lack of political and social tolerance for left-leaning ALB veterans.

The Abraham Lincoln Brigade was one of the first racially integrated American fighting units, with black and white soldiers fighting alongside each other, 11 years ahead of President

Truman’s executive order to integrate the previously segregated US military in 1948. More than

80 African-Americans served in the ALB. Some of these men rose to the ranks of company

5 captains during the course of the war. ​ Moreover, in the many personal writings and testimony of ​ black ALB veterans, these men consistently praise the openness of the Spanish people and the

International Brigades to fighting with black soldiers. When asked by a US Subversive Activities

Control Board member, in 1954, whether he felt as though he had been treated unfairly on the basis of race by his peers in the International Brigades, ALB veteran Crawford Morgan offered a poignant response:

“No, from the time I arrived in Spain until the time I left, for that period of my life I felt

like a human being [...] People didn’t look at me with hatred in their eyes because I was

black, and I wasn’t refused [anything] because I was black. I was treated like all the rest

of the people were treated, and when you [...] have been treated worse than people treat

their dogs, it is quite a nice feeling to go someplace and you feel like a human being.”6 ​ Integrated service in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade reflected a progressive racial outlook on the part of American volunteers that stood in contrast to racial attitudes in 1930s America that were shaded by Jim Crow. The Lincoln vets’ frustrations towards segregation were exacerbated for the

5 Peter Carroll, The Good Fight Continues (New York: New York University Press, 2008), 116; Langston Hughes, ​ "Harlem Ball Player Now Captain in Spain,” Afro-American, February 12 1938, 6. 6 Carroll, 258. many ALB vets who elected to join the US military for a second go against fascism in WWII.7 ​ For black soldiers going from service in an integrated outfit to a segregated army, the transition highlighted a rather obvious hypocrisy on the part of a country mobilizing against the Nazi

8 regime and its odious racial philosophies. ​ Even prior to reintroduction to segregated service, ​ while in Spain, Lincolns wrote extensively on racial injustice and the need to overthrow racism in the US. Many believed that their service in Spain would aid in the battle against Jim Crow, given that, to the Lincoln Brigade, Jim Crow policies were emblematic of a form of American fascism. This sentiment is reflected in letters written by veteran Canute Frankson: “why I, a

Negro [...] am here in Spain today? [...] Because if we crush fascism here, we’ll save our people

9 in America.” ​ He reiterated this belief a year later, in another letter: ​ “I do hope that everyone of you who love liberty and democracy has done, and is doing,

everything to help our cause here [...] You must understand, by now, that our fight is

inseparable from the struggle of the progressives of the world who fight to put an end to

tyranny [...] And that we can never think of freedom for our oppressed race until a realm

of freedom and democracy is established for the whole people.”10 ​ The experiences of ALB volunteers fighting in integrated units in Spain underscored their acrimony towards racial relations in the US. Their service abroad, and their writings, serve as a repudiation for what the Lincolns perceived as shades of fascism in Jim Crow policy.

In his letter, Frankson's allusion to the ‘whole people’ reveals another characteristic of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade members, a commitment to internationalism. In many of their actions and writings, this feeling is most obviously manifested in their critiques of American

7 Carroll, 127. 8 Ibid., 136. ​ 9 Nelson and Hendricks, 34. 10 Ibid., 132. isolationism. The United States enacted an arms embargo as the war began in order to maintain a position of neutrality. General American opinion tentatively sided with the Spanish republicans,

11 but with a tremendous Catholic influence that supported the rebels. ​ This dichotomy resulted in ​ occasional clashes between groups that supported the ALB at home, such as the Veterans of the

Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) or the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (FALB), and

Catholics who were supportive of the arms embargo and policy of neutrality.12 ​ In a New York Times article dated to December of 1938, it was reported that labor union ​ ​ affiliates were supporting VALB and FALB in their efforts urging President Roosevelt to lift the embargo on Spain. Archie Brown wrote a month earlier on rumors circulating through the brigade of Roosevelt’s desire to lift the embargo: “Today’s papers carry the story that Roosevelt will propose the lifting of the embargo on Spain [...] Boy what the Spanish people couldn’t do with a few more artillery pieces & planes & of course food [...] The people of Spain need guns & food.” While this hope (that the Spanish people would win out against the nationalists with military aid) was present among the Lincolns throughout the war, it gained additional credence and fervor following the relatively successful Ebro offensive. Following a limited resupply of munitions from the Soviet Union, the International Brigades were able to mount a surprise attack across the Ebro river. Until Franco’s reinforcements arrived, the brigades performed with incredible competence given their comparative lack of arms. Following the Ebro offensive,

Lincolns became incredibly confident that the rousing performance of the brigades could convince the democratic powers to lift their embargos, ditch their neutrality policies, and support the republic in a substantive way. A veteran of the Ebro campaign, Dave Gordon, wrote that,

“this should be a starting point for a new drive to aid Spain [...] Spain needs help. Spain must

11 Ibid., 158. 12 “RIVAL CAMPS OPEN EMBARGO BATTLE: CATHOLICS URGE RETENTION OF BAN ON SPAIN,” New York Times, January 10 1939, 1. have arms. This is the best answer to the fascists and to the capitulators. The Ebro, from beginning to end, is ample proof of who would win the war given equality of material on both

13 sides.” ​ Members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade saw a lift on the US embargo to Spain as one ​ of the most important and effective international actions that could be taken to help secure a republican victory in the civil war.

Much of the opposition to isolationism, on the part of ALB fighters, was based on the conviction that Spain represented a turning point in the history of the world, and that the outcome of the conflict would determine the international promulgation of either democracy or

14 fascism. ​ A corollary concern was the transmission of Nazi or Italian style fascism to the United ​ States, if more wasn’t done to counter its expansion in Europe. Hyman Katz, one of a few Jewish

American volunteers, comments on this concern in a letter to his mother: “Seeing all these things-how fascism is grasping power in many countries [...] can’t you see that fascism is our own problem-that it may come to us as it came to other countries? And don’t you realize that we

15 Jews will be the first to suffer if fascism comes?” ​ Such an expectation of fascism grasping the ​ United States was certainly one of the most powerful driving factors for the veterans who served in Spain.

ALB veterans often took the view that they bore a certain amount of responsibility for the defense of democratic nations. Some of the Lincolns expressed such a responsibility for other nations as a part of a global proletariat, which would suffer under fascism. Veteran Donald

Macleod expressed in his letter a view of the international proletariat defeating Franco:

“Thousands of Americans are here, Germans are here, Italians, French, Chinese, Japanese, men

13 "UNIONS JOIN TO AID LOYALIST FIGHTERS,” New York Times, December 18 1938, 44; Nelson and ​ ​ Hendricks, 460; Ibid., 399; Ibid., 415. 14 Ibid., 248. 15 Ibid., 32. from all ends of the earth are here fighting so that Franco shall not win the war. In short, the working people of the world are marching to defeat Franco and subsequently international

16 fascism as well.” ​ Other Lincolns viewed this international responsibility less through this ​ perspective of the rising power of the global working class, and instead came to understand the responsibility for protecting democracy globally as being rooted in American values and history.

Archie Brown writes in his letter of he perceived as the incompatibility of isolationism with

American history:

“Ford outlined the past History of the U.S. and did a good job. He showed that neither

Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, or Frederick Douglass were isolationists when it came

down to brass tacks. All of them invited foreign help, and cooperated with foreign nations

fighting for independence. He cited the French and Polish troops that came during the

Revolutionary War.”17 ​ Whether fighting for Spanish democracy out of a perceived danger posed by Facism towards the

United States, or out of a sense of responsibility to the working classes of the world or to one’s values and history as an American, the volunteers in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade believed in international action on the part of the world’s democratic powers against the Spanish rebels. To this end, they were critical of American isolationism and sought a lift of the embargo on Spain.

The United States failed to understand the motivations of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.

The actions of the International Brigades were viewed with suspicion by the US. Veterans, upon returning to the United States a few months prior to the end of the Spanish Civil War, faced degrees of social and political backlash for their decision to go and volunteer in Spain that would follow them for years. While many of these instances of political intolerance towards the

16 Ibid., 338. 17 Ibid., 53. predominantly left-leaning Lincoln vets occurred after the Spanish conflict and into the 1940s, it was the 1930s political atmosphere that initially marked the ALB as a subversive organisation, and its members as potential national security threats.

During the tail end of the Spanish war, the Dies Committee was formed in 1938. It was a precursor to the standing House Committee on Un-American Activities that would be formed a few years later. The Dies Committee was fairly adamant on portraying groups associated with

18 the ALB or the cause for Spanish democracy as Communist Party fronts. ​ Lincoln vets, in their ​ writings, would often express frustration with the few accounts of coverage they would receive in national, mainstream newspapers. Sandor Voros expresses his problems with the New York

Times and coverage of theirs which suggested that the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, and the international brigades, were dissolving (Juan Negrin would announce the withdrawal of foreign troops form the Spanish republican forces a few days later): “All this impossible talk on the

‘break-up’ of the International Brigades is so much tommy-rot. This may be the wishful thinking of the N.Y. Times, but it is not the actual situation here. The I.B. is still here and doing an

19 excellent job.” ​ Here, Voros reveals an important and easy to miss detail about the Lincolns ​ assumptions about the American mainstream press; that being that they mistrusted the Abraham

Lincoln Brigade and hoped to see them fail. Such a suspicion was likely fostered by the

Honeycomb expose, printed in the Washington Post. Once a member of the Washington ​ ​ Battalion, John Honeycomb became disillusioned by the ALB and the American Communist

Party. His article, published in April of 1938, describes the US’ Battalions as having been annihilated by Franco’s forces, essentially portraying the international effort to save Spain as on

20 its last legs. ​ This article drew the ire of a few Lincoln veterans, who likely considered that such ​

18 "DIES INVOKES LAW ON REDS AND BUND,” New York Times, November 28 1938, 2. ​ 19 Nelson and Hendricks, 439. 20 John Honeycomb, "U.S. Battalions' Annihilation in Spain Revealed,” April 8 1938, 1. ​ rhetoric would diminish the chances of a lifted embargo or any other concession towards the

Spanish republic on behalf of the US government. Many Lincoln veterans who had returned home early wrote the editors of various newspapers who circulated the story with complaints and refutations of what they considered lies being spread about the American volunteers. In a subsequent New York Times article, Alvin Cohen (an ALB lieutenant) is given the opportunity to ​ ​ respond to the Honeycomb article: “The figure of 8,500 killed; wounded and missing that

Honeycomb gave for the Americans here is highly exaggerated. According to the best figures available there were never more than 2,000 Americans in Spain at any given time [...] Tell [your readers] that we are still here and still going strong and that they must not believe all the lies they

21 hear about us.” ​ Instances such as the Honeycomb expose hurt the reputation of the ALB and ​ precipitated more direct opposition from the US government through efforts such as the Dies

Committee.

Following defeat in the Spanish Civil War, many veterans of the ALB were eager to enlist in the US military to combat the Nazis and Italians in the Second World War. Most of these eager antifascists, however, faced difficulties in serving in the army given their history in the International Brigades. Many of the veterans found this stance on the part of the US military to be hypocritical and ill-informed. As Daniel Fitzgerald wrote: “Why the hell should I be denied

22 a job I am qualified for just because I am a militant anti-fascist?” ​ Those who weren’t denied ​ were often placed into companies that were work outfits in manufacturing munitions, alongside other misfits and undesirable soldiers: “Let me tell you something of the character of this company. It is composed of I-B or limited service men, many of whom, in my opinion, are malingerers. Further, there are Japanese, Germans, and Italians in this company who are not

21 Herbert Matthews, "AMERICAN LEADERS EVADE INSURGENTS,” April 10 1938, 32. 22 C​ arroll, 67. 23 allowed to go to combat outfits. Some are suspected of Fascist-Nazi leanings.” ​ On the whole, ​ ALB veterans were sidelined as radicals by the US government upon their return. Some of this perception may have been informed by a press that, oftentimes, would run stories which Lincolns found to be corrosive to the ALB’s morale and reputation at home. These all reflected frustrations on the part of many ALB members of the limited, acceptable, political spectrum in

1930s America.

The service and writings of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade clearly illustrate a fervent desire to protect Spanish democracy against encroaching fascism. Beyond that, however, these things also speak to the grievances these soldiers held towards their own country. Many of these men were intensely patriotic Americans, and yet regardless of their differing levels of commitment to their country, they all recognized fundamental problems with 1930s American that would only become self-evident to a plurality of Americans decades later. Among these issues were racial injustice, isolationism, and the lack of political and social tolerance for left-leaning veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.

23 Carroll, 75.

Bibliography

Carroll, Peter N., Michael Nash, and Melvin Small. The Good Fight Continues: World War II ​ Letters from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. New York: New York University Press, ​ 2006.

Domitrovic, Brian. "There Must Be Moscow Gold." Forbes. August 11, 2011. https://www.forbes.com/sites/briandomitrovic/2011/05/09/there-be-moscow-gold/?sh=51 d2f83f761b.

Honeycomb, John. 1938. "U.S. Battalions' Annihilation in Spain Revealed: 200 Remain of 9,000, Sur- Vivor of Belchite and Gandesa Says." The Washington Post (1923-1954), ​ ​ Apr 08, 1. https://login.libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.chapm an.edu/docview/151051670?accountid=10051.

Hughes, Langston. 1938. "Harlem Ball Player Now Captain in Spain: Basilio Cueria, Head of Machine Gun Company, Called One of the Best Officers." Afro-American (1893-1988), ​ ​ Feb 12, 6. https://login.libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.chapm an.edu/docview/531199274?accountid=10051.

Matthews,. Herbert. 1938. "AMERICAN LEADERS EVADE INSURGENTS: THREE OF THE FIVE COMMANDERS LOST IN THE BREAK THROUGH REACH LOYALIST LINES IN FOES' TERRITORY 6 DAYS BRIGADE BITTER AT REPORTS IT WANTS TO QUIT SPAIN--TWO MORE FROM IT REACH FRANCE A FORMER CHOIRBOY OFFICER CRITICIZES HIM 2 MORE AMERICANS REACH FRANCE IDENTITY IS ESTABLISHED." New York Times (1923-Current File), Apr 10, 32. ​ ​ https://login.libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.chapm an.edu/docview/102588620?accountid=10051.

Meacham, Jon. "Ronald Reagan's Farewell Address," It Was Said (podcast), C13Originals, September 23 2020, ep. 5. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/it-was-said-podcast.

Nelson, Cary, and Jefferson Hendricks. Madrid, 1937 : Letters of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade ​ from the Spanish Civil War. New York: Routledge, 1996. ​ https://search-ebscohost-com.libproxy.chapman.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=i p,uid&db=cat00478a&AN=chap.b8845001&site=eds-live.

New York Times. 1938. "DIES INVOKES LAW ON REDS AND BUND: HE ASKS HULL FOR PROSECUTIONS FOR FAILURE TO REGISTER AS FOREIGN AGENTS LISTS MANY OTHER GROUPS HEARINGS INDICATE LEADERS ARE OF THE SUBJECT TO IMPRISONMENT UP TO TWO YEARS, HE SAYS COMMUNISTS FLATLY ACCUSED NAMES CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION DROPS GYPSY ROSE LEE ANGLE." New York Times (1923-Current File), Nov 28, 2. ​ ​ https://login.libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.chapm an.edu/docview/102484667?accountid=10051.

New York Times. 1938. "UNIONS JOIN TO AID LOYALIST FIGHTERS: A.F.L. AND C.I.O. BOTH PLEDGE SUPPORT TO LINCOLN BRIGADE." New York Times (1923-Current ​ File), Dec 18, 44. ​ https://login.libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.chapm an.edu/docview/102458688?accountid=10051.

New York Times. 1939. "RIVAL CAMPS OPEN EMBARGO BATTLE: CATHOLICS URGE RETENTION OF BAN ON SPAIN--OTHERS PETITION FOR ITS REMOVAL CATHOLICS BACK EMBARGO A SECOND CONDITION RIVAL CAMPS OPEN EMBARGO BATTLE ASSAILS "PRESSURE" GROUPS LEGAL ISSUES DISCUSSED COMPLAINS OF "RUN-AROUND"." New York Times (1923-Current ​ File), Jan 10, 1. ​ https://login.libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.chapm an.edu/docview/103024469?accountid=10051.