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Jenkins, Reed 2019 History Thesis Title: An Jenkins, Reed 2019 History Thesis Title: An American Surgeon, The Spanish Civil War, and the Faultlines of American Politics : Advisor: Jessica Chapman Advisor is Co-author: None of the above Second Advisor: Soledad Fox Released: release now Authenticated User Access: Yes Contains Copyrighted Material: No An American Surgeon, The Spanish Civil War, and the Faultlines of American Politics by Reed Jenkins Professor Jessica Chapman and Professor Soledad Fox, Advisors A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honors in History WILLIAMS COLLEGE Williamstown, Massachusetts April 15, 2019 1 Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………….. 5 Chapter One…………………………………………………………………...16 Chapter Two…………………………………………………………………...42 Chapter Three………………………………………………………………….74 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..103 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………...108 2 Acknowledgements The completion of this thesis has been the culmination of a journey begun three years ago, when I was first introduced to Dr. Edward Barsky in Professor Fox’s Americans Abroad seminar. I would like to thank the many people who have helped make this project possible with their enduring encouragement and support. I will begin by thanking my advisors, who have been so helpful every step of the way. Professor Fox, thank you for inspiring me through your passion for Spanish Civil War history and for your dedication throughout the course of this project. I am also incredibly grateful to Professor Chapman for agreeing to take on this project, and for her help untangling the complex political currents of the McCarthyist period. Both my advisors were incredibly giving of advice, time, and expertise, and this project would not have come together without them. I would also like to thank Professor Siniawer, whose insightful comments and constant encouragement through the thesis seminar helped me immeasurably throughout the writing process. Thanks to Professor Merrill for reading drafts of the thesis and helping to improve my argument and focus. I am also indebted to my classmates in the thesis seminar, who were a constant source of encouragement and helpful criticism for the thesis. My experience in the History Department at Williams both inspired me to pursue this thesis and invigorated me during its writing. Without the unstinting support of my family and friends, I could not have completed this thesis. Mom, thanks for always being there and for providing a role model through your passion for learning and teaching. Dad, thanks for your continual support throughout this endeavor. To Pak, Coco, Ro, and Maren, thanks for always being there to talk through ideas and for helping to 3 remind me of my passion for the project. Also, many thanks to other family and friends for their constant encouragement and sincere interest in the project. Finally, I would like to thank the staff at the Tamiment Library at NYU, particularly Michael Koncewicz, for their immense help during all phases of this project. Their dedicated stewardship of the memory of America’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War has made it possible for me to explore Barsky’s life. 4 Introduction On June 6, 1950, New York City surgeon Dr. Edward K. Barsky became federal inmate number 85268, surrendering himself to prison authorities in Washington D.C. Dressed in a brown plaid suit with a yellow hat, red suspenders, and grey necktie, Barsky entered the penitentiary and began his sentence handed down for a conviction of contempt of Congress. He forfeited his clothing, fountain pen, and wrist watch and began a sentence of six months’ imprisonment.1 During this period of confinement, Barsky lost twenty-three pounds, with his only access with the outside world coming through two visiting hours a month.2 As Ernest Hemingway wrote in a letter protesting Barsky’s conviction and incarceration, “Eddie [Barsky] is a saint. That’s where we put our saints in this country – in jail.”3 Why would the life of a surgeon elicit such a moniker from Hemingway, the rugged, mythical, flawed icon of American masculinity? Perhaps it is because Barsky’s life lends itself to a description mirroring the heroic tale of one of Hemingway’s literary protagonists. A citizen radicalized by the scenes of Depression-era New York. A heroic surgeon who operated under fire on a foreign battlefield for the cause of liberty. A stalwart activist who ardently campaigned for the cause of a doomed republic. A lonely voice who spoke in defiance of a government perpetrating a great miscarriage of the values it purportedly held dear. In abstract terms, these descriptions accurately depict the arc of Barsky’s narrative. Tall and spare, with a pencil-thin mustache, Barsky fit the part, whether in the street uniform of an urbane New York physician or 1 Prison Records: Statement of Sentence; Receipt of Personal Property; Edward K. Barsky Papers; ALBA.125; Box 5; Folder 3; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries. From this point forwards, footnotes citing archival sources from the Edward K. Barsky Papers will be formatted with the title of the source followed by “Edward K. Barsky Papers; ALBA.125; Box Number; Folder Number” 2 New York State Board of Education, Committee on Grievances: Hearing Transcript; Edward K. Barsky Papers; ALBA.125; Box 4; Folder 1. 3 Letter from Hemingway to Milton Wolff excerpted in Barsky’s obituary. “Edward Barsky, Surgeon, Dies; Joined Spanish Republican Side,” New York Times, Page 28, February 13, 1975. 5 the white robes and mask of a surgeon at the front. Author and contemporary Howard Fast described him as “a lean, hawklike man, handsome, commanding.”4 Yet, despite these characteristics and the almost-mythic nature of his exploits, the surgeon was never enshrined in the pantheon of American idols, and was in fact punished for his commitment. Barsky was a Communist. Is it possible for a Communist to also be remembered as a heroic American? Instead of attaining exalted status, Barsky was exiled and excoriated. He not only temporarily lost his liberty, but also his livelihood. Barsky and his image were thrust into a political maelstrom due to his activism for the cause of Republican Spain during the Spanish Civil War, exposing him in the early years of the Cold War to appropriation by both sides of the American political divide. To sympathizers of the Left, like Hemingway, the surgeon was a “saint,” a martyr whose sacrifice for the cause of Spain and bravery in the face of government persecution were proof of his virtue. For members of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), a rabidly anti-communist congressional body aimed at squashing sedition, Barsky was a threat to American security. Through these competing claims to Barsky’s life and memory, a more nuanced version of the man appears. I hope to carry the subtleties of Barsky’s character through the thesis, utilizing a wide range of sources to explore the evolution of his political and professional identities. What comes across through the documents is the portrayal of a figure more man than “saint.” Barsky was gallant, steadfast, charismatic. Yet, he could also be cantankerous, impatient, and ambitious; a man who once forced his chauffeur out of the driver’s seat in a blizzard because he knew he could do better behind the wheel.5 In sketching a portrait of Barsky, I hope to understand what 4 Phillip Deery, Red Apple: Communism and McCarthyism in Cold War New York, (New York: Fordham University Press, 2014), 14-15. Deery quotes a recollection by the noted Communist author Howard Fast. 5 James Neugass, War is Beautiful, eds. Peter N. Carroll and Peter Glazer (New York: New Press, 2008), 95-96. 6 compelled a man to abandon his comfortable life in New York for the front in Spain. How did Barsky’s politics evolve so that the Spanish Civil War became the defining cause of his life? How did Barsky reconcile his identity as a surgeon and activist? Why did this political development become threatening to segments of American society? Why, when faced with persecution, did Barsky remain willing to face national anathema for his ideals? Embedding Barsky’s narrative within the political currents of the mid-twentieth century also provides a lens through which to explore the complex and often contradictory shifts in American policy and politics. Following Barsky through the crucible of Depression-era New York emphasizes the flourishing of radical politics amidst a nation’s suffering and the deep- seated divides which threatened to tear apart the nation at the seams. The surgeon’s service in Spain and the political controversy surrounding it exposes the betrayal of democracy by the United States during the Spanish Civil War and the complicated position occupied by American veterans of the conflict when they returned home. Barsky’s persecution during the McCarthyist period reveals the nature of the perceived Communist threat during the early stages of the Cold War and the anticommunist machinery aligned to combat it. Biographical Information: Edward K. Barsky was born into a medical family on June 6, 1897. His father was a leading New York surgeon who helped to found Beth Israel Hospital. Barsky would go on to attend city public schools, and matriculate at the City College of New York. He attended medical school at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and did post-graduate 7 work in several
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