Vol. XXXI, No. 3 September 2014 PUBLISHED BY THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE ARCHIVES PODEMOS: Spain’s New Political Hope Garzón on Universal Jurisdiction Hoover’s Secret FBI Songs of the Spanish Civil War Cover photo: Pablo Iglesias, leader of PODEMOS, photo courtesy of pabloiglesias.org Founded by the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade 799 Broadway, Suite 341 New York, Dear Friends, NY 10003 (212) 674-5398 www.alba-valb.org Solidarity Forever! When things seem bleakest, hope often sparks. Editor Print Edition Peter N. Carroll Editor Online Edition The victims of Francoism have waited long enough for justice. It’s time for www.albavolunteer.org action—and the United Nations agrees. In a scathing report on the country’s Sebastiaan Faber thousands of disappeared lying in unmarked mass graves from the Civil War, Join us for ALBA’s Associate Editor Aaron B. Retish the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has given Spain 90 days to produce a working timeline to assist the victims’ families. The Book Review Editor Bay Area Reunion! Gina Herrmann report—issued in late July following a fact-finding mission last year—calls for Graphic Design “a comprehensive, coherent, and permanent state policy” with regard to the www.eyestormonline.com disappeared. Sunday, October 5, 2014 Editorial Assistance 2:00 PM (doors open at 1:00 PM) Phil Kavanaugh The UN report vindicates the work of Emilio Silva, who, for more than a Manuscripts, inquiries, and letters to the decade, has denounced Spain’s disregard for international law. (Last July, Freight & Salvage editor may be sent by email to Emilio attended the International Brigade Commemoration in London; see [email protected] Coffeehouse The editors reserve the right to modify texts his stirring speech on page 8). 2020 Addison Street for length and style. Berkeley, California Politically, too, there is hope for change. The Spanish economy has been Books for review may be sent to among the hardest hit by the crisis of 2008. Almost a quarter of the population Gina Herrmann, 102 Friendly Hall, 1233 is unemployed, and the governing Partido Popular has been mired in endless University of Oregon, corruption scandals. For a while it seemed that protest politics had fizzled out Eugene OR 97403-1233 in Spain. But this year a new grass-roots political movement emerged, calling www.albavolunteer.org itself Podemos (We Can). It was founded by a group of activists that include two charismatic Political Science professors: Pablo Iglesias, 35, and Juan Carlos IN THIS ISSUE Monedero, 51. A commemorative celebration marking the 78th p 3 Bay Area Reunion As a political party, Podemos won a surprising five seats at the elections for the anniversary of the Spanish Civil War and remembering p 4 Teaching in Tampa European Parliament in May. It is poised to rise higher in the next elections. the courageous volunteers of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. This year we pay tribute to the life of Pete Seeger, p 5 National History Day Its message is lucid and radical, and proudly draws on progressive traditions of the past, particularly the fight against fascism—as Monedero explains in his featuring previously unseen footage and presenting the p 6 Garzón on Universal interview with The Volunteer (page 15). spectacular Smithsonian re-release of the legendary "Songs Jurisdiction of the Spanish Civil War" albums that include Seeger's p 8 Exhuming Franco’s Graves We agree with Podemos and with this year’s ALBA/Puffin Award Winner 1944 "Songs of the Lincoln Brigade." Bryan Stevenson that we cannot change history without first knowing it. This p 9 Medsger on Hoover’s Secret is the philosophy that guides everything ALBA does: the teachers’ institutes FBI we are running this fall in Florida, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey; our Special guest: Human rights advocate Alison Mollman, p 12 Songs of the Spanish Civil Human Rights Film Festival in September; and our Bay Area event and Pete Equal Justice Initiative War Seeger tribute in October. Songs of the Spanish Civil War by Bruce Barthol, with Velina p 14 Faces of ALBA: Bruce Brown, Randy Craig, Tony Marcus, and Barrett Nelson. Of course, we could do nothing at all if it weren’t for your continued support. Barthol Un millón de gracias for your steadfast commitment. p 15 J.C. Monedero on PODEMOS Tickets: $29 advance / $31 at door p 19 Book Reviews Discounts for seniors, students and Friends of the Freight p 21 In Memoriam Gert Tickets may be purchased online at: Hoffmann www.thefreight.org/abraham-lincoln-brigade-celebration Tel. (510) 644-2020 p 21 In Memoriam Hans Sebastiaan Faber Marina Garde Landauer Chair of the Board Executive Director of Governors p 22 Legacy Gift to ALBA p 23 Contributions Pete Seeger in concert, Feb. 1986, Photo Josef Schwarz, CC BY-SA 3.0 2 THE VOLUNTEER September 2014 September 2014 THE VOLUNTEER 3 ALBA Reaches Out to Teachers in Four States By the Editors History Kicking off a busy fall, ALBA worked with teachers in Tampa. Day Sam, Eli, and Bjorn. Winners Three 8th-grade students at the Open and Wilson libraries to peruse their large bathroom breaks, our names were World Learning Community school in newspaper archives for information from announced as first place winners of the St. Paul, Minnesota--Sam Dale-Gau, the time of the war. Finally, we watched junior group documentary division! This Bjorn Holm, and Eli Sage-Martinson-- and listened to tapes of the Brigade and meant we would be attending Nationals placed fifth at the National History Day CDs of their anthems that we received in June. Finals in the category of Junior Group from Peter Rachleff, a professor at Documentary for their work on the Macalester College. As Nationals neared we hurried to history of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. record our newly edited script and Participants and faculty of the 2014 ALBA Institute in Tampa. The three produced a short documentary The first competition was within our edit the documentary. The time we film based on archival research and school. At that point we had a rough did spend competing was intense and ALBA’s Institute staff has a busy fall, with workshops broke out in Spain. He was determined to join the Lincoln interviews. The Finals were held June 15- script and a good idea of where we nerve wracking. Like at State, we did lined up in Tampa, Florida; Bloomington, Illinois; New York Brigade, but in the end was not able to go to Spain. After World 19 in Washington DC. Here’s their report were planning to go with it. Between well in the first round and came away City; and Bergen County, New Jersey. On August 13, ALBA War II he worked hard to get Jewish refugees from Europe to the (slightly abridged). then and the regional event we feeling confident. Later that day, the led a professional development day for social studies teachers in United States.” broadened our research to encompass results were posted on three large TVs Tampa’s Hillsborough County School District, the third largest t the beginning of the year we two interviews and a variety of texts from and we found out that we had made the in Florida and eighth largest in the country. This was ALBA’s fifth institute in Tampa—a historical center spent nearly a month attempting the University of Minnesota. At Regionals National finals! This meant the same as of Spanish immigration and labor activism, from which more to settle on a topic. One day we had a full-fledged documentary State, we would present our project one Fraser Ottanelli, Vice Chair of ALBA and Professor of History at than two dozen volunteers left to join the fight against fascism in Awhile we were researching, we came overflowing with content. Advancing more time. It went well and we watched the University of Southern Florida, worked with veteran teacher Spain. The city’s Centro Asturiano, founded exactly 100 years ago, across an interesting website pertaining from Regionals was a big relief that other competitors documentary’s and Robert Alicea and ALBA’s Sebastiaan Faber to introduce teachers features a monument in their memory. to the Spanish Civil War. We were didn’t last long because soon we were began to feel less confident. Then, out of U.S. History, World History, Government, and Psychology to amazed by the sacrifice the Brigade pulled into the thrall of statewide history of nowhere, it was time for the awards the Lincoln Brigade and the Spanish Civil War. “My teachers are becoming quite familiar with the new Common made for what they believed in and the day. The time between Regionals and ceremony. Amidst all the excitement and Core benchmarks,” said Dennis Holt, district supervisor of bravery they exemplified throughout state was probably the period when our state pride, we nervously fiddled with “The Spanish Civil War and the story of the Lincoln Brigade form secondary social studies. “What we are now desperate for is good the war. We became familiar with our project evolved the most. We conducted our backpacks, phones, shirts, pants, the hub of a giant wheel with dozens of curricular spokes that content, particularly well-selected primary source materials. And topic by reading online articles and an interview with another professor, you name it. Then, we were up, “Junior go far beyond the 1930s,” Alicea said. “It provides a fascinating that is precisely what ALBA provides us with.” public library books. Next, we took a were given footage of an interview group documentary.” First place went by, window into issues and topics as diverse as the Great Depression, trip to the University of Minnesota and with one of the veterans himself, and second, then third, our names were not ideology, the rise of fascism, the Cold War, race, civil rights, the For more information about ALBA’s institutes, or for a range of looked at their microfilm and books to accessed newspaper articles from the called.