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Vol. XXVII, No. 4 December 2005

Lincoln vet Dave Smith (right) and Lt. Col. Fred Seamon march with the Veterans for in to protest the . See page 13. The Veterans for Peace will be honored at the VALB Bay Area reunion in March 2006. See back page for details. Photo by Loren Sterling. The Volunteer Letter From the Editor Journal of the The enthusiastic response to our previous special Veterans of the issue, “The Cultural Legacy of the Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln Brigade Brigade,” has been gratifying. The success of the re- an ALBA publication lated exhibition and lecture series at NYU’s King Juan 799 Broadway, Rm. 227 Carlos I Center (see page 1) is equally appreciated. New York, NY 10003 These programs represent ALBA’s maturing presence (212) 674-5398 on the New York scene, part of our long-term project of Editorial Board presenting significant cultural issues to the public. Peter N. Carroll • Gina Herrmann We are already planning our annual tribute to the Fraser Ottanelli • Abe Smorodin Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade for September Book Review Editor 27, 2006. It will feature an original musical perfor- Shirley Mangini mance, led by the acclaimed singer Barbara Dane and Art Director-Graphic Designer members of the San Francisco Mime Troupe, that will Richard Bermack honor the Veterans For Peace. Soon afterward, New York University Press expects to publish a new ALBA Editorial Assistance Nancy Van Zwalenburg book, The Good Fight Continues: World War II Letters from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, edited by Peter N. Carroll, Submission of Manuscripts Michael Nash, and Melvin Small. Just a little further Please send manuscripts by E-mail or on disk. E-mail: [email protected] down the road, we are preparing a major exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York for the spring of 2007. This issue of The Volunteer showcases some of our re- cent projects: Antonio Muñoz Molina’s “Memories of a Distant War,” presented last April as the 2005 ALBA-Bill Museum Seeks Artifacts Susman Lecture; the winning essay of the George Watt Memorial student essay contest, “’A Lyrical War’: Songs The Museum of the City of New York of the ,” by Laurence Birdsey, an ho- seeks to borrow objects, photographs, nors student at Davidson College; ALBA’s new website documents, and ephemera for an exhibition, teaching materials on Spanish Civil War Posters by Cary co-sponsored with ALBA, on “ Nelson and Children’s Art in Wartime by Tony Geist and the Spanish Civil War.” The exhibition and Peter N. Carroll. We’re also printing a lauditory re- is planned for the spring of 2007. Material view of ALBA Board member Peter Glazer’s new book, related to Brigade members from New Radical Nostalgia. Note, too, the on-going exploits of VALB York, homefront activity, artistic or literary peace advocates Abe Osheroff and David Smith, as well contributions, political debates, organizations, as the birthday boys, Moe Fishman and Milton Wolff. etc., is welcome. Please contact Sarah Henry The Volunteer is the successor of The Volunteer for at 212-534-1672 x3319 or [email protected]. Liberty, the wartime publication of the U.S. volunteers in the Spanish Civil War. It has been published continuous- ly since 1937, and we expect to sustain its growth into the future. To do that, of course, we need your support. We en- Advertise in the Volunteer courage you to subscribe, to offer holiday subscriptions to Beginning with the next issue, The Volunteer wel- your loved ones, to give a little more than usual this year. comes paid advertising consistent with ALBA’s —Peter N. Carroll broad educational and cultural mission. For more information, contact [email protected]. Public Programs Enrich ALBA Exhibit Spanish Civil War, particularly the massive anti-Nazi mobilization among the Jewish community, in contrast to the less emphatic response of the city’s German com- munity. He observed that Italian enclaves in the city were largely supportive of Mussolini, though strong anti-fascist sentiment ran among Italian trade unio- nists. In the African-American community, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia galvanized a critical response, though the protest movement there was limited. Within New York’s Irish community, Wallace said, the Catholic Church dominated public res- ponses to the war in . The church hierarchy supported the nationalist cause and decried the godles- sness of the Spanish Republic, though the Catholic laity was much more divided in its response. VALB poet Edwin Rolfe, one of the artists featured in the exhibit. According to Wallace, the considerable pro-fascist With “The Cultural Legacy of the Abraham Lincoln sentiment and action around the city was countered by Brigade” on the walls of NYU’s King Juan Carlos I far less ethnically definable groups. For instance, the Center, a series of lectures, panels, and film screenings Communist Party led domestic efforts to support the have drawn enthusiastic audiences to the exhibition. Republic. Of course, the young men and women who vo- At the launch party in September, co-curators James lunteered to fight for the Spanish Republic proved the Fernandez and Elizabeth Compa described the diver- extent to which the war and its ramifications reached sity of the show, calling attention to the serendipitous the general population and spurred citizens to act. discovery of hidden art in the ALBA collection. A third round of panel discussions, on October 28, fo- Among the gems Compa cited were three sketch cused on the U.S. film industry’s depictions of the Spanish books containing notes and pencil drawings of warti- Civil War. Art Simon, a professor of English and Film me Spain. The artist was a little-known member of the Studies at Montclair State University, and Peter N. Carroll, New York Artists Union, Meredith Sydnor Graham, who teaches film and history at Stanford University, an African-American volunteer who was killed at addressed the relationship between U.S. wartime poli- Brunete in 1937. Fernandez linked the exhibit to the cy and the release of such films asBlockade , Casablanca, progressive “Cultural Front” of the 1930s that ins- and The Fallen Sparrow. They also linked these movies pired artistic creativity and political awareness. to the postwar anti-communist campaign in the film in- The second lecture, “Gotham and the Spanish Civil dustry and the that affected such War,” was presented on October 7 by Mike Wallace, co- Lincoln veterans as and Edwin Rolfe. author of Gotham, the extensive history of New York Other programs included Peter Glazer’s “The Skin of City. Wallace’s lecture focused primarily on ways that the World: Spanish Civil War, Image/Music/Text” and the various ethnic communities in New York responded Paul D’Ambrosio’s lecture on the life and work of Lincoln to the rise of fascism in Europe and the outbreak of the vet and painter Ralph Fasanella.

THE VOLUNTEER December 2005  ALBA in the Classroom: New Website Resources

By Fraser Ottanelli at San Diego and from Columbia Puffin Foundation, Ltd, and the While fighting for its survival, University’s Avery Architectural Program for Cultural Cooperation the Spanish Republican government and Fine Arts Library, curators Tony Between Spain’s Ministry of devoted considerable energy and Geist and Peter Carroll illustrate the Culture and U.S. Universities. resources to the physical and psy- trauma of modern warfare as seen The new programs are part of chological well-being of children, as through the eyes of children, the ALBA’s continuing activities to bring well to the education of a population main victims of war and violence. the history of the antifascist struggle with a high rate of illiteracy. As part For centuries, under the con- into our nation’s classrooms. of the educational series “For Your trol of the Catholic Church, Spain’s Fraser Ottanelli is the Vice-Chair of ALBA. Liberty and Ours,” ALBA is proud to educational system did not believe announce the release of two new mul- in the need for ei- timedia programs that deal with these ther peasants or important aspects of the Spanish women to read. One people’s struggle against fascism: of the main accom- “They Still Draw Pictures: Children’s plishments of the The following multi-media educational Drawings during the Spanish Civil Republic was to re- programs are available at no cost: War,” http://www.alba-valb.org/ verse that pattern by “The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939: An curriculum/index.php?module=7, developing a mod- Overview for Students and Educators” and “The Spanish Civil War Poster: ern and democratic www.alba-valb.org/curriculum/index.php?module=5 Art in Politics in the Struggle for educational system. “Jewish Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War” Democracy,” http://www.alba-valb. Similarly, an im- www.alba-valb.org/curriculum/index.php?module=1 org/curriculum/index.php?module=6 pressive production “ in the Spanish Civil War” Far from the war’s violence, of full-color post- www.alba-valb.org/curriculum/index.php?module=2 the Republic established Children’s ers that combined Colonies, staffed by teachers, medi- strong graphics “Tools for Teachers and Educators” www.alba-valb.org/curriculum/index.php?module=4 cal personnel, and social workers, with brief slogans to provide comfort and security to made it possible to “They Still Draw Pictures: Teaching Materials” over 200,000 refugee children. To communicate basic www.alba-valb.org/curriculum/index.php?module=3 help deal with the trauma of war messages and build ”They Still Draw Pictures: Children’s and separation from their families, support among a Drawings during the Spanish Civil War” children were encouraged to draw population with a www.alba-valb.org/curriculum/index.php?module=7 pictures of their experiences. This high rate of illiteracy. “The Spanish Civil War Poster: Art in first-known systematic use of art as Cary Nelson’s “The Politics in the Struggle for Democracy” therapy for children in wartime re- Spanish War Poster” www.alba-valb.org/curriculum/index.php?module=6 sulted in thousands of drawings, presents a detailed some of which found their way to the analysis of the to help raise money for content and the evo- the colonies during the war. These lution of this form of drawings form the core of the pro- public art, which combined free artis- gram “They Still Draw Pictures.” tic expression with democratic values. Using archival material from the These multi-media education- www.alba-valb.org Mandeville Special Collections al programs were made possible Library of the University of by the generous support of The

 THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 the outbreak of the war, and to the dif- ferent ways in which it still casts its long shadow at the time of my child- hood and had a formative effect on my imagination, nurturing it with stories that many years later would turn into the very stuff some my novels would be made of. A great Spanish actor, playwright and novelist, Fernando Fernán-Gómez, who spent his teenage years in wartime , has written in his memoirs that when he first trav- eled abroad in the early fifties, to act in films in and , he found out that in these two countries the scars of the war were everywhere in sight. But there was a difference with the situation in Spain: in our country, in the fifties, the wounds from the war were still open and bleeding.

Photo by Richard Bermack by Photo Not that I was aware of that at the time: there were no ruins to be seen By Antonio Muñoz Molina the pros and cons of a remote politi- at my hometown, because it was lo- Editor’s note: On April 29, Antonio cal choice: but it is quite different to cated far from the fronts and it held Muñoz Molina, Spain’s most celebrated be courageous enough to throw one- no strategical importance whatsoever. contemporary novelist and Director of self into the strife and the turmoil of The wounds or scars of war could be the Cervantes Institute in New York, the times one is living, where almost perceived in an indirect way, behind presented the following essay as the 7th annual ALBA-Bill Susman Lecture at NYU’s King Juan Carlos I Center. s a Spanish and citi- zen, as a left-wing person, Aand also as the grandson of MEMORIESOF A DISTANT two men who fought on the Loyalist side during the Spanish Civil War, and who suffered all throughout their WAR lives the consequences of the defeat of the Second Republic, I am deeply everything may seem uncertain and a thick fog of silence and fear, or as honored and moved by being here shady, but where what are at stake peculiar signs scattered all over our tonight, paying tribute to the gen- are the most pressing issues and chal- daily lives: middle-age men lacking erosity and the heroism of so many lenges any decent person should an arm or a leg, clumsily walking Americans who overcame all kinds confront, namely, freedom and justice. on crutches; mysterious letters or of difficulties to travel to a distant This talk is not meant to be a lec- acronyms showing beneath a fad- country with the purpose of joining ture about the historical significance ing spot of whitewash on the façade the fight against Fascism and against of the Spanish Civil War. I am not of a building; people your father or social injustice. It is easy to judge a historian, but a writer of fictions, grandfather pointed at discreetly historical events with the benefit of so I would rather limit the scope of in the street, lowering their voices hindsight, from the comfortable dis- this talk to my own experiences as a to say to you, “This was a man of tance of time, and to see in perspective Spaniard born 20 years exactly after Continued on page 

THE VOLUNTEER December 2005  Continued from page  ideas and that’s why they sent him to bronze chest covered with medals. I guess I detected a strain of sad or jail.“”This man’s son, or father, was But the most frightening things about dry irony in my father’s voice every shot when the Nationals came into this giant are some black and round time he repeated that story: so much town at the end of the war.” I was a holes scattered all over his chest, face effort, all those many precious bul- very curious boy, always overhearing and neck, even on the socket of one lets, so badly needed in the real fight, the hushed conversations of adults. of his eyes, as if a bird had picked at wasted in a show of phony bravery. Signs and revolutionary mes- it. The metal monster looks thick and In July 1936, my late father was sages written on the walls of our town massive, but through all these holes eight years old. He was the eldest had been painted over long before you find that it is actually hollow. And son of a small farm owner in our I was born, but with the passing of then my father tells me a story that midsize town in the northern part time the deleted words and names I will hear once and again along my of Andalusia. I must make myself as were back in view, as the overpaint childhood years, and that will some- clear as possible, as you may need faded. CNT, FAI, LOOR A DURRUTI. time make its way into my first novel. to know where I stand in order to Nobody but me seemed to payMe much Them military manories was General weigh the value of my personal tes- attention to these neglected remains. Saro, my father would explain to me, timony, the sources of my narrative. Nobody cared to paint them over the richest landowner in our prov- My grandfather’s farm could be better again. I asked what those reddish let- Warince, who had distinguished himself called a vegetable and fruit orchard, ters meant, who was Durruti, or what in the colonial Spain had been one of the many fertile huertas which was it like to be a man of ideas, “un waging for years against the restless surrounded the outskirts of town, ir- hombre de ideas,” but seldom I got natives in Northern Morocco in the rigated by a centuries old system of a straightforward answer, so mys- first two decades of the 20th century. reservoir and ditches dating from teries grew bigger instead of being When the civil war broke out, General the times of the Arab civilization in dispelled, and the blank spaces of ig- Saro had been long dead, but, maybe Spain. The vegetables and fruit they so norance and silence were ready to be because he embodied the military expertly grew were sold at the stalls filled with the flights of imagination. caste and the reactionary class of idle they kept at the central market. They One of my oldest memories runs landowners, some Anarchist com- were hardworking and highly skilled like this: grabbing my father’s huge mittee had decided to visit upon his peasants, although their economy peasant hand, I walk across the cen- statue the punishment they thought never went beyond the level of strug- tral square in my hometown, a square he would have deserved. A firing gling subsistence, as is often the case with a medieval tower and a clock, squad of men dressed in ill-fitting with small farmers in rural societies. with a small garden and a statue right uniforms and black and red scarves However, they owned their land and in the center. The statue lurks over had solemnly lined up in front of the were proud of it, and the highly spe- me from a pedestal with bas reliefs statue, sometime in late July 1936, in cialized work they did was closer to of warriors and barebreasted ladies the first bloody and confused weeks gardening than to farming and gave or winged angels, so overwhelming of the war, and after aiming at the them a profound instinct of individu- in its size--at least by comparison to lofty general, they had shot him as alism. They completed their income my tiny height--that it seems on the summarily as if he had been one of and the family diet by keeping some brink of collapsing right on my head the disloyal officers who had joined pigs, cows or goats. There were no as I strain my neck to stare up to it. the uprising against the Republican tractors or complex mechanical tools It looks as frightening as some mon- government. After the shooting, to plough the land or vans to carry ster in a movie, as Boris Karloff in someone from the firing squad had the crops to the city market. All trac- “Frankenstein.” I see first the riding thrown a hangman noose around tion was animal, and all harvesting boots with spurs, and then the pants, its neck, and then they all pulled it was done by hand. Male children the tunic, and the cape of a military down and dragged it across town in were supposed to leave school at man, who handles a pair of binoculars a triumphant parade, until they got nine or 10 and join their fathers in the hanging from his neck, over his broad, tired and dumped it in some ravine. Continued on page 

 THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 Continued from page  fields or add some income to the fam- the Republican Army, and this boy living so close to the land, peasants ily economy working for a salary. of eight saw himself suddenly earn- stick to the hard facts and very eas- This world was almost intact ing his living as an adult and working ily dismiss as empty talk the lofty until the early 1970s, and therefore from sunrise till dark to help support statements of militants or politicians. I have memories that seem to be- his mother and his younger brother In any war, they are drafted into the long to someone much older than and sister. He and his elderly grand- rank and file of the infantry and pro- me. But things might have started to father kept running the family farm, vide the cheap cannon fodder for change long before had it not been and that was that. As for so many battle. An old man with whom I used for the calamity of the war. I only talk children of his generation, the war to work side by side at my father’s about what I know first hand: the and the defeat of the Republic meant farm when I was in my early teens unlucky generation into which my the end of school for my father, the explained to me his military experi- father was born saw its future stolen loss of his future rights as a working ence as follows: “The captain would by the military uprising of 1936, and man and as a citizen, and the closing come up to us and say, ‘Let’s go most of them never got back whatMe of anym chance of improvingories his life ahead, we have to take that hill over they had lost in those three years. through education. My mother was there from the enemy.‘ But even if we The Spanish Republic, established even younger when the school gates had defeated those on the other side, in 1931, had immediately devised a Warclosed forever on her, but she always would we be able to actually take that program of public school building and recalls how she loved her reading and hill with us somewhere else? What teacher training and hiring. In only writing, how she regretted not to have was the point of killing or getting the first couple of years, the number of had the chance to study and become killed, if the damned hill was going elementary schools and students was something other than a housewife. to stay unmoved on the same spot.” doubled. Most of them were work- I remember my paternal grandfa- The war had turned their lives ing-class or peasant children, both ther as a quiet-tempered and mostly upside down, and its terrible degree of male and female, because education silent man, with a sunburnt face and cruelty and destruction had brought was declared free and compulsory thin white hair. He went silently about long-lasting poverty, fear, uncer- for boys and girls, who shared the about his work at the farm, rolled tainty, and hunger. But most of them same classroom for the first time in his own cigarettes, and almost never —I talk about the peasants and farm- Spain. In 1936 my father was eight, my mentioned his years as an infantry ri- ers I grew up among—saw it not in mother six. The Catholic Church held flemen in the loyalist army. Whatever its wider political terms, as a struggle no longer the control of education, he recalled he kept to himself. All but between right and left, or between much to the outrage of the Vatican and one thing, a kind of confession: “Every democracy and fascism, but as the the religious right, both of which im- time I had to aim my rifle at the front,” worst possible natural catastrophe, mediately set out to conspire to bring he would say, “I closed my eyes tight a period of collective madness and about the downfall of the new regime. before pulling the trigger, to make pointless bloodshed during which Most of you are probably familiar sure I wouldn’t kill or wound on pur- the darkest impulses of evil men had with all this information. But it is real pose someone on the other side. These been let loose, whereas the crops had people’s stories I am concerned with. were people I had never met, so how been left to rot and the fields left un- Those must always be told, for other- could I wish to harm any of them?” tilled. They had experienced some of wise they will soon fade into oblivion. Peasants are usually skeptical the turmoils of 20th century history My father was a promising stu- and rather suspicious people, wary through an almost medieval mindset, dent who, every day after school, had of strangers and uncomfortable with and the world they had to face when to rush to the family orchard to help novelty and sudden change, and they they came back from the war was as his dad. But 1936 was the last school don’t give much credit to preachers barren as a European landscape in year for him, for after the summer of any kind or let themselves be car- the aftermath of the Great Plague. holidays he stayed on working the ried away by ideological enthusiasm. We children would often overhear land: his father had been drafted into Working with their own hands and Continued on page 

THE VOLUNTEER December 2005  Continued from page 5 fragments of frightening stories, and of kids were playing soccer on an unreal world of cinema. But this their very incompleteness made them empty lot where some barracks had particular war our parents were so even more poignant, as outbursts of stood, right after the end of the war. often, albeit so cautiously and indi- violence in a film you catch in the They found a cache of hand gre- rectly, talking about, had taken place middle. One summer morning, look- nades, fighting immediately over in the same country we lived in, and ing through a window out of sheer them to grab some to play with. One the people who had fought it had boredom, because his mother would of the grenades went off, and this been not the likes of Gary Cooper or not allow him to go out to play, my man had been the only survivor. Errol Flynn, but our grandparents father saw a barefoot man running But the bigger mystery was hid- and their friends. Even our parents down the street, some neighbor he den into some isolated words, in had first-hand memories of shoot- was not acquainted with. The man objects I sometimes found at home, ings and explosions, of columns wore a white shirt and looked as if words and names always repeated of soldiers marching into town. he had jumped from bed in a hurry. in low voice, whose meaning you al- Some other words and phrases Suddenly there was a crackingMe noise most neverm could oriesfully grasp. “War” were both familiar and intriguing to as of fireworks--these were the early itself, in the first play, being such a us kids, specially those related to the days of the war, and my father was not household term, had nonetheless adjective “Red.” You have to bear in yet familiar with the sound of gunfire-Waran ever obscure ring to it: it named mind that in the popular speech of -and the man staggered and then fell a time altogether different from the my native province, the word “red” down on the corner. Another neigh- one we lived in, remote and yet real was not used to designate the color. bor, someone who had been never and present. It was a period, but also We said instead “colorado.” A tomato involved in politics, had been chased a state of disruption, excitement and was not red, for example: it was “un as a dog a few days after the victory fear, a boundary which separated tomate colorado.” So red had for me of the Francoist Army, and nobody two ages of the world. Things that an almost exclusively metaphori- could understand what was his guilt. had happened “way before the war” cal sense, although it kept a bright Being a butcher, very often he went belonged to an epoch of unfathom- hue of danger, or of a kind of epic. home after work wearing an apron able remoteness. You said “before People talked about the Reds: the stained with blood. But one day, after the war” or “after the war” the same Red Army, the Red Government, the some right-wing prisoners had been way as a historian of antiquity sets Red Zone, in which our hometown executed at the local jail, this man had an event “b.c.” or “a.d.” In my child- had stood all through the war. At been seen with blood on his clothes hood, peasants still held an idea of school we were indoctrinated about by some other neighbor, who had kept time which was cyclical, not lineal: the evils of the Reds, defeated in the this memory until the end of the war the sole years they referred to by date glorious Crusade of Liberation by the and had informed on him to the vic- were “36” and “45”: the year of the Unvanquished Caudillo, who had tors. There was no heroism or purpose war, and then the worst year of hun- saved Spain from their tyranny. But in most of the stories our parents and ger, 1945, when a terrible drought had then our grandparents had fought grandparents told, only random vio- destroyed the crops of cereal, olives in the so-called Red Army, and they lence, revenge, and sheer bad luck. and grapes, adding further damage to didn’t seem particularly monstrous I remember a man who fright- all the remaining devastation of war. or bloodthirsty to us. Not that they ened me because he lacked both The very sound of the word “war” seemed heroes either, just common arms. He managed to lift weights had the effect of placing things in a folks you could barely imagine wear- using his scary stumps, drove a territory of fiction. According to the ing uniforms or fighting the enemy as team of donkeys, made his living black and white films we saw in our the Americans did in their war films. carrying construction materials on local theaters--all of them American- But now I must mention a uni- the backs of a team of donkeys. He -war had to do with adventures, form, a dark blue tunic with golden had been a school buddy of my fa- with foreign lands, with Hollywood buttons and a leather belt with an ther, who told me his story: a bunch actors, with the whole exciting yet Continued on page 20

 THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 Musical Propaganda: Shaping Culture During the Spanish Civil War By Laurence Birdsey

This year’s winner of the George and other songs, the dignitaries be- talents to the Republican government. Watt Memorial essay contest is Laurence came worried and threatened to send A closer look at one of these gov- Birdsey. His essay, “’A Lyrical War’: home any soldiers with low morale. ernmental organizations dedicated Songs of the Spanish Civil War,” In Osheroff’s words, “They wouldn’t to music composition helps us to un- was written as an honors thesis at accept the human side of us guys, we derstand the reasons for and process Davidson College in North Carolina. had to be fucking heroes all the time.” by which these songs were created. Laurence currently works at the Osheroff’s powerful anecdote is Altavoz del Frente, a branch of the Fairfield Greenwich Group, a hedge fund telling in the soldiers’ use of song War Ministry, wrote nearly all of the in midtown Manhattan. He plans to at- to fulminate against their superi- Republic’s radio propaganda pro- tend law school next year. Below, we offer ors. They likely chose this method of grams. According to one newspaper, an excerpt from his essay. The entire es- communication because songs were Altavoz “justly denounces the brutal say (including notes) can be read on our ubiquitous during the war, especially fascists, expresses our convictions, website: www.alba-valb.org/educa- as vehicles of propagandistic “cultural our unbreakable purpose of defend- tion/gwmec/birdsey_l_h-songs.pdf. forms.” Republican hymns from the ing Spain’s independence.” To do war have been cataloged and reprint- so, Altavoz was given a large budget n The Good Fight, veteran Abe ed in song books many times over, yet with which to employ its very own Osheroff recalls the stretch of time there has been little examination or composers, orchestra, and chorus for Ihe spent in a Republican field commentary on how the music was the recording of war song records. hospital near the end of the Spanish produced. This essay touches upon For groups like Altavoz, music was Civil War. Often, political dignitar- the means by which propagandistic not an end itself, but a means towards ies came to rally wounded soldiers. songs were created, their function in substantive cultural change. Altavoz Osheroff describes one such event: the larger cultural struggle against the and other cultural organizations did Some of [the political dig- Nationalists, and how effectively those not aim simply to produce radio pro- nitaries] had the annoying songs promoted the Republican cause. grams and records—they wanted to habit of using cultural forms to In September 1936, the Republican initiate a cultural renaissance. Their exhort us to greater sacrifice e e e and heroism. Most of the guys, government established an umbrella stated purpose was to “bring to the if they healed, were going back group called the “National Institute of rearguard the heroic impulse of the to the front, and they didn’t Culture,” which housed “all of the cul- front, and to carry to the front the need anybody to give ‘em that tural, scientific, artistic, educational, serene and inflamed voice—the very kind of shit. I remember one and research activities of our country.” conviction of victory—from the rear- – Abraham Lincoln stands up The Milicias de la Cultura and Brigadas guard.” Influenced heavily by reports straight, with his gun, holds up a hand, ‘No Pasarán.’ Volantes were two such groups that of the Soviet Union’s recent reforms, Ridiculous bullshit. And the worked directly with soldiers and citi- Altavoz and the Cultural Militias built response of the guys who were zens in an attempt to improve literacy, hundreds of makeshift schools along sitting around with the casts distribute magazines, play records, trenches in addition “to reproduc- and arms in splints was angry. I and read propagandistic literature. The ing selections of artworks from our mean, pissed off. Alianza de Intelectuales para la Defensa painters and , copying editions To pay back the favor, the soldiers de la Cultura courted famous Spanish of our romances and other classical responded to the dignitaries in song. and international artists of all kinds in and modern poetry, and making re- Osheroff sings the lyrics of one such order to channel their talents towards cords of Spanish folk songs that we tune–“We’re a bunch of bastards, bas- the Republican cause. In this manner, will collect and catalog.” The desired tards are we. We’d rather fuck than distinguished composers and musi- result was an enlightened public that fight for liberty.” Upon hearing this cologists volunteered their creative Continued on page 

THE VOLUNTEER December 2005  Musical Propaganda Continued from page  would embrace the Republican cause. opens with a rousing introduction: episode, the use of propaganda mu- In this ideological battle, music rep- [Contained within] are songs sic eventually backfired. By the end resented an important weapon in the of Madrid’s defense, combat of the war, Osheroff and his com- marches, songs of children Republic’s vast arsenal of propaganda. rades had rejected the disingenuous in arms. The soldiers sing Carlos Palacio, Altavoz’s most them while fearlessly resist- cultural exhortations made by the prolific composer, intricately details ing the bombs of foreign air higher-ups that came to visit them. the effort and preparation that went fleets, while they attack with The “ridiculous” propaganda was into the production of musical propa- heroism to re-conquer Spain. disdained because it was inauthentic. ganda in his memoirs. He describes Therefore…[using] composi- Osheroff and the other Lincoln vol- tions of the most prestigious his initial work with the agency: unteers—men who exemplified the Spanish musicians, we con- I had been entrusted with sider it worthy to put in this “hard, yet romantic” stereotype of the the mission of putting music songbook those tunes that, 1930s—hardly needed to be told why to all the couplets [by the improvised in the midst of they were fighting. They had already Madrilenian poet Luis de Tapia] combat fire, came about spon- that so well encapsulated the shown their valor by volunteer- taneously without artistic or present situation and, therefore, ing in a foreign war against fascism literary zeal. I had to use the collaboration in the name of universal ideals. and necessary help from the Although mellifluous, the lan- Accordingly, Republican propa- composers that were in the guage is patently false. The collection ganda units disbanded and cultural capital. And one fine day I met does not list an original publisher, groups shut down as morale dis- with them all. but the compiler and four illustrators integrated with the approaching During this and subsequent meet- of the volume were artists associated end of the war. Quite simply, the ings, Palacio collaborated closely with the Republican Army’s propa- Republic’s strategy of using culture with Madrid’s most popular and ganda arm. Moreover, the lyricists as a primary weapon to defeat the in- prestigious composers, poets, and of many songs were well-known surgents did not work. Propaganda, musicologists. In his appeal for their poets who wrote for the Republic. it seems, only took hold when it help, Palacio told them, “‘We, the com- Carlos Palacio, the volume’s cata- magnified truths about success. posers, can be useful in this battle loger, composed the majority of the When defeat was imminent, pro- writing songs that raise the morale tunes by himself. These compositions paganda ceased to be effective. and fighting spirit of our people, and, most certainly dide benefit from e the eIt is perhaps tempting to conclude at the same time, stimulate other po- aid of “artistic and literary zeal.” that the war’s outcome undermines ets and musicians to do the same.’ By claiming that music “came the idea that culture and music sig- Conscious of their civic duty, all the about spontaneously” during battle, nificantly impacted the war. Certainly, composers present accepted.” The mu- both the Republicans and Nationalists the Republic placed a greater em- sicians worked together at a feverish were clearly embellishing the circum- phasis on the “cultural war” than pace, writing songs to freshly-penned stances under which the songs were did the Nationalists, yet still lost poetry and sending them off to the produced. In this sense, these songs the overall war. But such a conclu- Altavoz choir and orchestra for re- did not represent an authentic popu- sion would be faulty on two counts. cording. Immediately afterwards, lar voice. The government-sponsored First, the Nationalists’ historical im- the songs were broadcast over ra- songs were not a grassroots reac- age of Spain and claim to power was dio antennas all day and night. tion to the war’s events, but rather a much more unified and focused. While successful in the rearguard top-down attempt to influence their Throughout the war, the internecine and on the front, propaganda music course. By trying to conceal the songs’ political battles within the Republic was often an exercise in manipula- manufactured quality, propagandists extended into the cultural realm as tion. One example can be found in felt that they were more effective- each party attempted to paint a vi- the Republican Colección de Canciones ly able to elicit patriotic fervor. sion of Spain with its own brush de Lucha published in 1939. The book But as evidenced by the Osheroff Continued on page 15

 THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 Poetry and the Spanish Civil War By Michael Pak

Editor’s note: These poems were written for a course, “Politics Your marrow will grow and Poetics: Art and Literature of the Spanish Civil War,” Because you stole that bullet taught by ALBA board member Tony Geist at the University Spain will bloom of Washington, Winter 2005. Students were given the option Amidst your rifle and corpse of writing a research paper or developing a creative project. Burning because Spain will never bleed cold Francisco Borrell! One day we will study your bullet The premise of my project is to write poetry mimicking In anatomy class! Vallejo and Neruda’s voices using the famous Robert Capa photograph as inspiration. In Vallejo, I tried to emulate Where you swallowed that steel his glorification for the average soldier, while in Neruda, I Your chest grimaces with dimples attempted to show the dark reality of loss through war. As you plant and burrow yourself deep Using an avant-garde style similar to Vallejo, I As deep as your farm’s well described the soldier as stealing a bullet from the enemy Where your son goes to dip your bucket by literally taking a bullet in the chest. I contrasted In Spain’s water. the cold sterile steel of a bullet with warm blood of the Republic, touching Vallejo’s common motif of reincarna- Francisco Borrell! We thank you! tion. I also tried to use book and education motifs in the same light as Vallejo. In the second poem, I tried to emulate Neruda’s meta- A Fallen Soldier phor upon metaphor layering style of poetry. The poem Somewhere in a wheat field is written in the point of view of Capa, situated between Where the cloudless sky cries the fallen soldier and the soldier who shot him. Stanza Like a wailing moon by stanza, I tried to slow time down by describing the Like a waning eyelid Republican soldier’s pain, followed by his body falling and Flickering in and out landing in the battlefield. In all, I created scenes of triumph Like a dirty cellar light bulb and tragedy so that people with no background on the I saw his last sigh Spanish Civil War can see two sides of the same picture. And heard his forehead cringe With a thousand screaming wrinkles. Francisco Borrell! We thank you! His back, marred with red thread That bullet now yours and warm Smeared with the color of grief No longer cold Reached like a shy hand From its damned homeland And embraced his shadow Marching in shattered cross lines Pale like the bones of a rustic book. With other undead bullets. Lungs filled with empty guns shooting empty shells No! Your bullet has evolved I inhaled his rising must from the wheat field Welding itself to your stanch skeleton Where Spain embraced his body And marrow is growing inside Piece by piece like an overripe grenade. And when the metallic rain becomes mere paragraphs I tried to remember his last expression In middle school textbooks But the sandy dust settled over his stoic face. With a few scars of evil Left on the pages bound called Spain Your marrow will grow!

THE VOLUNTEER December 2005  In Brief

General Walter´s Photo words and should be sent, in English Exhibition in Madrid or in French (the two official languag- By José Ignacio García Muniozguren es), to the organizers at the addresses A two-month exhibition of below by the 31st December 2005. Spanish Civil War photographs col- lected by General Walter opened Dr. Martin Hurcombe in Madrid’s Conde Duque Culture Department of French Center on September 14. Organized University of Bristol by the Asociación de Amigos de las 19 Woodland Road Brigadas Internacionales, the show Bristol includes 163 pictures of the 333 that BS8 1TE form the Walter collection. The photos U.K. were donated by Walter’s daughter Tel (+44) (0)117 928 8447 to the Amigos in the late 1990s and E-mail: [email protected] had never been displayed. However, they are available to the public, to- Prof. Debra Kelly gether with other materials belonging School of Social Sciences, to the Amigos, in the IB section of Humanities and Languages Photo from Walter Collection the Albacete Regional Archives. The University of Westminster Amigos keep alive the memory of the many since a precursor of World War 309 Regent Street IB and are generally acknowledged II, sometimes subsumed into, or ob- London, W1B 2UW, by IB associations worldwide as their scured by, this latter in our memory U.K. only interlocutor in Spain. After the of the period. Yet, its significance Tel (+44) (0)117 928 8447 show closes, the Amigos plan to continues to be reflected in a vari- E-mail: [email protected] distribute the exhibition catalogue, ety of cultural representations of the which contains the entire collection. conflict emanating from many dif- Ebro Memorial to British Karol Swiercewski, known as ferent nations and cultures and in Battalion Volunteers General Walter, was born in Warsaw its continued pertinence and interest By José Ignacio García Muniozguren in 1897. He took part in the Soviet as a subject of historical research. A memorial to the British volun- Revolution and Civil War. In May 1937 The aim of this three-day inter- teers who fell in the Battle of the Ebro he became commander of the 35th national conference is to explore the was unveiled on May 7 at the top Division of the Republican Army. He international social, political, military of Hill 705 in the Sierra de Pandols, died in Poland in 1947, in a skirmish and cultural history of this conflict where some of the bloodiest fight- with Ukrainian guerrillas—former from 1936 to the present. The orga- ing took place. The plaque lists the collaborators of German occupants. nizers welcome proposals for papers names of the 90 volunteers (mainly on any aspect of the conflict from British, but also from Australia and War and Culture Conference established scholars or postgradu- New Zealand) who died in the last University of Bristol, July 17-19, 2006 ates working in a range of disciplines big offensive of the Republican Army. Profoundly Spanish in origin, including, for example, social, po- David Leach, who currently lives in yet almost immediately internation- litical and cultural history; military the Terra Alta, one of the scenes of alized, the Spanish Civil War had a history and war studies; intellectual the battle, organized the unveiling. marked impact on the politics and history; cultural memory; literary Four IB volunteers (Jack Jones, culture of many nations. Considered studies; art history; photography; Alun Menai Williams, Sam Russell by many of its generation as the first media studies; and film studies. and ) and a Republican avia- ideological war, it has become for Proposals should not exceed 350 Continued on page 15

10 THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 in Spain. Miriam said she had to bring a gift to the birthday party. Unraveled was a miniature copy of the monument to the erected in ! With thunderous applause, Moe proudly received this gift to the VALB. Now was Moe’s turn to step up to the podium. He gave a long and passionate speech on the struggles of the Lincoln vets throughout their lives. Then Milt took the mike and said, “I thought this is a party. But where is the wine? I had to send my granddaughter out to get beer for me!” He waved the beer bottle to the crowd with a roaring laugh. The birthday candles on a big sheet cake were lit. We all sang “Happy Birthday,” and Moe and Milton blew out the candles. Double Happiness Then the entertainment began. Pete Seeger came with his wife and Fishman & Wolff Turn 90 banjo, hopped on the stage, and the By Nancy Tsou Henry Foner, the master of whole crowd stood up. John Fisher, ctober 1: The sky was blue ceremonies, called the former city son of Lincoln vet Harry Fisher, was and the air was crisp. It councilwoman Miriam Friedlander already on stage with folksinger lightened your heart and to speak. She was only 91.5 years Jackie Steiner. The guests were given made you want to whistle like a old, but her energy made us all handouts to sing along the great Oteenager. We were on our way to envious. Her brother Paul Siegel songs, “Banks of Marble,” “Freiheit,” a party in New York City to cel- was also a Lincoln--he was killed Continued on page 22 ebrate double 90th birthdays for Moe Fishman and Milton Wolff! When we entered the party room in the 1199 building, Moe was there smiling and hugging guests. There were almost 200 people! You could easily spot Milton, who was tall and held a beer. Around the tables were other Lincoln vets: Abe Smorodin, Al Koslow, Jack Shafran, Jack Penrod, Murray Dauber, and . It was a great joy to see all of them!

Nancy Tsou is the author of The Call of Spain: The Chinese Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War (Taipei, Taiwan, 2001). THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 11 Osheroff Launches Seattle’s Bob Reed PeaceMobile By Joe Butwin highest paid job because you are paid in some things n October 1 Abe Osheroff, just shy of 90, accepted more valuable than money or prestige. You gain the re- a lift in the back of a flat-bed truck in Seattle’s spect and even the love of some wonderful people.” OPike Place Market, where he led a band of activ- The current project takes the form of a white GMC ists and shoppers in the dedication of what he calls the van equipped with loud-speakers, space for change- “PeaceMobile” in honor of Bob Reed. Reed died, at the age able signs on the roof and sides, a video projector, and of 90, last January. Abe needed a lift because he is mostly a printer that makes fliers on the spot. In addition to confined to a wheel-chair these days, but his mobility— giving renewed mobility to Abe and his magnificent thanks in part to the PeaceMobile—is as great as ever. voice, the PeaceMobile will be made available to all Abe’s career as a progressive activist began 75 years progressive organizations in Seattle. It will bring the ago when he helped evicted tenants move back into their word—and the truth—to high school students currently apartments in Brownsville, Brooklyn. That led to the bombarded by military recruiters; it will enlist pub- Y.C.L. and Spain, where he and Bob Reed began their lic support for strikers in the Malls; it will show films defense of the Republic by swimming ashore from the to strollers at Green Lake. And there’s no reason that sunken ship, City of Barcelona. Wounded in Spain, Abe what works in Seattle won’t work around the country. returned home, recovered, and joined the U.S. army. Abe’s initiation of the PeaceMobile received good Twenty years later—Freedom Summer, ’64—he was coverage in the Seattle press; now it wants national at- building a community center in Mississippi. Down the tention and further support for its maintenance and line he did the same for the Sandanistas in , promotion. Abe is 90 at the end of the month that began and for the last 20 years, he and Bob Reed have been at the Pike Place Market. Now is a good time to honor leaders of the progressive community of Seattle. him and to remember Bob Reed with a contribution. Abe explained his endless activism to the crowd in Visit the website at www.PeaceMobile.Info; contribute Seattle: “Activism is not a sacrifice. I have benefited in to Abe Osheroff, 2100 N. 128th St., Seattle, WA. 98133, or some way from almost every social involvement. It’s a give a call at 206-364-4521. great way to live, because you never suffer ‘unemploy- Joe Butwin is a professor of English at the University of ment.’ You meet some of the greatest people, and it’s the Washington, Seattle.

12 THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 Bay Area Vets For Peace

By David Smith participate throughout California. t the San Francisco anti-war For instance, co-sponsoring “Eyes march on September 24, my Wide Open,” the American Friends Afriend June Spero—a World Service Committee’s exhibit about War II nurse— and I marched with the costs of the war; working with the Veterans for Peace. I was wear- many organizations to decrease the ing a label insignia from the Tom effectiveness of US military recruit- Mooney machine gun company, ment; sponsoring fundraisers for , and the man next Camilo Mejia, a to me looked at it, put his arm around and veteran who served 9 my shoulder, and said, “Wow – Are months in a military prison; travel- you a Lincoln Vet?” And then he ing with to Crawford, hugged me. I glanced up and no- and standing vigil with her. ticed the oak cluster on the shoulder And now the Bay Area Vets & of his US Army uniform, and then Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Lincoln vet Dave Smith (left) and Lt. Col. the row of ribbons on his chest. This Brigade will honor the SF Bay Area Fred Seamon march with the Veterans was Lt. Col. Fred Seamon, a wounded Chapter of the Veterans for Peace at for Peace in San Francisco to protest veteran of the —and our annual affair in March 2006. the Iraq war. The Veterans for Peace will now a fervent opponent of the war The feeling of marching with the be honored at the Bay Area reunion in March 2006. See back page for details. in Iraq and member of the Veterans younger Veterans for Peace was in- for Peace. As we walked and talked, credible. It brought me back to the end, marching with the Veterans for his friend, Lauren Sterling, was tak- early days of our VALB marches. As Peace was exhilarating, an honor to be ing photos. I asked her for a few September approached, I had been with such dedicated folks, and it even copies (see this page and cover). concerned that it would be difficult to managed to make me feel young I have been an active member join the march without our banner, as again! of Veterans for Peace for the past it had been with us for all these years. year and have been quite impressed However, I felt uncomfortable march- with the broad range of activities ing as a sole veteran (as others David Smith heads the Bay Area Friends in which these men and women couldn’t participate this day). In the and Vets.

THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 13 Letters Salud!! Dear Editor, Sincerely yours, I am one of the second genera- Thanks for putting me in the Nicholas H. Wright tion of Interbrigadists mentioned in “culture” brochure, with much dis- Box 642, Williamstown, MA 01267 Guillermos Casañ’s article about the tinguished company, though some [email protected] plaque at the Benicassim cemetery. The would say it is an undeserved honor. article appeared in your December I would love to visit the exhibit, but Dear Editor, 2004 issue. The great help and dedica- Manhattan is no place for an old I have read with dismay the article tion of people like Guillermo and many man, even one in good health. you published recently by the Madrid others succeeded in placing the plaque Regards and best wishes, journalist Miguel Angel Nieto en- at the entrance of the Benicassim cem- Jim Benet titled “Separatism in Today’s Spain.” etery honoring the Internationals In it he depicts what he clearly wishes buried there. We are grateful. My fa- Dear Editor, your readers to see as the imminent ther, Dr. Günter Bodek, is buried in this In the 1939 correspondence of and terrifying prospect of the disin- cemetery. He died in June 1937, being Esme Odgers, Director of Foster tegration of Spain. Whilst it is true, the director of the B.I. Hospital. He was Parents Plan for Spanish Children and has been for centuries, that some 42 years old, I was 4. in Biarritz after the evacuation from Basques and some Catalans aspire Ulrich Bodek Puigcerda, she mentions an inquiry to self-determination, it is very far [email protected] about Barton “Nick” Carter from from clear that anything like a ma- a Col. A. Johnson, and tells Eric jority in either the Basque Country Dear Editor, Muggeridge in London that she will or Catalonia would vote for inde- My name is Mario and I live in handle it. An American, Carter had pendence, if given the chance.[. . .] Madrid. Thank you so much for help- worked with Odgers in Puigcerda Far more unpardonable, however, ing us during our Civil War, which until he joined the than Sr. Nieto’s alarmist picture of became transformed into one for in February 1938. He went missing the threatened disintegration of Spain you as well. People like yourselves in early April 1938 during the retreat is the way he seeks to link it to the are among the few who continue to down the Ebro River. It seems likely question of the so-called Salamanca give us the strength and the spirit to that Johnson was Allan Johnson, for- Papers. In the course of his cruel, fight to restore the 3rd Republic that mer US Army Captain, who served methodical conquest of Republican was taken away from us. Few people as a trainer for the Abraham Lincoln Spain, Franco employed special forces from your country would have had Brigade (and probably other units) to seize at gunpoint tons and tons the courage to go to Spain in order from early 1937. It is not clear what of documents that were then sent to to fight for a cause, for an ideal, and Johnson’s connection to Carter his headquarters in Salamanca in the from Madrid I salute you and send may have been, or what the spe- summer of 1939. This operation, led you a most warm-hearted greeting. cific inquiry to Odgers was about. by Franco’s brother-in-law, Ramón Long live the Republic! It is possible that Carter may Serrano Súñer, a fervent admirer of have received some specialized Hitler and Mussolini, received techni- Dear Editor, training, prompting continuing in- cal supervision from the SS. The aim I believe I have read every word of terest from Johnson, or that a year of the exercise was to create a huge po- the special issue of The Volunteer, and after he went missing, Carter’s par- lice archive, following in the bootsteps quite a few of the items twice over. As ents were attempting to find some of the Gestapo and the KGB. On the I know I have said to you more than resolution by writing Johnson. basis of the Salamanca archive, three once, the IB’s as a collective are just the Any intelligence concerning million defenders of the Republic were most wonderful group of human be- Johnson’s continuing role in the put on file and, over the following de- ings I have had the privilege to know. Spanish Civil War, or of his con- cades, hundreds of thousands of them Mazel Tov, nections to Odgers and Carter, were summarily executed, sentenced Gabe Jackson will be gratefully received. Continued on page 15

14 THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 Musical Propaganda Continued from page  strokes. Such division and infighting it claimed to cherish Spain’s region- battlefield for the war’s duration until certainly weakened the Republic’s alism and religious roots, alienated Franco’s forces eventually triumphed. message of historical legitimacy, large segments of the population by The Second Republic’se einability e to but culture still figured prominent- promoting a unified Castilian culture forge cultural unity was assured by its ly in their effort to win the war. that disdained the Catholic Church. own founding principles. The liberal More importantly, Republicans Their reforms of culture and society and democratic society espoused by and Nationalists both attempted to were met with a competing set of more Republicans hindered their ability to put forth a vision of an unrealistic and traditional values--one that also alien- produce a shared vision of Spanish untenable Spanish identity. As each ated large swaths of the population by identity that would consolidate their side pitched its vision to the public, supporting ultra-conservative Catholic base of power. The production of pro- they ironically further entrenched the thought and a Castilian-based culture. pagandistic songs and music was an divisions that split Spanish society. These competing ideologies chipped attempt to overcome that obstacle and The Second Republic, even though away at each other on the cultural provide some much needed unity, but in the end, the Republican alliance proved too fractured to sustain any

ContinuedLetters from page 14 coherent vision. to hard labour, imprisoned, tortured ing to destroy the Salamanca archive, Ebro Memorial or dismissed from their posts. when the stolen documents are re- Continued from page 10 As your readers are only too turned, the Catalans are perfectly painfully aware, very few of the in- willing to allow digitalized versions tor, Antonio Villela, attended the justices of the Spanish Civil War can of them to be kept in Salamanca. unveiling. For the first time at an be righted now, more than 65 years The Salamanca archive is not event of this kind there were of- after the event. However, at least one —as Sr. Nieto claims—a key source ficial representatives of the British of them can. Ever since 1978, with the of Spanish Civil War material. It is, government: the Consul General restoration of democracy in Spain, in fact, one of the last collections of in Barcelona, Geoff Cowling, and the Catalans have taken every op- documents that any student of the the Military Attaché in Madrid, portunity to claim the return of the Civil War would wish to consult, as Colonel Mark Rollo-Walker. For documents seized by Franco’s forc- it contains very little indeed on the more than two hours without es in Catalonia – from the Catalan progress of the war, and a great deal interruption, the latter held a para- Government and Parliament, and on the running—and especially the sol to shelter the volunteers from from hundreds of municipal authori- membership—of the institutions that the heavy sun. Afterwards he ties, the offices of political parties and were ransacked in order to create it, would say, “It is the best thing I trades unions, associations of all sorts including material that goes back have done in 30 years of service.” (including vegetarian and sporting so- to the 19th century. Contrary to the The four volunteers and cieties), and from private individuals. name it has borne since 1999, Archivo Antonio Villela gave vibrant Whilst the Popular Party—and General de la Guerra Civil Española, speeches. The plaque was unveiled Sr. Nieto—claim that the return of the collection is in fact a very partial by Alun Menai Williams, a Welsh these stolen goods to their rightful record of the Francoist repression.[. . .] volunteer who served as a medical owners would dismember a valuable Henry Ettinghausen aide in the Ebro and had not re- historical archive, the fact is that the Emeritus Professor turned there since 1938. The sinister Salamanca archive was cre- Hispanic Studies, University unveiling was a most moving mo- ated by dismembering thousands of Southampton, England. ment that Alun afterwards vividly of archives throughout Republican This letter has been edited described: “I did not see the names Spain. What is more, far from wish- for reasons of space—Editor. – I saw their faces.”

THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 15 Book Reviews An Idealistic Adventurer Goes to War . Aventurero idealista. Prologue by Gabriel Jackson. Cuenca: soon Hitler’s shadow would dark- sionment once leftist factionalism Ediciones de la Universidad de Castilla-La en the City of Light. By this time, became clear to him; he abandoned Mancha, 2004. Sossenko notes, he was politically ac- the Durruti Column to join the XIV tive among French leftist groups. International Brigade in May l937. By Shirley Mangini While on vacation near Spain in By August, Sossenko was in- Sossenko begins his war odys- August l936, when the family began explicably sent to Barcelona, where sey as an “idealistic adventurer” hearing the distant sounds of war, he found his father waiting to take with a Don Quixote-like twist. In the author’s father began to evoke the him home. Sossenko explains that the preamble, he explains how he tragedies of the Russian revolution. his heart was torn; he felt like a trai- acquired the manuscript of an autobi- Inspired by his idealism, Sossenko tor abandoning Spain, but his father ography by a man named “Burenko,” tried to enlist to fight in Spain at the managed to convince him because whom he met at the Miami airport. age of 16. He was rejected because his mother was devastated without The autobiography is, of course, his of his age, but he was tenacious and her favorite child. So he returned own and his preamble is fictitious. managed to be accepted as a soldier to his family in , only to find Using his nom de plume, Sossenko by the Anarchist Federation. Leaving that they were preparing to move describes his childhood in , nothing more than a note for his to Argentina, so that George would providing a portrait of his family parents—he knew that they would not be drafted into World War II. and their idiosyncrasies. He empha- not let him go to war—Sossenko Throughout his account of the sizes the cruelty, death, and hunger boarded a train for Perpiñán with Spanish Civil War, the author inter- caused by World War I, the Russian fellow fighters from the Durruti jects his idealistic feelings that Spain revolution, and the epidemic of l918 Column (though most of the sol- could have been saved from war if that devastated much of Europe. diers in his group were Marxists). Hitler had been crushed early on, or if Sossenko talks of his father’s liberal Unlike most male war autobiog- the League of Nations had intervened politics—especially his allegiance to raphies, which concentrate on bravery in 1937 to save what was left of the the head of the Russian Provisional in battle and war strategy, usually Republic. He laments how Hitler used Government before the Bolshevik with a tone of bravado, Sossenko’s Spain as an experiment for his future revolution, Alexander Kerenski— narrative is more personal; the au- war on the world. But what is most and how his father politically and thor weighs his psychological and fascinating about Sossenko’s narrative intellectually influenced him. emotional reactions to violence and is that it provides us with a microcos- Like many anti-Bolsheviks, political disharmony more frequently mic view of the violence that washed Sossenko’s family fled Russia for than other memoir writers. He lived over Europe in the first half of the 20th Germany and then France. In l928 through the Teruel front, then the century, and how it affected a boy who the family settled in Paris, where battle at Jarama. Sossenko admits that became a product of strife, whose very his father started a restaurant in his experiences through those bloody soul seemed shaped by war wherever the Latin Quarter. Both Sossenko’s battles made him irrepressibly violent fate took him. political education and his sexual afterwards, which was contrary to awakening—which he describes his beliefs about universal harmony. Shirley Mangini is author of Memories of Resistance: Women’s Voices from the in detail—took place in Paris. But The author discusses his disillu- Spanish Civil War.

16 THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 Book Reviews

cal activists. Glazer begins this story Remembering the VALB of commemoration with the veter- ans themselves, their great longing for resolution that came with loss in Spain, their search for purpose in the Radical Nostalgia: Spanish Civil War he remembers the songs sung dur- present, their struggle to maintain Commemoration in America. By Peter ing the struggle against American community in the face of political Glazer. University of Rochester Press, 2005. imperialism in Vietnam. Thus, as a repression and despite internal politi- graduate student, he turned to this cal division. His story takes a turn past, first delivering readings and then with the Vietnam War era, when a By Michael Batinski organizing public commemorations larger public became aware of the What if the Abraham Lincoln of the Lincoln Brigade in Chicago. Abraham Lincoln Brigade and the Brigade were forgotten? Readers of Now on the faculty at the University acts of commemoration included a The Volunteer have their own answers, of California, Berkeley, he continues new generation of public activists. and that is why they subscribe. The creating commemorative events in Glazer reveals a nostalgia that is answers are often attached to public the San Francisco Bay area. Many active, creative, often tormented, but events. Some readers who remem- readers doubtless recall his musical rarely frozen in a past. While recount- ber rallying in support of democratic show, We Must Remember! Personal ing the pull between yearning for causes in or against a past informs his professional work, community and political fractiousness, nuclear arms race, remember the vet- infusing his project with vital energy. Glazer does us a service by focusing erans present lending their support Glazer's story of commemorating the on the important creative and reflec- once again against the forces of tyran- Spanish Civil War, while addressing tive moments within this community. ny. Others have traveled to banquets academic questions regarding the in- During the Vietnam War, the issue or concerts called to honor the surviv- terplay of memory and history, helps became not how to take up arms ing veterans in San Francisco, Chicago, us to understand how we are able against injustice but how to refuse to or New York and to rally support for to step off curbs and into the street fight. Glazer recalls his personal trou- peace in our times. Remembering in solidarity with good causes and bles with the memory of Spain that the 1930’s volunteers for democracy, how we are able to persist in doing seemed to glorify the warrior's stance. joining hands against today's bloody so in the face of powerful and numb- Robert Colodney, who as a youth had injustices—the two acts join them- ing forces of callous indifference. stepped forward to fight in Spain, selves organically. Each in our own Remembering is an act of citizen- understood that place and spoke pas- way, we sense this truth. We also ship. While nostalgia often serves sionately and effectively in support know that in this joining of present conservative purposes by encouraging of those who resisted the draft. It was with past, we look to brighter futures. sentimental retreat from the present in remembrance of the Spanish vol- Peter Glazer lives in these places into a fanciful past, nostalgia does as- unteers that Americans should not where past, present, future meet. He sume a radical form when it summons fight in Southeast Asia. For singer remembers, long before he began to the present to recall just causes not Ronnie Gilbert, however, performing think about the commemoration of yet realized, to yearn for their fulfill- the songs from the Spanish conflict the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, listen- ment, and to persist. Radical nostalgia exposed her to contradictions between ing to his father sing the songs of the becomes a political act situated in the the celebration of combatant and her Spanish Civil War with Pete Seeger; present and focused on a just future. pacifist principles that she seemed Commemorative performance evokes unable to resolve. Commemoration Michael Batinski teaches history such political yearnings and sustains serves as an umbrella covering a va- at Southern Illinois University in a sense of community among politi- Carbondale. Continued on page 22 THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 17 Book Reviews

been released in the U.S. (a fourth Fictional Look at Guardia Civiles is scheduled for next February). The Watcher in the Pine is set in The Watcher in the Pine. By Rebecca the winter of 1940. Tejada has been Pawel. Soho Press, 2005. dark age of repression into a mod- transferred to the small town of Potes ern age as helpers and crime solvers. in the mountains west of Santander. By Charles Oberndorf For instance, Elvira Lindo, a popular The town was burned down during writer, has sympathetic (and slightly the war, and prison labor is being In May 1981, roughly six years off-kilter) female guardia civiles in used to rebuild it. There Tejada will after Franco’s death, a young man by one of her children’s books featuring have his first command. With him he the name of Juan Mañas left Santander Spain’s beloved Manolito Gafotas. And has brought his pregnant wife, Elena. with two friends to return to his na- novelist Lorenzo Silva has written They soon discover that the man tive Almería to attend his young four books featuring criminal inves- Tejada is replacing had been mur- brother’s first communion. Days later tigator Sergeant Rubén Bevilacqua dered by the maquis, the anti-Franco their car was found burned out at and his assistant, Virginia Chamorro. underground, which is strong in the the base of a cliff. It seemed like a On this side of the Atlantic, area. Of course, Tejada can’t refer to terrible accident, but upon examina- Rebecca Pawel is attempting a more them as the maquis or as guerrillas; by tion, it appeared that the men had radical rehabilitation. She has written Nationalist standards they’re thieves been shot. Worse, two arms and one three mysteries set in Spain after the and murderers without a cause. leg were missing from the bodies. Civil War, when those Republicans The young couple’s introduction It turned out that in response to the who haven’t been shot or gone into ex- to Potes is not comfortable. Given the attempted murder of a general in ile are serving prison terms. Against lack of room in town, they stay in Santander, several guardia civiles had this background, Carlos Tejada is a the inn operated by a woman whose stopped Juan Mañas and his friends, decent man and guardia civil who son had been killed by the guardia. mistaking them for the terrorists. has fallen in love with a woman Many of the locals want to have little They tortured the three friends for sympathetic to the Republican side to do with the wife of the new guar- confessions, then murdered them. of the war. This is an act of radi- dia civil lieutenant. The few guardias Not long after, the men respon- cal humanism, for surely there were on duty in Potes want to have little sible were arrested, and a brave decent, well-meaning men who to do with a man who is married to prosecutor made the case against them served in this repressive body. On a Red. Soon the guardia shoot down (despite serious death threats). For the another level, Pawel risks becoming a member of the maquis, but since first time in Spain’s history, members an apologist for the Guardia Civil. the bullet is lodged in the guerrilla’s of the Guardia Civil were held ac- If you visit her website, back, it becomes clear to the reader countable for the murder of innocents. RebeccaPawel.com, you discover (much sooner than to the characters) For many in Spain, this moment that Pawel doesn’t intend to be an that something is terribly wrong. of outrage symbolized the true nature apologist. There are links to numer- For American readers who know of the Guardia Civil, and there were ous fine websites, including a link, little of the Spanish Civil War, and calls to disband the organization. for the first novel in the series, to the thus come to this novel without preju- The last decade, however, has seen ALBA exhibition of children’s art dur- dice, this must come off as rich and a rehabilitation of the Civil Guard in ing the civil war, ”They Still Draw fascinating stuff. The Mystery Writers popular culture, pulling it out of the Pictures.” While her first novel, Death of America awarded the first novel of a Nationalist, is appearing in trans- the Edgar Alan Poe award for best Charles Oberndorf is a novelist and lation in Spain, Pawel’s third and first novel. To foreign eyes, it feels English teacher who lives in Cleveland most recent novel in the series has Heights, Ohio. Continued on page 22 18 THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 Added to Memory’s Roster

Leonard Levenson both pleasant and trying, flowed (1913-2005) freely. His urge to connect with the Spanish people was constant. There Lincoln vet Len Levenson was nothing he enjoyed more than an- passed away on August 7, swering questions asked by younger 2005, in New York City. Spaniards, be it over a family dinner A native New Yorker born in Madrid or in the Mediterranean into a Jewish family from Latvia, countryside enjoying a paella cooked Len earned a law degree from over an open fire. While we were New York University and went to traveling, several people stopped us work as a fingerprint specialist in to talk when they realized Len was a Washington D.C. for none other veteran of the International Brigades, than the FBI. He earned a place on a behavior which belies the argument the bureau’s pistol team and, irony that Spaniards want to forget the war of all ironies, had his photograph to avoid opening old wounds. It was taken alongside J. Edgar Hoover. during these brief encounters when Arriving in Spain in the summer he surprised himself by steadily re- of 1937, Len served in the Mac-Paps, membering his Spanish of 1937-38. under Bob Thompson, in the battles The most moving of our many of Fuentes de Ebro, Teruel (where achievements was the 1979 publica- experiences was a return to the small he was wounded), and the Great tion of a collection of Spanish Civil agricultural town of Vilella Alta, Retreats. In the latter engagement, War posters edited by veteran John where Len and Ben Sills were billeted according to Arthur Landis, a hodge- Tisa, titled The Palate and the Flame. prior to the Ebro offensive. Upon ar- podge group gathered by Captain Active in VALB, Len was the edi- rival, we were shown the town and Dunbar and Lieutenant Levenson tor of The Volunteer for years. Close introduced to three generations of the made a stand on a hill along the road inspection of photographs shows he family, including the son of the couple out of Gandesa, near Pinell de Brai, attended many, probably all, historic who had housed Len, also a veteran blocking the Italian advance towards marches under the VALB banner, from of the Army of the Ebro. We visited Cherta for a full 48 hours. In prepa- anti-Vietnam rallies in the 1960s to the same house, examined old family ration for the Ebro battle, Len was the recent protests of the war in Iraq. I portraits, and were treated to lunch. It transferred to the Special Machine doubt Len missed many veterans’ re- Continued on page 20 Gun Battalion of the 15th Army Corps unions. He loved the Spanish people along with Ben Sills. Len fought in dearly and was proud of their fight its number one company until the against fascism. He was always happy List of Veterans Internationals were withdrawn. to return to Spain for IB reunions. who Died After Spain, Len married I was fortunate to accompany Goldie and had two children, Eric Len on a personal trip to Spain in the in 2005 and Joan. Hounded by the FBI for summer of 2002. It would take too Ernest Amatniek his political beliefs, he struggled long to detail the many adventures, Milt Felsen Charles Hall to keep a job. He worked in differ- both emotional and funny, we shared Len Levenson ent fields, including the defense during that special time. Suffice it to Bob Reed industry during World War II. Len say that Len was very moved at the David Sack enjoyed a position at International reception that friends and strang- Salmon Salzman Publishers, from which he retired. ers alike showed him. During our Celia Seborer While there, one of his proudest trip, the memories of his adventures,

THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 19 Continued from page  empty holster attached to it. We grandfather Manuel, who was rather hid his wartime uniform? But this lived in a large peasant house, with conceited, had the time of his life, treasure was obviously as unreal as a yard and a stable, with a pigsty but only as long as the war went on. those you find in dreams: the worth- and cages for chickens and rabbits, The day the victorious Francoist less republican money my grandfather with no running water or bathrooms, forces were marching into town, a had managed to save from his sal- with shady bedrooms where a child Sunday, my grandfather showed up ary as a Guardia de Asalto, as bright could always breath the mysteri- for duty at the offices of the provin- and promising as the future he and ous smells of adult people’s privacy. cial government, against the best his family had figured out during the The same way I loved to overhear advice of his terrified wife, who urged short period of freedom and hope for their conversations, I liked to pry him to get rid of the uniform and justice that had begun in 1931, only into their cupboards and closets, into go into hiding. He had done harm to break down only eight years later. their bed tables’ small drawers. to no one, he argued, in his ponder- Stories, words, and images like If my paternal grandfather was ous voice, so he considered he had these gave shape forever to my imagi- shy and spoke little or nothing, the nothing to be afraid of. Having al- nation at the time it was most other one was right the opposite:Me ways madem his dutyories as a Guardia de impressionable, and I am sure they are he was tall, expansive, talkative, Asalto, it would be unworthy of him still at work at the back of my mind, in even garrulous, a master storyteller, to run away as a criminal. The mo- that unconscious part of the inner self and something of a liar when he Warment he arrived at the building where from which fiction flows. But they got carried away by his own narra- he was to stand as a guard, dressed have also shaped my conscience as a tive drive. He provided me with the in the full gala uniform of a defeated citizen. Both as a writer and as a civic best war stories, with the most ex- army, my grandfather, as his wife had minded person, committed to democ- citing words and names I heard in foreseen, was immediately arrested, racy and justice, I like to quote a line childhood, names as magnificent as imprisoned and sent to a concentra- from William Faulkner, who was also Manuel Azaña or General Vicente tion camp, where he was to spend the haunted in his childhood by stories Rojo or Largo Caballero or Brigadas next two years, almost dying from about a war fought in the youth of his Internacionales, Congreso de los starvation, mistreatment, and disease. grandparents: “The past is not dead. It Diputados, none of which he took the More than 20 years later, when is not even past.” pain to explain to me. He just repeated I was the only person who paid any them, as wonderful incantations, as attention to his tall tales about war, Len Levenson names of people bigger than life. glorious parades and captivity, my Continued from page 19 Being six feet tall and having grandfather still kept his uniform taught himself to read and write hung among his other clothes in the felt to me that at that moment, be- while working at the same time as closet, and I stared admiringly at it as ing united with the descendants a foreman in a large country estate, if I had found the evidence attesting of the Paramón family, to a certain at the beginning of the war he suc- the truth of his stories, and was slight- extent, Len’s life came full circle. cessfully applied to enroll in the ly frightened as I touched the pistol He was impressed, and perhaps a “Guardia de Asalto,” the elite police shaped holster where a long-vanished bit proud, at how his little adopted force the Republican government had pistol had been held. But there was town of so long ago had progressed. founded and trained on the model something else I dug out of a heap of Len is survived by his two of the French gendarmes, an armed mothsmelling shirts: a tin box that children, three grandchildren, two force loyal to the new regime. Being I opened, as thrilled as if I were lift- great-grandchildren, and friends tall and handsome, my grandfather ing the lid of a treasure chest. And a on both sides of the Atlantic. was always picked out to stand at the treasure there was hidden indeed: red, A celebration of his life forefront of parades or to be part of blue and violet banknotes, as fantas- was held at the King Juan honor guards. Delivered from peasant tic an amount of money as I had ever Carlos I Center at New York work, furnished with a fancy uni- seen in my life. Was my grandfather University on October 8. form and shiny boots and buttons, my hiding a fortune, the same way he --Bob Coale

20 THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 ALBA BOOKS, VIDEOS AND POSTERS ALBA EXPANDS WEB BOOKSTORE Buy Spanish Civil War books on the WEB. ALBA members receive a discount! www.alba-valb.org Books about the LINCOLN BRIGADE Passing the Torch: The Abraham Lincoln Brigade and its Legacy of Hope Fighting Fascism in Europe. The World War II Letters of by Anthony Geist and Jose Moreno an American Veteran of the Spanish Civil War by Lawrence Cane, edited by David E. Cane, Judy Another Hill Barrett Litoff, and David C. Smith by Milton Wolff Mercy in Madrid Our Fight—Writings by Veterans of the by Mary Bingham de Urquidi Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Spain 1936-1939 edited by Alvah Bessie & Albert Prago The Front Lines of Social Change: Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Spain’s Cause Was Mine by Richard Bermack by Hank Rubin Soldiers of Salamas Comrades by Javier Cercas by Harry Fisher Juan Carlos: Steering Spain from Dictatorship to The Odyssey of the Abraham Democracy Lincoln Brigade by Paul Preston by Peter Carroll British Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War The Lincoln Brigade, a Picture History by Richard Baxell by William Katz and Marc Crawford The Wound and the Dream: Sixty Years of American EXHIBIT CATALOGS Poems about the Spanish Civil War by Cary Nelson They Still Draw Pictures: Children’s Art in Wartime by Anthony Geist and Peter Carroll The Aura of the Cause, a photo album ❑ Yes, I wish to become an ALBA edited by Cary Nelson Associate, and I enclose a check for $30 made out to ALBA (includes a one VIDEOS year subscription to The Volunteer). Into the Fire: American Women in the Spanish Civil War Name ______Julia Newman Art in the Struggle for Freedom Abe Osheroff Address______Dreams and Nightmares Abe Osheroff City______State ___Zip______The Good Fight Sills/Dore/Bruckner ❑ I’ve enclosed an additional donation of ___ Forever Activists ______. I wish ❑ do not wish ❑ to have this Judith Montell donation acknowledged in The Volunteer. You Are History, You Are Legend Please mail to: ALBA, 799 Broadway, Room 227, Judith Montell New York, NY 10003 Professional Revolutionary: Life of Saul Wellman Judith Montell

THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 21 Guardia Civiles Continued from page 18 as if Pawel works to see both sides write an apologia, but I do think that invite him over for dinner. While an- of the war, with a slight leaning to- Pawel is too nice a person. The themes other writer might ask what happens ward the forces of rebellion whenever of the novel demand a writer with a to a decent man who must do what a she portrays the regressive social at- darker vision of the world and a char- member of the guardia civil must do, titudes of the ruling Nationalists. acter who’s a little more tormented or Pawel instead redeems her character The mystery in The Watcher in cruel. Tejada is not just a nationalist— again and again. A man who some- the Pine isn’t as strong as it could José Camilo Cela was a nationalist, but times behaves like a monster—and the be. We don’t get to know enough he could also chronicle the squalor of ordering of torture is a monstrous people or their motives for there to Franco’s postwar world in two mas- act—must always risk becoming a be multiple suspects, and there isn’t terpieces of Spanish literature—but monster himself. This is a risk Carlos enough police work for the novel to Tejada is also a member of the Falange, Tejada never seems to run. It made me qualify as a procedural. Rather than a man who sings “Cara al sol” and wish that Pawel had a harder heart a “who done it?” it’s more a “what’s fondly remembers Jose Antonio. and a willingness to tell the truth going on here?” novel, with Tejada It’s not that Tejada doesn’t behave about her characters. the fish out of water trying to un- like a guardia civil of that time period. derstand his new environment. He does order one of the guardias Pawel has some skill as a writer. to talk nicely to a prisoner while an- When Tejada and Elena solve differ- other is instructed to beat him. And Remembrance Continued from page 17 ent aspects of the mystery at hand, the Tejada does sometimes comport him- novel can be compelling. Plus there self like a conservative man of the riety of people, giving them shelter are several well-structured scenes time. When full of righteous anger from an often hostile world and in- that climax with a new realization at his wife, he threatens to have their vigorating them to step forward. about Spanish postwar life. However, newborn child sent away after it’s In explaining how commemora- Pawel slows things down with her been weaned so that the child won’t tion and song work to keep this double-protagonist structure. Tejada be contaminated by his wife’s liberal nostalgia radical and how this memo- will discover something and share it approach. In these moments, when ry is politics of the healthiest kind, with Elena; Elena will realize some- Tejada’s nature slips free, the novel Glazer answers the question by indi- thing and share it with her husband. blazes alive with its dramatic truth. rection: what would we be like if we There’s hardly a single important Unfortunately, Pawel doesn’t want forgot? And as he concludes, So we fact that isn’t discussed twice, and it us to understand her lieutenant, she keep at it." takes two thirds of the book for the wants us to like him enough that we’d plot to work up a head of steam. So if the novel might appeal to mystery readers, will it work for read- ers of The Volunteer, many of whom ContinuedHappiness from page 11 (I am sure) have strong opinions about postwar Spain and the guardia “Miner’s Lifeguard,” “Solidarity struggle to end the war on Iraq, civil. As decent a man as Tejada is, Forever,” “Strangest Dream,” “Viva the crowd erupted with enor- he’s still a guardia civil, he’s working La Quince Brigada,” and “Union mous applause. A group from for the organization that worked to Maid.” When we sang “Union Veterans for Peace was clapping keep the countryside under Franco’s Maid,” Henry Foner jumped in non-stop. Indeed, the struggle strict control. When members of the with his own verse and brought for peace and justice continues. maquis take potshots at Tejada, I the hall into a standing ovation. Happy birthdays to Moe and couldn’t help but cheer them on. The celebration was ended Milton! I don’t think the writer is trying to by actress Vinie Burrows. When she talked about Cindy Sheehan’s

22 THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 ALBA’s Planned Giving Program Tax Advantages for Gift Annuities

HOW DOES A semi-annually or annually. You CHARITABLE GIFT can also choose a one-life or two- ANNUITY WORK? life (two people dividing the A charitable gift annuity is a income) annuity. Cash gifts al- simple contract between you and low maximum tax-free income; the Abraham Lincoln Brigade gifts of securities allow you to Archives (ALBA). Under this ar- minimize capital gains taxes. rangement, you make a gift of cash or marketable securities, worth a DEFERRING PAYMENTS minimum of $5000, to ALBA. In re- turn, ALBA will pay you (or up to If you are under 60 years of two individuals) an annuity begin- age, you can still set up an annu- ning on the date you specify, on or ity and defer the payments until after your sixtieth (60th) birthday. any date after your 60th birthday. This gives you an immediate tax- WHAT ARE THE deduction for your gift while still ADVANTAGES OF A guaranteeing you income pay- CHARITABLE GIFT ments in the future. Because you are deferring payments, your an- ALBA’s planned giving pro- ANNUITY? nuity payments will be larger than gram provides an extraordinary A charitable gift annuity if you had waited to set up the an- way to make a gift, increase in- has four distinct advantages: nuity until your 60th birthday. come and slice the donor’s tax Income for Life at attrac- For more information on a cus- bill – all in one transaction! tive payout rates. tomized proposal for your Charitable The charitable gift annu- Tax Deduction Savings – A Gift Annuity, please contact: ity program was created for our large part of what you give is Julia Newman many friends who have expressed a deductible charitable gift. ALBA, room 227 a desire to make a significant gift, Tax-Free Income – A large part 799 Broadway while still retaining income from of your annual payments is NY, NY 10003 the principal during their life- tax-free return of principal. Ph. (212) 674-5398 time. A charitable gift annuity Capital Gains Tax Savings – When gives the donor additional retire- you contribute securities for a ment income, while affording the gift annuity, you minimize any satisfaction of supporting ALBA’s taxes on your “paper profit.” So continuing educational programs gifts of securities save twice! and its traditions of fighting for so- cial justice and against fascism. PAYMENTS You choose how frequently pay- ments will be made—quarterly,

THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 23 Contributions

IN MEMORY OF A VETERAN Freda Tanz in memory of Al Tanz $30 Marylou & Edward Winnick in memory of Milt Rhea K. Kish in memory of Leslie Kish $100 Felsen $18 Elizabeth & Maya Melara in memory of John Jane Smiley in memory of Milt Felsen $50 Rossen $30 Diana Lager in memory of Milt Felsen $15 Lester Fein in memory of Dick and Gene Fein $200 Nancy & Jerry Kaplan in memory of Milt Felsen Jane Simon in memory of “Doc” John Simon $50 $50 Thelma Mielke in memory of Ken Bridenthal $100 Jerry Roucher in memory of Milt Felsen $25 Gabe Jackson in memory of Irving Weissman and Robert Bordiga in memory of Milt Felsen $50 Bob Reed $50 Alexander & Irene Cass in memory of Milt Felsen Jeanne Olson in memory of Leonard Olson $30 $25 Kathleen A. Garth in memory of Rubin Susan, John & Max Potter in memory of Milt Felsen Schneiderman $100 $100 Anthony Alpert in memory of Victor Strukl $10 Chicago Friends of the Lincoln Brigade in memory Earl Harju in memory of Clarence Forester $100 of Charles Hall $300 Helene Susman in memory of Bill Susman $250 Joyce & Aaron Hilkevitch in memory of Chuck Hall $50 IN MEMORY OF Thomas & Maxine Fineberg in memory of Chuck Norah Chase in memory of Dot Chase $25 Hall $30 Natasha & Lisa Simon in memory of Morris L. Benedict Tisa in memory of John Tisa $50 Simon $100 Shotzy, Rocky & Eric Solomon in memory of Ben Barsky $50 IN HONOR OF A VETERAN Suzanne & Alan Jay Rom in memory of Samuel S. Freda Tanz in honor of Clifton Amsbury’s 95th Schiff $50 birthday $30 Jonathan J. Kaufman in memory of Ernest Amatniek Suzanne & Alan J. Rom in honor of Moe Fishman’s $100 90th birthday $50 Dr. Edson Y. Alburque in memory of Ernest Wever in honor of Moe Fishman’s 90th Amatniek $200 birthday $50

Andrew & Sonia in memory of Ernest CONTRIBUTIONS Amatniek $36 Tor Inge Berger $40 Eileen & Ted Rowland in memory of $75 Emily & William Leider, for Children’s Art Exhibit $200 Frederick Warren in memory of Alvin Warren $50 Mildred Rosenstein in memory of “Gabby” Rosenstein $60

24 THE VOLUNTEER December 2005 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

❑ Yes, I wish to become an ALBA Associate, and I enclose a check for $30 made out to ALBA (includes a one year subscription to The Volunteer).

Name ______

Address ______

City______State ___Zip______❑ I’ve enclosed an additional donation of _____. I wish ❑ do not wish ❑ to have this donation acknowledged in The Volunteer. Please mail to: ALBA, 799 Broadway, Room 227, New York, NY 10003 Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade 70th Reunion 1936-2006 Honoring the Veterans for Peace Performance featuring Barbara Dane and members of the San Francisco Mime Troupe

Berkeley, CA Sunday March 12, 2006 for information call (510) 548-3088

New York, NY April 30, 2006 for information call (212) 674-5398

The Volunteer Non Profit org c/o Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives 799 Broadway, Rm. 227 US Postage New York, NY 10003 Paid San Francisco, CA permit no. 1577