Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1 Winter 1996-97
A M
s a Catalan and the son of parents who fought on y Delta flight to Madrid was on schedule. Tom
the Republican side against fascism, I grew up Entwhistle 1 met me at the Madrid airport.
with an enormous admiration for the members That evening I was lecturing at the College
of the International Brigades. I will always remember for International Studies, one of two schools that had
the day when my parents made us — all their children paid my way over. Before meeting with the students,
— sit around the dining table and promise with all all Americans, I met with the Directora, Mercedes
solemnity that whenever and wherever we found mem- Vaquero, and several staff members in her office.
bers of the brigades we should offer them our home as if The building housing the school is one of those edi-
it were their own. My parents spoke on behalf of those fices representational of the old Spanish architecture
who fought and lost that anti-fascist war. The promise — imposingly massive and impressively baroque, typi-
was made during the nightmare of the fifties, when fas- cal of the old grey stone-faced buildings of Madrid’s
cist repression in Spain was at its height, with fascists main plazas that I remembered so well from my first
killing and assassinating more people than they did dur- leave after Brunete in 1937.
The Director’s office furnishings carried out the
Continued on page 6 theme of the exterior: highly polished, elaborately
carved dark brown wood desks, chairs
and cabinets, grandly scaled to the
high-ceilinged large sala, the bravura
of España. I experienced a sense of
place, of being truly back in Spain, a
feeling reinforced when I responded,
“Brandy” to Sra. Vaquero’s asking
what I would like to drink. There
being none at hand, she forthwith
dispatched an enlace to fetch a bottle
— my protests not withstanding.
Pere Virgili
Welcome at the Parliament in Barcelona. Continued on page 6
2 THE VOLUNTEER, Winter 1996-97
Editorial
N
Pasaran!” and the cheers for the because men were busy with the last ow the memories will be mixed
vets and their families. In the little work on the monument even as up for us, those of the great
the university rector got up onto the crusade — as Gustave Regler called
Barcelona railway station I found
plinth to announce its dedication it — of sixty years ago and those of
myself walking with my wife, tow-
and pull off the red cloth covering. the great trip of 1996. Whatever the
ing our suitcases, between the
roped-back crowds cheering us and outcome of the parliamentary and
clapping. At the end of our walk the
cheering was overwhelmed by a
brass band playing the old wartime
T he town museum showed us a
big exhibit of memorabilia of the
IB, with letters, photos, documents
legalistic complications about citi-
zenship may be, we know for cer-
tain — as many of the speakers at
songs. When we went to the and even a model of the Russian the mass meetings told us so
Catalan parliament the next day fighter planes, the “Mosca,” that emphatically — that we are
huge flag-waving crowds lined the came to fight with us — although, Spanish, now and in history.
long driveway and some of them sadly, too few of them. There was
had climbed into the trees, just as also an art exhibition by local James Benet, a journalist, is a Veteran
American kids would do, waving painters, and we received hand- of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
4 THE VOLUNTEER, Winter 1996-97
The excerpts below are from the The New York Times, Nov. 11, 1996: stand against fascism, regardless of
untold number of items that From a page one story, with picture, the odds.”
appeared in the U.S. press about the written by Marlise Simons, reporter Eleven union organizers at a
Homenaje. Two dispatches, each for The Herald Tribune, the Times’ [New York] department store went
written for major news services — overseas edition. She interviewed as volunteers to Spain. “Had we
The Associated Press and The New the veterans in the lobby of the Hotel prevailed in Spain, World War II
York Times — appeared in scores of Convençion in Madrid. probably would not have happened,”
publications. Irving Gold came in a wheel Jack Shafran said.
chair. Others used canes or just Irene Goldin was a young nurse
The Associated Press: From an walked slowly into Madrid’s Sports from Connecticut who belonged to
Arganda, Spain, dispatch by Leon Palace no political party but wanted to
Lazaroff, Nov. 8, 1996 Soon they were showered with help people. One of her patients was
Spain’s best: the laments of flamen- Harry Spiegel, an Austrian fighter,
They fought against Franco’s co, poems of Garcia Lorca, folk whom she helped recuperate from
fascist forces. They were about to be
music, battle songs. Before long, the severe wounds and then married in
granted Spanish citizenship. old men cried and saluted, raising Spain.
Yesterday on a grassy plain clenched fists. Some of those fists
along the Jarama river south of trembled with age, but they went
Madrid, 370 former members of Sarasota, FL, Nov. 16, 1996
up anyway before a roaring audi-
the International Brigades gath- ence estimated at 10,000. …
ered to commemorate their arrival Milt Felsen described his return
“This is very moving, very
in Spain in the 1936-1939 war and uplifting,” said Irving Rappaport, to Spain with fellow American vol-
pay homage to those killed in the 86, who worked in a New York gro- unteers as the most moving experi-
war. cery store in 1937. ence of his life. His lapel bears the
As the former volunteers Charles Hall, one of the 68 insignia of the International
crossed the Arganda bridge — sites American veterans here this week, Brigades, that brave idealistic band
of many bloody battles — Danes, heard about the war in Spain on his of soldiers who fought against fas-
Yugoslavs, Argentinians and Brits factory floor in Chicago. “The slogan cism 60 years ago in the Spanish
embraced. Some wept. was,” he recalled, “in Spain we are Civil War.
As in the war itself, the lan- defending all of Europe against fas- Inscribed on the medallion is an
guage barrier was largely overcome cism.” excerpt from a speech by an anti-
by enthusiasm. Most have white Irving Gold, from Brooklyn, fascist leader. It reads, “When the
hair and some walk with canes, but recalled how he and 30 other olive tree of peace blooms again in
the international veterans of the Americans left New York City in Spain, come back.”
Spanish Civil War remain as feisty early 1937 on the Ile de France,
and idealistic as when they volun- took trains through France and
teered for battle 60 years ago. then secretly crossed the Pyrenees Deerfield Valley, VT, Nov. 21, 1996
In the mid-1930s, the great mountains on foot with Spanish
threat to Western democracies was George Cullinan, a young mer-
guides
the expansion of fascism. The chant seaman, volunteered to head
Louis Bortz, from Hartford,
international brigades were dis- to Spain to fight the rise of fascism.
Conn., is one of several old timers
banded and allowed to leave Spain Last week, Cullinan and the other
who recalled talking with Ernest
in the hate 1930s, when Franco’s veterans of the International
Hemingway, and everyone here, it
forces, supported heavily by Brigade were awarded honorary
seemed, had read For Whom the
Germany and Italy, were on the Spanish citizenship for their efforts
Bell Tolls.
verge of victory. to keep Spain free.
“That was a very sad and bitter “We just couldn’t believe our
Christian Science Monitor,
moment,” said Clarence Forester, eyes,” said Cullinan of his arrival in
Nov. 13, 1996
81, who left Minneapolis at age 22 the Sports Palace in Madrid. “There
to join the Abraham Lincoln “Many of the American volun- were thousands of people applaud-
Brigade. “But we know now that teers like Clarence Kailin believed ing and cheering. It was the same
what we did was right.” Spain was the place to make a everywhere we went in Spain.”
THE VOLUNTEER, Winter 1996-97 5
Palm Beach Post, Nov. 10, 1996 “You have to realize it’s 60 Edney, still very beautiful is 85.
Irving William “Bill” Rappaport, years after the war, all the veterans [Ed: Patience died in Madrid during
a college dropout, understood what are in their 80s, some 90s, but it’s the trip.]
Franco’s fascism meant both as a something they all wanted to do. These three — proud, lucid old
person steeped in democratic tradi- Many walked with canes, and some lefties — two Brits, one American
tions and as a Jew. were in wheel chairs. — all veterans of the Spanish Civil
“We had never seen such a War, say such things as “proletari-
demonstration of love, affection and an,” “class struggle,” “progressive
Foster City, CA, Progress, Nov. 30,
admiration as witnessed that day forces,” and “working class.” words
1996, and in seven other newspa-
[November 11, day of the Actos de not used even in the Labour Party.
pers published in cities south of San
homenaje — expressions of homage] They use these words unselfcon-
Francisco.
in Barcelona.” sciously and seem to assume that
An 87-year-old San Mateo man you use them too. Their faith is
was at long last recognized for his absolute and touching.
The Times, London, Nov. 2, 1996
contributions as a soldier in the
Spanish Civil War (1936-1938) ear- On Monday international volun-
San Jose, CA, Mercury News, Dec. 9
lier this month in Spain. teers who fought in the Spanish
Al Gottlieb, along with 50 other Civil War are about to return to Perley Payne, a member of an
Americans and 300 international Madrid. Three of the survivors tell old-time Santa Clara County fami-
veterans, was honored by the Spa- their stories. It is not their age that ly, was recruited [for Spain] off the
nish parliament and granted hon- grips me first but their language. waterfront after he left his job as a
orary citizenship in a reunion cele- Sam Russell is 81 years old. cannery worker and went to live
bration, November 4-12: Milton Wolff is also 81. Patience with an aunt in San Francisco.
I had last been to the Murcian town of Madrigueras in bookstore is full of treasures, like the memoirs of Lise
April of 1937 when I left for the Jarama front with a London, Roja Primavera, published in 1996. Angel took
group of replacements. Our departure was supposed to us to the tomb of Dolores Ibarruiri nearby, and his
be secret but the whole town turned out to bid us entire family gave us food and rest and loving care.
farewell. People hugged and kissed us and raised their We will always feel a profound gratitude toward all
clenched fists in salud. of them.
When I returned last November with my children — Lenore and Ted Velfort
and grandchildren I wondered how we would be Oakland, California
received and how we would be remembered.
Of course our reception was tumultuous and touch-
ing. But another more profound expression was found in Tears of gratitude
the town church. We were conducted there and led into
a junk-strewn back room where a ladder had been
placed against one wall.
M y mother, Hon Brown, and my siblings, Doug,
Stephanie and Betsy, and our spouses, and I,
went to Spain to honor the Veterans of the
Following our host, I climbed into an upper floor, International Brigades. My late father, Archie Brown,
illumined only by flashlights. There the beams revealed was a member of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion.
antifascist graffiti — Frente Rojo; No Pasaran; names Our large group was broken up into smaller groups
and poems in several languages and dated jottings from and 200 of us arrived in Seville from Madrid.
1937 and 1938. As we rode up the escalator in their beautiful train
A young man who was conducting us explained that station, there were thousands of people awaiting us on
when the fascists took power they attempted to obliter- the landing above. Carrying banners and shouting
ate all the antifascist graffiti wherever found. words of welcome and slogans from the past, N o
In Madrigueras, in order to preserve the antifascist Pasaran! We were inundated by waves of roaring sound,
slogans written on the church, the townspeople had expressing their love and thanks for the Vets.
destroyed the stairway to the upper floor and filled the I wish to thank them for surviving, remembering,
area with debris to prevent access. The fascists never and for moving toward a democratic Spain. Tears of
caught on. gratitude for our reception and the honor bestowed upon
Our guide thought that this graffiti might be the the memory of my father and his comrades, flow down
only surviving examples in Spain. Whether true or not, from my face now as before in Seville. I will never forget
it certainly showed us that in Madrigueras, they this incredible sharing of emotion. Thank you, los gentes
remembered. de España! Viva la Quince Brigada! Viva las Brigadas
— Harry Fisher Internacionales!
South Orange, NJ — Susheela (Susan Brown) Farrell
Santa Rosa, California
An unforgettable experience
The defining event of his youth
T he heroes of the Homenaje were the Amigos’ volun-
teers who worked with patience and love long hours.
With no experience and with constant money worries W ith six other family members, I accompanied my
husband, Abraham Lincoln Brigade veteran
they managed to make the Homenaje an unforgettable Leonard Olson, to the site of what was the defining
experience for us all: Dolores and Ana, Angel, Raquel, event of his youth. Each family member had a task: the
Roberto, Gustavo — these are just some of the names I sons-in-law pushed the wheel chair and lifted it on and
THE VOLUNTEER, Winter 1996-97 11
S alud, comrades! I would like to REMEMBERING SPAIN: HEMINGWAY’S VALB EULOGY ........(bklet & audio)..........$15
by Hemingway, Nelson and Wolff
say many things to you, so
FROM MISSISSIPPI TO MADRID ...........................................................(pbk)..........$10
many emotions. I was at the Par-
by James Yates
liament, yelling like never before; I SPAIN, THE UNFINISHED REVOLUTION ..............................................(cloth)..........$15
participated also in the organization by Arthur Landis
of the acto at the Universidad PRISONERS OF THE GOOD FIGHT ........................................................(pbk)..........$10
Autonoma de Barcelona. by Carl Geiser
There are no words to express THE LINCOLN BRIGADE: A PICTURE HISTORY ...................................(cloth) ..........$15
what I feel for you. I listened to the by Wm. L. Katz and Marc Crawford
words of some of you, but I didn’t EDUCATION OF A RELUCTANT RADICAL: BOOK 3 — SPAIN ..................(pbk)..........$14
by Carl Marzani
know what to say. Today, when you
FOREVER ACTIVISTS..........................................................................(VCR)..........$35
are no longer here, I miss you very
Judith Montell
much. Surely the best way to be THE GOOD FIGHT .............................................................................(VCR)..........$35
close to you is to continue the strug- Sills/Dore/Bruckner
gle that you began.
14 THE VOLUNTEER, Winter 1996-97
L A ’97
ooking back now, when I set out group. While the Homenaje was far
for Spain on Saturday, Novem- from flawless, the majority of par-
ber 2, I probably knew as much ticipants and volunteers marvelled
about what lay ahead as an alpar - at how well things turned out, given
gata-shod American volunteer scal-
ing the Pyrenees in 1937. Strange
as it may seem, my sole contact
Volunteer the magnitude of the group, the
myriad of ceremonies and many last
minute adaptations. We volunteers
with the Amigos had been through certainly felt honored to have par-
fax and telephone from Paris in ticipated in this long overdue trib-
order to offer my assistance. That By Robert Coale ute to a stalwart and amazing
had been warmly accepted. group of veterans. We wear our
I only began to learn about the Voluntarios de la Libertad c o m-
Amigos’ evolution and structure hotel shuttle began its operation. It memorative pins as hard-earned
during the memorable nine days reached full schedule on Monday, badges of solidarity.
that followed — after I had rolled November 4. By then, I was in the
up my sleeves started to work. The
complete picture only came when it
was all over. That was on Tuesday
Hospital Princesa squiring a Mac-
Pap veteran who had fallen behind
in his insulin dosing.
R eviewing it all, I shudder at
having been very close to not
attending the event. I would have
November 12, after the staff of vol- missed a very moving experience, a
unteers began to unwind in the
Barcelona Airport cafe after most of F irst of all, one should keep in
mind that all who helped,
whether behind the scenes or in full
truly “once in a lifetime” occasion.
Expecting the celebration to take
place over the summer, convenient-
the veterans were safely on their
way home. contact with the veterans and their ly coinciding with a stay in Madrid
When I had arrived in Madrid, families, were volunteers. Everyone to research my PhD dissertation in
all I knew about the Asociación de was a volunteer — from the ener- Spanish literature, I had contacted
Amigos was that they had accepted getic youths who carried luggage, Santiago Alvarez through a mutual
my offer to help and their office escorted people on buses, ran friend in May.
address. That was where I reported errands and even may have served When word got back that the
on Sunday morning, November 3. dinner and cleared tables, up to the festivities would not take place
Waiting outside a locked door Governing Committee. until November, it seemed highly
were three volunteers from Madrid My intermediate group had unlikely that I would be able to take
with whom I was to work closely fused spontaneously — each offer- time off from work and get to
throughout the celebration. They ing free time or more. We were all Madrid. I let the idea drop.
were Pepe and Alberto of the press driven by enormous respect for the In October, however, while tak-
committee, and David, who was in Brigadistas and a desire to make ing a break from my thesis research
charge of reserving transportation the visit a memorable event. I happened across a copy of Carl
I was appointed assistant to the It was no secret that at certain Geiser’s Prisoners of the Good Fight.
press committee and promptly went times things did not run as smoothly Devouring it in record time, I then
to work — photocopying, stapling as expected. The Asociación was, in re-read my copy of Marion
and phoning Toronto to track down fact, beset by its own success. When Merriman’s American Commander
missing Mac-Paps. As the afternoon discussion about the celebration in Spain along with other works on
wore on, other volunteers reported first began, the attendance estimate the Spanish Civil War. In no time I
— Barbara (from Switzerland), was less than one hundred. Seven was hooked again, certain I could
Anya (from Germany), and Olga hundred and eighty veterans and not pass this opportunity to meet
(from Madrid). Each had her own friends from twenty-nine countries veterans and show my admiration.
story of the rush to arrive. arrived, many at the last minute. Although ignorant of what was
The three-room office was A small group of volunteers, no in store, the important fact was that
stocked with two hand-me-down matter how well intentioned it may I was accepted. With an interest in
computers, several telephones, fax be, has serious limitations when it oral history dating from way back, I
machines, a photcopier and piles of comes to handling such a large innocently toted along a cassette
incoming messages. The atmos- recorder expecting to find the time
phere was charged with expectation Robert Coale is a young to interview some of the more talka-
of the impending events. American PhD candidate in tive veterans. That didn’t happen.
The Internationals and family Spanish literature at the Uni- From a young volunteer’s point
members began arriving at the air- versity of Paris. of view it was a great week, not
port that afternoon. A Barajas-to- only for my having met the Brig-
THE VOLUNTEER, Winter 1996-97 15
adistas and their families: I route to this entrance would pass ing those veterans and their fami-
acquired new Spanish friends, the throngs waiting to buy tickets. lies, who did not speak Spanish,
namely, Betina, Alberto, Olga, Unaware and wearing a red communicate with the locals, and
David, Pepe, Barbara and Anya. Organización badge, I left the hotel vice versa. The manageable size of
Our friendship forged itself amid with group of Brigadistas. My heart this busload and its homogeneity
long hours of confusion and an stopped as we encountered the was a contrast to the international-
unwavering, almost fanatical, sense unexpected sea of people that ly diverse groups I had sheparded
of duty — especially when the going blocked our access to the Sports on all other events.
turned difficult. Palace. However, when I loudly The luncheon speech and poem
We learned to improvise; to fill requested: “Perdonen, por favor, offered by Spanish Republican
planning lapses and respond to last paso para los Brigadistas, (Excuse Veterans was a unique moment to
minute requests; to hammer out us, please make room for the make sure that the words of thanks
solutions for unforeseen problems as Brigadistas to pass),” alarm gave and recognition spoken by our
best we could, becoming battle-hard- way to emotion. The sea of people Spanish hosts were understood by
ened through twenty- or even twen- parted, applauding and cheering. more than the linguistically privi-
ty-four-hour days and midnight-to- Turning around to herd the first leged few. The unexpected and
three a.m. organizational meetings. group through (Swiss and Czechs), I enthusiastic thanks I received from
saw them teary-eyed and deeply the Catalans for interpreting into
I n general, the week of tribute was touched as they were cheered, English confirmed that they were
memorable for all who participat- hugged, their hands shaken and very anxious for their heartfelt
ed. It provided a unique opportunity their backs patted by the no-less- gratitude to be clearly conveyed to
for veterans from across the globe to veterans so often remembered, even
come together once again and to be venerated, yet so infrequently
honored by the people of Spain. As As a present-day encountered in the flesh.
Professor Gabriel Jackson pointed volunteer, it was
out during the evening ceremony in
Barcelona: many of the ideals wonderful to feel a T here were many other special
moments, but every one who
made the trip can assert similar
defended by the Spanish Republic
have been integrated into the part of it all. claims. Speaking unofficially on
Constitution of 1978 for present day behalf of a small but hard-working
Spaniards to enjoy. This tangible moved population of Madrid — sur- group of volunteers, I can say that
result may prompt one to wonder vivors, sons, daughters or grand- our most cherished moments were
who were the ultimate victors in the children of the battered city that those rare occasions when we had
struggle of 1936-1939. had greeted some of the very same time to spend with the Brigadistas,
Being neither a Spaniard nor men sixty years before, almost to be it talking during a bus ride, chat-
International Brigade veteran, when the day. ting before dinner, recommending
my volunteer duties permitted, I was As a present-day volunteer, it sights to see in town, or resolving
in a privileged position to observe was wonderful to feel a part of it all. an unexpected problem.
the homage from the “outside.” Suddenly, all of the mistaken We would volunteer, without a
On a more personal side, there instructions, the countermanded moment’s hesitation, to do it all
come to mind many highlights of orders, and the endless waiting for over again. The exposure to such a
my dealings with the veterans. buses, was unimportant, especially unique group of dedicated men and
Allow me to recall two: the Madrid after one had seen the brigadistas women, who stood up for their prin-
Palacio de Deportes concert/tribute so moved and so warmly welcomed ciples, cannot help but improve our
and a day’s excursion in Catalonia. back to Madrid. understanding of this special chap-
The first of these provided a ter of contemporary history.
moment that itself was memorable
During a pre-concert volunteers’ M emories of the week that fol
lowed in Catalonia are just a
blur of fast-paced situations and
November 3 to 12, 1996, will long be
treasured by those people forever
devoted to the legacy of the
meeting, the Goya Street entrance
to the Palacio gate was considered more great moments International Brigades. May the
the most appropriate for the veter- On the day of short trips from future offer us many more opportu-
ans’ entrance. Despite its location on Barcelona to neighboring cities and nities to show our appreciation.
a far side of the building, it afforded towns, I was assigned to a bus Many thanks to the veterans for
the most direct access to the stage where I had the opportunity to per- making possible an enjoyable,
floor and had the shortest stairs. form a task that I had anticipated unforgettable week of volunteer
It was not realized that the when setting out from Paris — help- work. Salud!
16 THE VOLUNTEER, Winter 1996-97
E Tracking
xactly what was I going to see and anguish I cause you and the
in Spain and what was I look- thought that you are thinking of me
ing for? I brought these questions while you read this.” He had never
a ghost
overseas and I brought them home said good-bye to them. Like so many
again. others, Dave lied out of love to pro-
I am in the midst of writing a tect them. He said he was going to
book about political passion and the Catskills to work.
memory. My uncle, Dave Lipton, is As I drove towards you, my
its center. He died on Hill 666 on uncle, through the dry waste of the
August 20, 1938, and I went to By Eunice Lipton Aragon landscape, you kept eluding
Spain for him. And for my father me. But on Hill 666 in Catalunya, I
who loved him above all else in the his mother’s brother’s dreams for found you. Those faraway mountain
world. But my uncle died before I him, the place to become politically hills — o n o n e s i d e t h e S i e r r a
was born, and all I know of him was committed. At 15 he was already an Pandols; the pointy ones on the
what my father told me. It wasn’t American Communist. He wrote his other — the Sierra Caballs. How
even my memories I could hope to uncles telling them he wanted to go like the trip in southern France
unearth or conjure. So what sort of to Russia, but they wrote back say- from Mount Ventoux to Cézanne’s
hocus pocus was I involved with? ing, “Stay, work in America.” The Mont Saint Victoire. The first an
And whose political passions and bronx to Duddy was the Young anomalous desert peak from which
whose memories were to be the sub- Communist League, meetings and Petrarch thought he could survey
ject of my book? obligations he was eager to fulfill. the world; the other rocky with
I drove with a busload of people The Bronx was putting furniture bauxite but forever colored by
to the Sierra Pandols. I climbed to back into apartments after it had Cézanne’s oranges, greens and
where I could see Hill 666. I didn’t been strewn on sidewalks by land- blues. Two places of wonder, one
know how to take in the round lords indifferently evicting the poor. barren, the other pure sublimated
misty mountains, the majestic The Bronx was duty, a duty that lust.
sweep of beauty Dave saw at the brought Dave to Spain and to the You were a virgin when you
last and that he had never seen mountains I’m having trouble talk- went to Spain. You slept with a
before. Nothing like it in his life, he ing about. prostitute in Paris that one night
who had grown up in Riga, a port you were there, before the journey
town on the Baltic Sea. He knew
ship masts and winds, sturdy bour-
geois architecture and broad tree-
T he day he died, what did he
k n o w ? Duty? Defending the
world against fascism? Heartache?
South. Bill told me he helped you
find someone. He also told me you
didn’t look happy afterwards. But
framed avenues. So often the boys wrote home about you wanted it, it was important. As
He knew maids and loneliness peacefulness and beauty and com- if sex like that, any sex could mean
and spacious rooms emptied of love, radeship and loneliness. And love. something.
parents working night and day in Mostly for their girl friends or Uncle, why did you go to Spain
their delicatessen, older brothers wives. Nothing like that with Dave. when most didn’t? It wasn’t an
who didn’t speak to him even as I never found a girlfriend or even impossible act for you. You sailed
they ate around the same table. word of one. the sea. Why? Exactly.
Only later did they say how wonder- But he did write tenderly to his It would be so easy to be nostal-
ful the boy was. parents, “I am sitting on a moun- gic about the 1930s when good and
After Riga, he knew the Bronx. tain among vineyards and olive evil were such stark, uncomplicated
He was eleven in 1927 when he trees covered with the blood of poles. Fascism was evil. Period. We
entered New York Harbor with his Spain. I am looking at the sunset in the United Sates in recent years
mother, holding hands. He loved and weeping. I cry and cry and cry. have stood witness to debacles of
her who loved him best of all her six I am crying hot tears that pour from morality, in Bosnia and Rwanda
sons, three of whom had already my eyes and I’m not trying to stop most particularly. Had one been
died in Europe. Dave, or Duddy as them. I’m thinking of you, my dear sufficiently outraged and decided to
he was known then, smiled at the parents, and the thought of the pain go to ex-Yugoslavia, on whose side
tall buildings spiking the clear blue would one have enlisted? The
sky. He wasn’t a timid boy and he Serbs? Croats? M u s l i m s ? And in
Eunice Lipton is a writer in
could see. Rwanda? Now that we have more
New York City. She would appre -
To some the Bronx is a blocky, detailed and instantaneous infor-
ciate hearing from anyone who
grey place. Maybe fun if you’re a mation than we’ve ever had before,
knew her uncle: 201 W. 85th St.
boy and a teenager liking the girls we are unutterably more paralyzed
(7E), New York, NY 10024; tel:
and the street, but for Dave the to act.
212-724-9456; fax:212-724-9299.
Bronx became the place to live out So I went to Spain out of respect
THE VOLUNTEER, Winter 1996-97 17
I Socorro
t happened on our first morning in tionnaire they sent all of us before
Madrid. I stood in that spacious the event. “Can you walk 10 meters
Spanish bathtub meditating over how without having to stop?” was one of
the questions we were asked.
Rojo
this would have felt back in 1937-38
when cracking lice was a daily rou- Some of the Vets came in wheel-
tine. chairs, and the Amigos were prepared
What a change! From our recep- for them. I never expected to be one
tion at the airport the night before, to
the mingling at the hotel, it was evi-
dent that this was to be a once-in-a-
lifetime occasion. The welcome from
Lives who needed their services but I sure
came to appreciate all of that prepa-
ration!
True, I missed some of the events
the Amigos was almost overwhelm- that took place, but there was always
ing! I had anticipated meeting the old By Bob Reed the glorious feeling that “this is hap-
friends whom I have not seen since pening.” On many occasions, I could
the war. Above all, I wanted to meet sit in the hotel lobby and listen to the
and enjoy the company of the many comrades in Spain, discussions among those who had attended something I
both young and old, who were the hosts for this occa- had missed. I could share the experience through them.
sion. At times, being bound in a wheelchair has its
Then I turned on the shower … advantages. In Barcelona, I was wheeled to the front
In a second I was lying full length on my right side row of the concert in the Palace of Sports, to the foot of
in the long unyielding bathtub, trying to assess the the stage itself.
damage. I had a large bump on my head and the toes A unique experience for those of us in wheelchairs
on my right foot were bent unnaturally against the side occurred in Barcelona. We were pushed through the
of the tub. The calf of the leg was swollen and I thought huge crowd honoring the Internationals at the Sports
at first that a bone was broken. My knee hurt, as did Palace event. I remember a narrow tunnel, with a
my hip and shoulder, and I could not lift my right arm. mass of cheering people on both sides. My lap was cov-
My wife, Mildred, and Janet, our daughter, were ered with flowers, presents and printed material from
still asleep. I didn’t want to admit that such a thing unions and other organizations.
could happen to me, especially on this occasion, so I Photographers crowded the path ahead. Many,
struggled out of the tub on my own. Pride then gave many hands stretched toward us for physical contact.
way to reality and I had to awaken them. They called Occasionally someone would break through for more
for help. Within minutes, an efficient, red-banded, demonstrative action, like hugging or kissing me.
first-aid squad was in the room. They arranged for X- Clenched fists ahead would open to hands seeking clos-
rays at a local hospital, and Mildred and I spent the er contact. They were of all ages, expressing love and
first morning taking care of that. affection for the Internationals who had joined with
No broken bones were visible in the X-ray; I was them in their fight to defend democracy.
issued a wheel chair and returned to the tour. It was I couldn’t clasp all the offered hands and there
assumed that the pain would diminish as the days were many pats on the head from people I could not
went by. It didn’t happen. A wheelchair, I discovered, see. There were tears in my eyes in response to this
is not a recovery room, especially when a lot of move- emotional greeting
ment and traveling are required. The long ride home was a painful one and my hip
I’m very thankful for the many volunteers from the was operated on after I returned.
Amigos who looked after me. They saw that I a t e , Was it worth it? You’re darned right it was. It was
made the buses on time and kept me informed of what the most meaningful experience of my life. I’ll recover
was going on. They were of all ages and wonderful! and the memory of the welcome in Spain will be with
The care they provided was anticipated in the ques- me as long as I’m around.
Continued from page 16 possibly feel what you, the vets, felt. who have lived, people who will
And God only knows what that was, never get old. Only death will stop
and longing. I met wonderful vets mediated as it was by decades of you Lincoln Brigade veterans. You
and their partners and friends. I your own complicated lives. But dared to hope. And to act. I feel
wept for my uncle, my family and there you were and I loved you, not immensely grateful that in my life-
myself. I walked the streets of only for what you did sixty years time I had such a model of generosi-
Madrid and stared at bullet-strafed ago but for the hard and ty and courage.
buildings. I listened rapt and heart- courageous — and I hope satisfying And that’s what I found in
broken to the Internationale. But — lives you have led. Spain, all of you, and the man my
Spain wasn’t my fight. I couldn’t Yours are the faces of people uncle would have been.
18 THE VOLUNTEER, Winter 1996-97
Forever Activists
O
ver two decades ago a number of veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, along with a group of schol
ars interested in the Spanish Civil War, created a new organization — ALBA, the Abraham Lincoln
Brigade Archives.
From the outset, one of ALBA’s tasks was to help manage and expand the Spanish Civil War archive
housed at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. Explicit in this undertaking was the educational goal to
preserve, disseminate and transmit to future generations the history and lessons of the Spanish Civil War
and of the International Brigades.
To carry out these goals ALBA collaborates on the production of books, films and videos, helps send
exhibitions of photographs, documents and artwork throughout the United States and Canada, organizes
conferences and seminars on the Spanish Civil War and on the role of the International Brigades. ALBA
established the George Watt prizes for the best college essays on these subjects and has designed a widely
used Spanish Civil War curriculum.
In the coming months ALBA will expand its activity. To do so effectively ALBA must have your support.
Please fill out the coupon below, enclose a check made out to ALBA and send it to us. If you are not already
on the mailing list for The Volunteer, your name will be added to it.
Fill out this coupon and mail it to the address below.
❑ Yes, I wish to become an ALBA Associate, and I enclose a check for $25 made out to ALBA.
Please send me The Volunteer.
❑ I also would like to receive a list of books and videos available at discount.
❑ I would like to have the photo exhibit in my locality. Please send information.
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Brigade has a unique quality. It brings The Volunteer to its readers, free of
charge, helps meet the expenses of the office where the persisting Veteran
staff carries on; and assures VALB support for causes consistent with its 60-
year tradition.
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