Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade

VALB was formed in December 1937 by U.S. volunteers returning from combat in the Spanish Civil War. VALB originally assisted wounded veterans and sought to awaken the U.S. public to the significance of the Spanish Civil War and the Loyalist cause. In later years, VALB began to address other political issues, including U.S. policy in World War II and later, Cuba, Nicaragua and Vietnam. In addition to their headquarters in New York City, VALB "Posts" developed in various cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. VALB also created a journal/newsletter, Volunteer for Liberty (later, The Volunteer).

From the description of Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) photograph collection [graphic]. 1935-1969. (New York University). WorldCat record id: 79938882

The material in this collection was accumulated during research for and production of the book, African Americans in the Spanish Civil War: "This Ain't Ethiopia, But It'll Do" (G. K. Hall, 1992), and for an ALBA-supported research project on this topic. The lack of available information on the approximately 90 African Americans who volunteered and served in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War spurred the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) support organization to pursue this project. ALBA Executive Director Danny Duncan Collum was the book's Editor and Victor A. Berch, who was the archivist for the ALBA collection at Brandeis University, was Chief Researcher. The project was supervised by a working committee appointed by the ALBA Board of Governors.

From the guide to the African-Americans in the Spanish Civil War: Research Files, 1930-1994, (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)

U.S. men and women who had volunteered for service in the Spanish Civil War joined together as the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) in December 1937 upon their return from Spain. The organization adopted a constitution and a formal structure in 1939. VALB originally assisted wounded veterans and sought to awaken the U.S. public to the significance of the Spanish Civil War and the Loyalist cause. In later years, VALB campaigned strenuously against the Franco regime in Spain and addressed other political issues, including U.S. policy in World War II and later, in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Vietnam. In addition to their headquarters in New York City, VALB "posts" developed in various cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. VALB also created a journal/newsletter, The Volunteer for Liberty (later, The Volunteer ). For additional information on the history of VALB see the guide to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Records, ALBA #19.

From the guide to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Photographs, 1927-2000, (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)

During World War II, still smarting from the fascist conquest of the Spanish Republic and determined to defeat the Axis powers, nearly 500 Abraham Lincoln Brigade veterans enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces. Many served with distinction, were decorated and were cited for heroism. Some found, however, that their time in Spain battling Franco’s insurgent forces seemed to compromise their status in the U.S. military. Early in 1943, staffers at the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) headquarters began receiving reports of incidents of discrimination against Lincoln Brigade veterans serving in the Army. Some Brigade veterans claimed that they had been denied commissions and active overseas duties, others found themselves transferred to limited-service units along with pro-fascists and Nazi sympathizers.

VALB Executive Secretary Jack Bjoze launched a vigorous campaign to end an apparent policy that prevented some veterans from participating fully in active service. He sent formal protests to military and government officials and, lobbying support on behalf of the sidelined veterans, made these alleged abuses known to the public. “These men were among the first Americans to fight Hitler and Mussolini,” asserted Bjoze in a January 1943 article published in PM, “and all they want is a chance to continue their fight against Fascism.” By the end of April, Congressman John M. Coffee petitioned the Secretary of War, Robert Patterson to conduct an investigation of the allegations leveled by Bjoze. Despite repeated appeals, Army officials denied the existence of any formal policy barring members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade from combat duty or advancement. However, following columnist Drew Pearson’s exposé of the military’s unjust treatment of Spanish Civil War veterans, many Brigade veterans who had struggled to overcome the obstacles that deprived them of combat postings, were at last deployed to active service. In an October 1943 letter to Pearson, Bjoze expressed his gratitude:

From the guide to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Complaints of Discrimination during World War II, 1941-1946, (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)

The origins of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) can be traced to a meeting that Steve Nelson, David McKelvy White and William Lawrence organized for veterans of the Spanish Civil War in New York City in December 1937. The Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade was officially formed two years later in December of 1939 when a constitution for VALB was adopted at the third National Convention of veterans. The Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (FALB), which had been the principal U.S. advocate for the American volunteers and Spanish Republicans during the Spanish Civil War, was disbanded at this time.

The "objects" of the organization, as stated in VALB's 1939 constitution, were to "keep alive the principles for which the Lincoln Brigade fought in Spain"; to assist in the medical and occupational rehabilitation of its members; to aid and advocate for all International Brigade prisoners still in Spain; to advocate for amnesty for "Republicans in Spain" and aid refugees of the Spanish Civil War; "to cooperate with all organizations and groups interested in promoting peace, democracy and civil liberties"; and finally "to maintain fraternal relations with organizations of veterans of the Spanish Republican Army in other countries."

From the end of World War II through the early 1960s, the leadership of VALB was often prevented from focusing solely on the organization's stated goals by the need to defend the organization from government charges of subversion. Dr. Edward Barsky, leader of the American medical volunteers in Spain during the Civil War and national chairman of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, was subpoenaed in 1946 to appear before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). When he and his board refused to surrender financial records or to turn over the names of contributors and recipients of aid, Barsky was charged with contempt of Congress, convicted, and imprisoned. Veteran Steve Nelson was arrested in 1950 and put on trial for sedition. It would be six years before Nelson's legal woes ended. In the meantime, both Nelson and Irving Weissman were arrested under the anti-Communist Smith Act and charged with subversion. Several veterans arrested under the Smith-McCarran Immigration Act in the 1950s faced deportation. A number of veterans were subpoenaed by HUAC, and ordered to testify as to whether or not they were or had been Communists. In 1953 VALB came under the scrutiny of the Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB), and two years later it was ordered to register with the United States Justice Department as a Communist-front organization. VALB refused and took the case all the way to the Supreme Court. Although the Court decided in VALB's favor in 1968, it was not until 1971 that VALB was removed from the Attorney General's list of subversive organizations.

Threats from the Subversive Activities Control Board waned considerably by the mid-sixties and thus freed from the costs, in time and money, spent on hearings and trials VALB expanded its reach. Although advocacy for Spanish refugees and political prisoners, and support for democratic reforms in Spain continued to be a primary interest, members of VALB pushed the organization to face other issues as well. The Civil Rights movement, Vietnam War protests, opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and support for the Sandinista rebels of Nicaragua were among the many issues and causes which VALB embraced.

From the 1960s and onward, the preservation and commemoration of the history of the Spanish Civil War also became increasingly important to VALB. Members of VALB took part in reunions of the International Brigades in the German Democratic Republic, in Italy, and finally, after the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, in Spain. Members of VALB wrote memoirs and histories, gave interviews and recorded their reminiscences, lectured, took part in college symposiums, supported exhibits, and participated in film and television documentaries. The organization kept in touch with its multi-generational constituency through frequent mailings and through its newsletter, published in the early years under the title, The Volunteer for Liberty, and from 1957 as The Volunteer . In 1979 two archives for the Abraham Lincoln Brigade were established, a major one held at Brandeis University and administered by a knowledgeable and dedicated archivist, Victor Berch, and a smaller one at the University of California at Berkeley. The Brandeis collections were transferred to the Tamiment Library at New York University in 2001 and have since grown substantially through new donations. For many years VALB maintained an office at 799 Broadway in New York City; its last Secretary was Lincoln Brigade veteran Moe Fishman.

From the guide to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Records, 1933-2006, (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)

U.S. men and women who had volunteered for service in the Spanish Civil War joined together as the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) in December 1937 as they began to return from Spain.

The organization adopted a constitution and a formal structure in 1939. VALB originally raised money for the embattled Spanish Republic, assisted wounded veterans, helped veterans resettle and find jobs, and tried to awaken the U.S. public to the significance of the Spanish Civil War and the Loyalist cause. In later years, VALB campaigned strenuously against the Franco regime in Spain, assisted refugees and addressed other political issues, including U.S. policy in Cuba, Nicaragua and Vietnam. In addition to their headquarters in New York City, VALB had "posts" Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago, and more informal groups in other cities and regions.

In the 1970s the organization began to collect historical materials from its members, with a view to creating an archive documenting its history. That archive, originally housed at Brandeis University, is now part of the Tamiment Library at New York University.

For additional information on the history of VALB see the guide to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Records, ALBA #19.

From the guide to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Audio Collection, 1964-2002, (Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive)