Anne Taft (Muldavin), a graduate of Brooklyn Jewish Hospital School of Nursing, served as a nurse with the First American Medical Bureau Unit during the Spanish Civil War. Taft sailed to Spain on January 16, 1937 under the direction of Dr. Edward Barsky and Head Nurse Fredericka Martin. In February 1937, Taft helped set up the first American hospital in Romeral, turning an abandoned schoolhouse into a medical ward. Taft and her unit had the hospital prepared in time to receive wounded from the Jarma offensive. Taft then served throughout Spain, helping to set up operating rooms in Villa Paz, Tervel, the Aragon Front, Belchite, Gandesa, and Cuevas Lebradas. She returned to the United States in September 1938. Upon her return, Taft served as a spokesperson for a fundraising drive in New York to send an American relief ship with food, clothing, and supplies to Spain. She married Dr. Leon F. Muldavin of New York City, and they remained in the city throughout their lives. Anne Taft Muldavin died in 1990 in New York City.
From the guide to the Anne Taft Papers, Bulk, 1937-1940, 1936-1980, (Bulk 1937-1940), (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)
