Harris, Albert Lyonel, 1907-

Albert ("Abe") Harris (1907-c.1973?) was born in Chicago, Illinois and educated at the University of Manitoba, the University of Chicago, and the New School for Social Research. From 1924-1934 he worker as a social worker and as a researcher at New York University. During the Spanish Civil War he was a volunteer with the 4th Artillery Group of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He was also associated with the American Medical Bureau to Aid Spanish Democracy (AMB) and a representative of the Junior Section of the International Workers Order, charged with the task of assessing the situation of orphaned and destitute children in Spain, and making recommendations as to aid. The International Workers Order (IWO) was a Communist-affiliated insurance and fraternal order founded in 1930. Harris saw action at Fuentes de Ebro, Teruel, Cuenca and Levante, and also toured hospitals and civilian areas, observing conditions and presumably reporting back to the U.S. organizations to which he was connected. In his later life Harris pursued his interest in social work in venues that reflected his traditional Jewish upbringing. He worked in the 1940s and 1950s for the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society (HIASD), the Jewish Settlement of East Side, N.Y., the National Refugee Service and other Jewish organizations.

From the description of Albert Lyonel Harris photograph collection [graphic]. ca. 1937-1938, 1957. (New York University). WorldCat record id: 58469915

Albert ("Abe") Harris (1907-c.1973?) was born in Chicago, Illinois and educated at the University of Manitoba, the University of Chicago, and the New School for Social Research. From 1924-1934 he worked as a social worker and as a researcher at New York University. During the Spanish Civil War he was a volunteer with the 4th Artillery Group of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He was also associated with the American Medical Bureau to Aid Spanish Democracy (AMB) and a representative of the Junior Section of the International Workers Order, charged with the task of assessing the situation of orphaned and destitute children in Spain, and making recommendations as to aid. The International Workers Order (IWO) was a Communist-affiliated insurance and fraternal order founded in 1930. Harris saw action at Fuentes de Ebro, Teruel, Cuenca and Levante, and also toured hospitals and civilian areas, observing conditions and presumably reporting back to the U.S. organizations to which he was connected.

In his later life Harris pursued his interest in social work in venues that reflected his traditional Jewish upbringing. He worked in the 1940s and 1950s for the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), the Jewish Settlement of the Lower East Side, N.Y., the National Refugee Service and other Jewish organizations.

From the guide to the Albert Lyonel Harris Photographs, Bulk, 1937-1938, 1937-1957, (Bulk 1937-1938), (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)