Benjamin Leider Papers 1923-1955

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Benjamin Leider Papers 1923-1955

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/alba_194/alba_194.html

Benjamin Leider was the first American to be killed while fighting in the Spanish Civil War. He enlisted in the Spanish Loyalist air force in September 1936 and was assigned to the squadron at Alcala de Henares just north of Madrid. Leider died on February 19, 1937 at Madrid when his airplane was shot down during fighting. Leider was born in Russia in 1901 and moved to the United States with his family in 1904. He was a newspaper reporter and aerial photographer. This collection contains newspaper articles about a memorial service held in his honor, a letter from Benjamin to his brother, a pamphlet entitled Ben Leider, American Hero, and other personal documentation.

0.25 linear feet; (1 box)

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives

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SNAC Resource ID: 6330938

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives

Related Entities

There are 2 Entities related to this resource.

Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6c57872 (corporateBody)

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 Angel...

Leider, Benjamin, 1901-1937

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6wz3fdf (person)

Benjamin Leider was born in Kishinev, Russia in 1901. Many of his relatives were killed in the 1905 Kishinev massacre carried out by the Czarist regime against the Jews in Russia. The Leider family was helped by a Christian butcher who hid the family in his home. In 1905, his family came to America and settled in Brooklyn where his father worked chipping mortar from second-hand bricks. He graduated from Brooklyn Commercial High School where he ran track and cross-country, wrestled, ...