Harry Hakam Papers

Series I: Spanish Civil War, 1937-1939.All of Hakam's letters and postcards in this series, some written by candlelight from a dugout, date from his early months in Spain; all are typed copies of the originals. In the letters Hakam recounts tales from his arrival in Paris and his travels through southern France on the way to Spain. He describes a spirited variety show performed by his group, the "Convulsionaries of Brooklyn," for townspeople in Albacete and other Spanish towns. Other notable items in this series include a press release for a celebration by the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade for American prisoners recently released from prison in Spain, which includes summaries of speeches by several of the released prisoners, among others; propaganda graphics, including a paper fold-in game that converts diagrams of pigs into a portrait of Hitler; and a lighter made with a braided rope wick.

Series II: Subject Files, 1961-1988. This series consists of materials relating to post-Spanish Civil War political events in Spain, and the activities of Spanish Civil War veterans. Of note is a 1961 Life Magazine article featuring a photograph of Hakam taken in Spain; and a playbill from a Lincoln Center fiftieth anniversary tribute to American veterans of the Spanish Civil War. Many of the articles and other materials about Spanish politics and the veterans' return visits to Spain are in Spanish and Catalan.