Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Complaints of Discrimination during World War II
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Abstract
During World War II 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. This collection consists of World War II letters from more than 70 volunteers to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade headquarters in New York City, some of them documenting discrimination against Lincoln Brigade veterans by the U.S. military. Also included are files of letters from Jack Bjoze, the Executive Secretary of VALB, to U.S. military officials, government officials, and newspaper columnists seeking to expose and end an apparent policy that prohibited some veterans from promotion or from participating in active service; and files documenting cases that VALB regarded as the main instances of discrimination.
Historical/Biographical Note
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:
"Pertaining to the …boys the condition is greatly improved. We sincerely appreciate your efforts in their behalf, as we feel that it was one of the primary causes responsible for the War Department lifting the ban, to a large extent, on sending the boys overseas."
Arrangement
Folders are arranged alphabetically within each series.
The files are grouped into three series:
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- I, Letters From Veterans
- II, Letters from Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) Officials
- III, Case Files
Scope and Content Note
Series I: Letters From Veterans. This series consists of World War II letters written by Lincoln Brigade veterans to staffers at the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) headquarters in New York City documenting discrimination against them by the U.S. military. Included are letters from the following individuals: William Aalto, Gerald Cook, Milton Felsen, Harry Fisher, Irving Fajans, Benjamin Gardner, John Gates, Michael Jimenez, George Watt and Milton Wolff.
Series II: Letters from Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) Officials. This series contains letters from VALB officials, most of them from Executive Secretary Jack Bjoze, to U.S. military officials, government officials, and newspaper columnists protesting discrimination by the armed forces against former Abraham Lincoln Brigade volunteers serving in the military. The letters to officials ask for remediation of the situation; those to columnists seek public exposure. Replies to the VALB's letters are included. This series includes notable correspondence with Drew Pearson, radical journalist George Seldes, Congressman John M. Coffee, and the U.S. War Department, as well as a letter of support from then Secretary of the Interior, Harold L. Ickes.
Series III: Case Files. This series of individual case files documents what VALB considered to be the main instances of discrimination, most of which consisted of denying volunteers assignment to combat positions and overseas service. The one exception is a file on Herman Bottcher that enumerates numerous acts of heroism on behalf of the Allied forces by this much-decorated Abraham Lincoln Brigade veteran.
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Access Restrictions
Materials are open to researchers. Please contact the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives for more information and to schedule an appointment, tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu or 212-998-2630.
Use Restrictions
Because of the assembled nature of this collection, copyright status varies across the collection. Copyrights held by original creators of individual items in the collection are expected to pass into the public domain 120 years after their creation. Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA), were transferred to New York University in November 2000 by the ALBA Board of Governors. Permission to publish or reproduce ALBA materials must be secured from the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. For more information, contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu or 212-998-2630.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Collection name; Collection number; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.
Provenance
The collection Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Complaints of Discrimination during World War II came to New York University in January 2001 as part of the original acquisition of ALBA collections, formerly housed at Brandeis University.
