Jacob Freeman Papers
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Abstract
Jacob Freeman (1918-1938) went to Spain in 1937 to fight with the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. The ship taking him there was torpedoed, but Freeman remained unharmed. He went on to become an observer, map-maker and scout in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Freeman was wounded in the head by shrapnel in August 1938, and was killed in action in September 1938. The bulk of this collection consists of letters Freeman wrote from Spain to family members; as well as correspondence documenting the attempts of Freeman's father, Samuel, to obtain information about his missing son.
Historical/Biographical Note
Jacob Freeman (nicknamed Jack) was born in 1918 and grew up in New York City. His parents were active in left-wing politics; his father, Samuel, was Secretary-Treasurer of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America. Jacob Freeman left City College in February 1937. That May, he sailed for Europe to join the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War.
Freeman ran into trouble even before arriving in Spain when the ship transporting him from France, the City of Barcelona, was torpedoed and sunk by an Italian submarine. Freeman escaped unharmed. ("If they didn't get me with a torpedo they'll never get me," he wrote home.) He underwent training as an "observer," map-maker and scout; then, because of his age, he was for a time assigned to work as a translator at International Brigades headquarters rather than going into battle. However, he soon got his wish and was sent to the front lines. In the winter of 1937, Freeman contracted jaundice and pneumonia and was in and out of the hospital through the first few months of 1938. Back at the front, he was appointed group leader, overseeing a company of observers, and rose to the rank of sergeant during the Ebro campaign. In August 1938 Freeman was wounded in the head by shrapnel during an artillery bombardment. In September, he was killed in action at Sierra Cabals.
Samuel Freeman, who had supported his son's commitment to the Republican cause, worked in New York to raise money for the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (FALB) while Jacob was in Spain. After Jacob's letters abruptly stopped, Samuel tried assiduously for several months to obtain information about his son.
Arrangement
Folders are arranged alphabetically within each series.
The files are grouped into two series:
Missing Title
- I, Correspondence, 1937-1941
- II, Subject Files, 1935-1939
Scope and Content Note
Series I: Correspondence, 1937-1941. This series consists of approximately sixty letters sent from Spain by Jacob Freeman, mostly to his parents and brother. In the letters, Freeman provides detailed descriptions of life in training camp at Albaçete, and as an observer and scout on the front lines. In a letter to his brother Herbert, Freeman gives a moment-by-moment account of what happened on board the City of Barcelona when it was torpedoed by an Italian submarine. Several of Freeman's letters to his mother and aunt are written in Yiddish; in the collection, these letters are accompanied by translations done by Herbert Freeman in 1995 and 1997. Also included in this series are a letter from Spain from Saul Wellman to Samuel Freeman; letters between Samuel Freeman and the U.S. State Department when the elder Freeman was trying to find out what had happened to his son; a condolence letter after news came of Jacob's death; and a letter from Spanish Civil War veteran Alva Bessie to Samuel Freeman about having known Jacob in Spain.
Series II: Subject Files, 1935-1939. This series includes two newspaper clippings about student activities from before Jacob Freeman went to Spain, and an article about Samuel having seen a photo of Jacob in Barcelona, wounded (a later letter from Jacob assures Samuel that he was mistaken in thinking the photograph was of his son). Other materials include an ophthalmology exam report and a handwritten note made by Jacob Freeman about a comrade owing him money, both from his time in Spain; International Brigades postcards annotated by Jacob Freeman; an issue of the Volunteer for Liberty, the International Brigades newspaper, with an article by Freeman on the responsibilities of an observer and scout in the military; and a Jack Freeman Memorial Roll Call membership issued by City College.
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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
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 materials in this collection 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 Jacob Freeman Papers were donated to Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives in 1995 by his brother, Herbert Freeman. This collection came to New York University in January 2001 as part of the original acquisition of ALBA collections, formerly housed at Brandeis University.
