Mito Kruth Papers
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Abstract
Mito Kruth was a Finnish-American who fought as a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, first in the Washington Battalion and later in the Abraham, Lincoln Brigade. This collection contains letters he wrote during his time in Spain, as well as correspondence from the mid-1930s when he worked in Michigan as an organizer for the Communist Party. Kruth's letters reflect his dedication to the Communist Party, as well as his identity as a Finnish-American. Mito and his wife Helen (later Helen Leiviska) traveled extensively, both in Europe and in the United States, and their correspondence documents their travels. The collection also includes Mito Kruth's passport, his father's naturalization papers from 1912, and various documents from Finnish-American organizations. Throughout many periods of his life, Mito went by the first name Neils.
Historical/Biographical Note
Mito Kruth was born December 24, 1899 in Finland to Mathilda and Frank Kruth. When Mito was 12, his family moved from Finland to the United States and settled in Brooklyn. Much of the correspondence in this collection consists of letters exchanged between the Mito Kruth and his wife, Helen, who were often separated by their travels. The date of their marriage is uncertain, but by 1937-38 she was using the name Helen Kruth.
Mito worked as an organizer for the Communist Party in Ironwood, Michigan and Superior, Wisconsin in the mid-1930s. He set sail for Europe in March of 1937 to volunteer in the Spanish Civil War. He first served in the Washington Battalion and later in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion. During his time in Spain, he suffered a gun-shot wound to the leg and was hospitalized for several months.
Upon his return from Spain, he continued to do Communist Party work in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and in Wisconsin. Mito and Helen traveled extensively overseas. In the late 1940s, Mito bought land in Trumansburg, New York and worked as a farmer. His letters illustrate his commitment to the Communist Party as well as his strong ties to Finnish-American communities in the Midwest and in New York.
The date of Mito Kruth's death is not known, but in the mid- or late 1970s Helen married George Leiviska, another veteran of the Lincoln Brigade. The couple resided for some years in Minneapolis. George Leiviska died in 1982.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically.
The files are grouped into two series:
Missing Title
- I, Correspondence, 1926–1982.
- II, Subject Files, 1912–1986.
Scope and Content Note
Series I: Correspondencecontains letters written by Mito to Helen over the course of 38 years, including the period of his service in the Spanish Civil War. With the exception of his letters from Spain, all of his letters are signed "Neils" and that seems to have been his preferred name while living in America. His other correspondence details his experience organizing for the Communist Party in Wisconsin, Michigan, Upstate New York and Washington, DC. There is correspondence from Helen to Mito written during a trip she took to Europe in 1948. Also included in this collection are letters to Helen written by a variety of correspondents.
Series II: Subject Filescontains Frank Kruth's naturalization papers, Mito's passport, the mortgage and deeds to his land in Trumansburg, New York, and various documents from Finnish-American organizations. There is also a sampling of maps and postcards from the Kruths' travels abroad.
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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
The Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives has no information about copyright ownership for this collection and is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from it. Copyrights held by original creators of individual items in the collection are expected to pass into the public domain 120 years after their creation. For more information, please contact the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, 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 Mito Kruth collection was donated to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives by Madeline Baron of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in early 2006, and then transferred to the Tamiment Library, NYU.
Separated Material
Photographs from the Kruth Papers have been transferred to the non-print section of the ALBA collection in the Tamiment Library in ALBA Photo #36.
