Joseph Kleinman Papers
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Abstract
Joseph Kleinman served as a volunteer in the Lincoln-Washington Battalion in the Spanish Civil War. He was wounded in March 1938 and spent some time in a hospital; he was killed at Sierra Caballs in September 1938. The collection contains eleven letters which Kleinman wrote to friends Morris and Pauline Eitzer (and their young son, Demos) and Morris and Nettie Srebnick of the Bronx, NY. Subjects of the correspondence include soldiers' participation in Bastille Day celebrations in Paris, the bombing of Barcelona, Kleinman's hospitalization due to a wounded right arm, his views on Nationalist General Francisco Franco, and his urging friends at home to work toward amending the Neutrality Act of 1937.
Biographical Note
Joseph Kleinman was born on March 4, 1904 in Warsaw, Poland to parents Joseph and Rose Burachowitz. The family settled in the Bronx, New York where Kleinman attended primary and technical school and later worked at the New York Edison Company. He became active in the Bronx Workers Cooperative, serving as secretary of the executive committee in 1927. In September 1928, Kleinman formally joined the Communist Party, Section 2, and served as an organizer, committee member and delegate to local and regional meetings. Active in the labor movement, Kleinman was arrested several times for his participation in strikes between 1926 and 1930. Immediately before volunteering for combat in the Spanish Civil War, Kleinman was employed as a tailor at Miss Style Coat Company on West 38th Street, New York and became a member of Local 112 of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU). For a year and a half, Kleinman served as a delegate for the local.
On July 2, 1937, Kleinman departed America for Europe. After spending some time in Paris, he traveled to Spain, arriving at Albacete, where he joined the newly merged Lincoln-Washington Battalion ca. July 24th. In March of 1938, he suffered a wound in his right arm, which confined him for some weeks to a hospital. Upon recovery he was reassigned to a new unit stationed in Barcelona. Kleinman died in September 1938 at Sierra Caballs.
On July 2, 1937, Kleinman departed America for Europe. After spending some time in Paris, he traveled to Spain, arriving at Albacete, where he joined the newly merged Lincoln-Washington Battalion ca. July 24th. In March of 1938, he suffered a wound in his right arm, which confined him for some weeks to a hospital. Upon recovery he was reassigned to a new unit stationed in Barcelona. Kleinman died in September 1938 at Sierra Caballs.
Arrangement
Organized into 1 series: I. Correspondence, 1937-1938.
Arrangement: The files are arranged chronologically.
Scope Content Note
Series I: Correspondence, 1937-1938. The collection is comprised of a group of eleven letters that Joseph Kleinman wrote to friends Morris, Pauline, and Demos (child) Eitzer and Morris and Nettie Srebnick between July 15, 1937 and June 28, 1938. Kleinman, a committed leftist who was suffering after the recent death of his fiancée, enlisted to fight in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republic. The letters, attempts to maintain connections to home and solicit news of mutual acquaintances, follow his journey from Paris to Albacete and Barcelona and document such subjects as soldiers' participation in Bastille Day celebrations in Paris, the bombing of Barcelona, Kleinman's hospitalization due to a wound to his right arm, his views on Nationalist General Francisco Franco, and his urgings to friends at home to work to amend the Neutrality Act of 1937. The Neutrality Act, recently expanded to encompass civil wars, imposed an arms embargo on belligerent countries and prohibited American citizens from traveling on belligerent vessels. Supporters of the Spanish Republic argued that the Act advantaged the Nationalist rebels, who continued to receive substantial military assistance from Italy and Nazi Germany.
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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
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. 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 Joseph Kleinman Papers were donated to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade archive at the Tamiment Library, New York University, by Nettie Srebnick's son, Walter Srebnick, in January 2009.
Separated Material
A photograph of Joseph Kleinman has been transferred to the non-print section of the ALBA collection in the Tamiment Library.
