Sidney Kaufman Audio Collection
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Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Sidney Kaufman served in the International Brigades in Spain from July 1937 through February 1939. Kaufman later served in World War II transporting troops in the South Pacific. He was a lifelong member of the Marine Cooks and Stewards Union and the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union. The collection contains three audio cassettes of Kaufman discussing his time in Spain.
Biographical Note
Sidney Kaufman was born in 1914. He was a merchant seaman working out of New York when he decided to volunteer for the International Brigades in Spain. Arriving in Spain in July 1937, Kaufman served as a runner with the British battalion, spent several months in the 35th artillery battery, and was commissar of an anti-tank battery attached to the Slavic battalion on the Aragon Front. In January 1939, when most International Brigaders were making their way out of the country, Kaufman was trapped in Barcelona as Franco's forces prepared to enter the city. Kaufman spent the following three weeks traveling the countryside, searching for a means of escape. In February, he finally made it over the border into France, only to be held in a French detention camp for several days before being granted passage home. Kaufman later served in World War II transporting troops in the South Pacific. A lifelong member of the Marine Cooks and Stewards Union and the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, Kaufman retired in 1979.
Sources:
Elizabeth C. Compa, "Sid Kaufman's Odyssey out of Spain," The Volunteer, June 2005.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in numerical order by cassette number.
Scope and Content Note
The tapes, made in 1977, consits of Kaufman discussing his time in Spain, and reading from the journal he kept while trying to find a way out of Spain.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open to researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
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
Identification of item, date; Sidney Kaufman Audio Collection; ALBA AUDIO 058; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection came to New York University in January 2001 as part of the original acquisition of Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) collections, formerly housed at Brandeis University. The accession number associated with this collection is 2001.211.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Sound recordings have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives with collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to 2021 are unknown. In April 2021, cassettes were moved from audio cabinet drawers into cassette boxes. New container numbers were created and cassettes were assigned to the appropriate top containers.
