Benjamin and Muriel Goldring Papers and Photographs
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Abstract
Benjamin (Ben) Goldring and Muriel Goodman Goldring were lifelong political activists. Benjamin Goldring, a lawyer by profession, served in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War, and later in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Both Muriel and Ben Goldring were active in the committees organized to fight the conviction and execution of the Rosenbergs and the imprisonment of Morton Sobell. As a specialist in civil liberties law, Ben Goldring gave his time and expertise to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) in its legal battle against the Subversive Activities Control Board from the 1950s to the 1970s; he was also a actiove member of the National Lawyers Guild. In addition to her work with the Rosenberg and Sobell Committees, Muriel Goldring became involved in a wide range of local and national political causes. The Goldrings closely followed national political developments in many areas, from the peace movement to immigrants' and prisoners' rights, and were also community activists in Brooklyn, where they lived. This collection consists of the Goldrings' personal papers, materials related to Benjamin Goldring's service in the Spanish Civil War, background files on his legal practice and his writings on the law and legal history, files on the Goldrings' activities with the Rosenberg and Sobell defense committees, political reference files on their many political and cultural interests, as well as photographs of their families and friends extending from the late nineteenth century through the early 2000s, and a small amount of audio materials, ephemera, and artifacts.
Historical/Biographical Note
Benjamin (Ben) Goldring and Muriel Goodman Goldring were lifelong political activists. Ben Goldring, a lawyer by profession, served in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War, and later in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Both Goldrings were active in the committees organized to fight the conviction and execution of the Rosenbergs and the imprisonment of Morton Sobell. As a specialist in civil liberties law, Ben Goldring gave his time and expertise to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) in their legal battle against the Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB) from the 1950s to the 1970s; he was also a active member of the National Lawyers Guild. In addition to her work with the Rosenberg and Sobell Committees, Muriel Goldring became involved in a wide range of local and national political causes. The Goldrings closely followed national political developments in many areas, from the peace movement to immigrants' and prisoners' rights, and were also community activists in Brooklyn, where they lived.
Benjamin Goldring was born in 1912 and died in 2000. He was educated at Erasmus Hall High School and Brooklyn College. He graduated from Columbia Law School and passed the New York State Bar in 1934. A veteran of the Spanish Civil War, he fought on the Republican side as a member of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion from 1937-1938. Arriving in Spain on March 17, 1937, he first saw action at Villaneuva de la Canada and Brunete and was wounded five times, two of which required hospital stays. He was a member of the National Guard of New York State (1936-1937) and then of the United States Army (1940-1941), re-enlisting in 1942 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and serving in the Pacific Theater until his honorable discharge in 1945. He was active in the Civil Rights Congress, and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG). Remaining active in social and political organizations, Ben Goldring wrote many articles and tracts concerning the law and its application. He also wrote in defense of the publication of a minority report on Israeli treatment of Palestinian prisoners as a counter point to the majority paper published by the NLG after a trip to Israel in 1977.
Among his notable legal activities were: assisting Carol King Esq. with the William Schneiderman case, researching the possible transfer of Morton Sobell from Alcatraz federal prison, and representing a fellow Lincoln Brigade veteran before the Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB). He was gratified when, in the 1970s, the Lincoln Veterans finally won their long legal battle to remove the "subversive" stigma from their organization. Benjamin Goldring was also instrumental in obtaining the release of Lencio Pena (a decorated American soldier and Spanish citizen), imprisoned in Spain for anti-Franco activity. In 1982 he secured copies of the testimony of Lincoln Brigade veterans before the SACB and deposited them in the Lincoln Brigade's archives, with his own notes on the case.
Muriel Goodman Goldring (1918-2007) was born, raised, and educated in Brooklyn, NY. She attended Erasmus Hall High School and took classes at Cornell University, City College of New York, and Brooklyn College. She worked at various times as an accountant and as a high school teacher, and was involved in amateur theater and traditional British folk dancing. She was a leading member of the National Committee to Reopen the Rosenberg Case and the Committee to Free Morton Sobell, turning her hand to publicity, letter-writing, and the organizing of public events. These committees agitated first for a stay of execution for the Rosenbergs, and later for their vindication and for the release of Morton Sobell from prison. She became very close to Sobell's wife Helen.
The Goldrings were married in 1951, and stayed connected with their family and friends through extensive correspondence. They shared a passion for social causes and were aware of and or active in many liberal and radical organizations; they also shared a keen interest in cultural pursuits and foreign travel.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into 10 series, as follows:
Series I. Personal Material
Series II. Spanish Civil War
Series III. Legal Practice and Legal Research
Series IV. Rosenberg and Sobell Cases
Series V. Political Reference Files
Series VI. Oversize Materials
Series VII. Restricted Material
Series VIII. Photographs
Series IX. Audio Materials
Series X. Ephemera and Artifacts
All series are arranged alphabetically by folder title, with the exception of Series VIII (Photographs), which is arranged mainly in chronological order, followed by folders arranged in alphabetical order.
Scope and Content note
The collection consists of the Goldrings' personal papers, materials related to Ben Goldring's service in the Spanish Civil War, background files on his legal practice and his writings on the law and legal history, files on Ben and Muriel Goldring's activities with the Rosenberg and Sobell committees, political reference files on their many political and cultural interests, as well as photographs of their families and friends spanning the late nineteenth century through the early 2000s, and a small amount of audio materials, ephemera, and artifacts.
Box-Level Table of Contents:
1. Political/general and legal issues (including SACB); 2. Political/general and early labor material; 3. Political/general (including subject files); 4-5. Political/general; 6. Political/general (includes files on CPUSA); 7. Political/general (includes Geneva Convention research); 8-9. Political/general; 10. Political/general (includes National Lawyers Guild and Israel/Palestine); 11. Political/general (mostly NLG and Israel/Palestine); 12. Political/general (subject files, etc); 13. Rosenbergs/Sobell (includes drafts of book chapters); 14. Rosenbergs / Sobell; 15. Rosenbergs / Sobell; 16. Rosenbergs / Sobell; 17-21. Rosenbergs/Sobell; 22. Rosenbergs/Sobell (includes FOIA); 23-24. Rosenbergs/Sobell; 25. Rosenbergs/Sobell (and BG finances); 26. Rosenbergs / Sobell; 27. Rosenbergs/Sobell (and Browder case); 28. Rosenbergs/Sobell; 29. Legal (includes 1950s cases, FOIA, and Rosenbergs / Sobell); 30. Legal; 31. Legal (includes some Rosenbergs); 32. Legal (history and research); 33. Legal (writing, 1950s); 34. Notes and Xeroxes on Medieval English Law; 35-37. VALB/Spanish Civil War; 38-42. Personal/family; 43. Rosenbergs/Sobell; 44. VALB/Spanish Civil War/SACB; 45-51. Rosenbergs/Sobell; 52. SACB; 53-58. Rosenbergs/Sobell; 59. VALB (includes BG's original Spanish Civil War documents); 60. SACB/VALB; 61-62. Personal/family; 63. Legal; 64. Political/general (includes Rosenbergs/Sobell); 65. Political/general and Legal (including SACB); 66. Non-print (almost all photos).
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions with the exception of Series VII (Estate-Related Material). Repository permission is required for access to Series VII. Please contact Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive, tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu, 212-998-2630.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Benjamin and Muriel Goldring were transferred to New York University in 2007 on behalf of Muriel Goldring. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Benjamin and Muriel Goldring Papers and Photographs; TAM 374; 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.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Lillian Pope on behalf of Muriel Goldring in 2007; additional materials were sent by Pope in 2010. The accession numbers associated with this gift are 2001.025, 2001.037, and NPA.2008.001.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
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 tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu with the 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
Photographs from this collection were established as a separate collection (PHOTOS 250). In July 2013, this photographs collection was reincorporated into the Benjamin and Muriel Goldring Papers, along with later accessions of photographs, and a small amount of audio materials, ephemera and artifacts. The collection was renamed the Benjamin and Muriel Goldring Papers and Photographs to reflect the addition of these materials.