The First Encounter

Today I began my investigation of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives in Tamimant looking at the letters of Toby Jensky -a nurse from New York. At the age of 26, while working at Beth Israel Hospital, she decided to volunteer her services to fight fascism. She did not have any political affiliation but her brother-in-law (actually the brother of her sister's husband) Philip Schachter was another volunteer. He was a machinist working in factory but killed in the battle of Brunete in July of 1937.

Honestly, arriving at a quarter to five, given no more than a hour to explore her artifact, I managed only a cursory glance -three folders of correspondence to her sister Jenks. I had to spend some time trying to decipher her delicate but messy penmanship. Her letters, sometimes written on the hotel stationary, dictated her travels of 1937 from Paris to Barcelona, then Valencia and finally Albacete. Many times her letters reflect the lighter side of war. She commented on an entertaining dance where the nurses invited the Abraham Lincoln Brigade members, saying "there is still plenty of romance" and giving an intimation of a Czech boyfriend (though she also mentioned a Jack quite bit, possible a bough or husband back home.) In May of 1937, she was working at a converted hospital -an old hunting lodge of the royal family- and enjoying swimming in her down time. From her descriptions, the place sounded bucolic. She soothed her sister's worries by saying "I probably won't hear a [gun]shot while I'm here." This is not to say that everything is simply peachy. Though she never was explicit when detailing her work, it is clear that it is no cake walk. Her dedication and hard work shines through along with her downright enjoyment of the adventure. When coming back from the Teruel front, without a trace of indignation, she told her sister of the cold and hunger she faced living off of bread and onions and doing hard manuel labor, saying simply "I seem to have thrived on it". She liked the total dedication that her job requires of her.

There are still some misteries and hopefully I can unearth the answers with further investigation. Though the archive manuel, tell us that Philip Schachter dies in July of 1937, Toby makes no mention of this even in letters sent in September of that year. It is also unclear to me why Philip, a machinist was fighting. I would also still like to figure out her true motivations for volunteering and understand better the story of Philip Schachter.