Robert (Bob) Speck

Today, for the first time I "looked" at the John Gerassi Oral History Archives that are apart of ALBA. The list of those interviewed in 1980 was filled with familiar names, but I wanted to stray a little off the beaten path, but not pick a completely random person. I saw Robert Speck on the list and I thought it would be interesting to follow up with him. I only briefly encountered Speck when I looked at the photocopy of the "Jaily News". (As an aside, after watching The Good Fight I know who the context of the open letter to Cordell Hull that was subject of the article. It now makes perfect sense their sardonic tone was directed to the secretary of state of the time.)

It was exciting getting this new media to interact with and investigate. I made my way down to the Aver Fischer Lab to listen to the cassette tapes -a technology so antiquated that it took me a couple of minutes to figure out how even to open the box. After a few frustrating minutes, I pop in the tape and a pleasant but muffled British voice comes on -John Gerrasi I presume. He introduces Bob Speck sitting in his New York city apartment on May 24, 1980. Speck begins by giving a lengthy introduction of his background.

His father came to the United States evading military service in the Ukraine settling in Illinois and marrying a well-off Ukrainian woman. His father began a successful fruit wholesaler and along the way developed a rather progressive ideology. Speck refers to his father's brother as being a "red-hot radical". Clearly, he was exposed early on to the ideas of socialism and political activism.

Robert attend St. Ambrose college in Davenport, Iowa and than the University of Iowa furthering his exposure to radicalism. He joins a political theater group and eventually relocates to New York city. He remember a plethora of names indicating a strong sense of friendship and community with those he worked with. He worked in numerous community activist groups during the Depression. He worked in for a group in Harlem dedicated to bring in kids off the street. He attended political demonstrations at Madison Square Park. He also worked for a camp call "Unity", which as it sounds, was sort of leftist comrade camp -almost like a communist commune. Everyone worked together, had fun together and felt apart of something larger. He describes that he was living in a "highly ideological time" and it must have been.

With a group of 9 friends, he begins contemplating volunteering to fight in Spain. He was encouraged to fight because the group friends would be in it together. The sense of community and collectivism is a very strong theme through his interview. As it turns out, 8 of the 9 decided to go. He talks about a rich-guy friend name Merv or Murf, I'm not sure which.

On the ship to France, because of secrecy the group of about 100 volunteer were prohibited from speaking to one another. He shares an anecdote of how one night during dinner, someone begins singing the International Communist Anthem. Every joins even some of the ship's waiters.

Upon arriving in Europe in 1937, the group he was a part of was about 200-250 international volunteers. He describes the elaborate process of crossing to Spain. The journey was arduous. They had to cross through the mountains and walk all night. I had to stop the recording there on account of time, but I look forward to revisting Bob Speck and hearing out his experience in the Italian concentration camp.

James Bernard Rucker Papers

James Bernard Rucker fought in both the Spanish civil war and the WWII. In World War Two, he fought in the 92nd segregated Infantry Division. Of course, he fought in the Spanish civil war in the unsegregated Abraham Lincoln battalion. His letters and archive are mainly from the 2nd World War addressed to his wife. The contents of the letters reflect on his social views and memories of the civil war.

He was one of 12 siblings growing up in Tuskegee, Alabama and later moving to Columbus, Ohio. After returning from Spain, he continued to be politically active and aware founding the Vanguard League and fought for desegregation.

His archive attracted me because it also he is also described as a friend of Langston Hughes. Indeed his archive includes a couple of his poems, so when I open up his box, I go right for the L. Hughes folder. Besides the folders of correspondence, included are many WWII publications -"Infantry Day in the 92nd Division", "Barnacle: Journal of US Army Hospital Ship", and the "Military Review".

As a poetry aficionado, I'm rather giddy see the signed letter of Langston Hughes. His letter inhabit a similar tone that is recognizable in his poetry -quotidian, concise, rhythmic. He apparently sent two poems and a prose monologue to James "Bunny" Bernard, which I've never read before. I don't even not if they were ever published. In "Airplane Factories" from 5/25/41, Hughes expresses outrage that the US government doesn't allow colored people to work in airplane factories. "Simple in the United Nation" is a monologue of a man named Simple in front of the UN speaking of the human rights violations in the south (specifically Mississippi) that have gone uncheck for centuries. He begins, "The word Mississippi starts with M which stands for murder, which is what they have done down there to Negroes for years just for being colored." This piece seems very creative and experimental. The last is call "Too Bad --But True" it reflects a much less pacifistic philosophy in acquiring civil rights than that of the "passive reliance" embodied by MLK in the 60s. It finishes with the emphasis on the necessity to fight and not allow the status quo: "But nowadays you have to fight/If you want to be a man./ Understand?" This mentality is not really a call to arms but reflects the same mentality of those who volunteered and observed the fight against fascism in Spain.

A Sociedades Hispanas Confederadas

(note: this was the product of two days in the archives)

Trying to find a new directing and looking in the library's archive guide, I came across Robert Steck. He was taken prisoner and jailed in San Pedro de Cardena and his archives are immense: 7 large boxes filled with correspondence and work he did for a documentary call "Prisoners of the Good Fight". One tiny detail enticement me. During his months in the Italian prison, he collaborated with fellow prisoner to make an secret, handwritten newsletter called the "Jaily News". He smuggled two copies out, which were stored be low floorboards, so I thought it was worth a look.

To my disappoint, only a one photocopied sheet of the Jaily News is found in his boxes. It was quite something to look at. Though I was very impressed with it, I was hoping for a bit more. This particular piece of paper was page two of issue 14 -date cut off. Of course, it was completely out of context and confusing to read. I did appreciate its rather jolly, sarcastic tone, speaking of the "gentle, tolerant, christ like spirit which characterizes fascism". This tone and attitude, to me, indicates that despite their imprisonment, they held on to a spirit that embodied the Republican fight. The page also is impressively illustrated in a fine and detailed hand. Overwhelmed by this abundance archive, I decide to the leave Robert Steck.

I decide that it might be fun to look at an archive mostly in spanish. I chose the archive of Sociedades Hispanas Confederadas.

The bulk of this archive is the groups correspondence from the 50s to the early 60s and issues of their publication "Espana Libre". On the publication, it lists their numerous sponsor (like the ambulances in war) such as the actor Fernando Fernan Gomez, Albert Camus and Albert Einstein; however the latter two were deceased at the time of its publication. I excitedly opened the first folder and find letters in spanish and english sent to the United Nations. The letters were dated from between 1953 and 1954. For the most part, they are the requests of Sociedades members to the United Nations to intervene in the human rights injustices happening in Spain for anti-Franco fighters. Egon Ranshafen-Wertheimer of the Division of Human Rights responsed to theses letters of protest but said ostensibly their hands were tied because Spain was not appart of UN. In the same folder, there was a small piece of paper calling to the "Metalurgicos Madrilenos" dated 1965. In spanish, it dictated that the metal workers should have a union and the right to strike (obviously both illegal at the time) and alluded to a subversive, secret meeting to be held. This was an interesting scrap but completely out of context and I'm confused how it got into amongst this group's papers.

There are more letters in regards to the 1962 miners strike in Asturias. Addressed to el Comite de Ayuda a los Presos Antifranquista, Manuel Magana -a Sociedades member- affirmed their their economic support and their solidarity with "el pueblo". Interestingly their are also letters from the United Autoworkers and the United Rubber union to the United Nations urging them to help release three imprisoned spanish strikers: Francisco Calle, Jose Cases, and Mariano Pascual. No letter of response is included. In a Espana Libre publication dated October 14th, 1963, it details the various victims of strike's backlash giving their names and their treatment. There are horrendous descriptions of tortures including the burning of testicles and castration and of course, murder.

As I continued looking through folders, I found an abundance of thank you letters to donors to the Sociedades. Because the archive is mostly in spanish, it is understandable that almost all of the folders are named "Correspondence" without further specification. It became frustrating, however, because there were about 30 to 40 letters simply thanking so-and-so for their generous 4 dollar donation and their was no way to knowing if one letter might be different or elucidate some obscure bit of information. I can't see the historical relevance of knowing the the Library of Indiana University will be receiving Espana Libre in exchange for their contribution. (Actually, interestingly, this thank you letter, like the rest of them is written in spanish, which I find curious.) From my cursory reading of these numerous letters, I did gather that the Sociedades had a fair number of members from all over, but the inner workings of the groups were the efforts of a few dedicated people. The letters often included an apology for the delay predicated by "somos un numero muy limitado de companeros". Randomly, in a spanish letter, I found one of the most interesting and beautiful examples of handwriting. All of the R's would curl up and over the proceding letter.

I came across an unopened letter spurring some thoughts about archival works in general. I went up to the archivist/librarian working and asked if this letter could be opened. She said no -the letter was donated with the collection and the archivist who did the listing made the decision to leave it as is. I was slightly miffed. Of course, I recognize that I am probably not qualified to do the opening of a very old letter. It wasn't addressed to me and I don't have any right but to me, an unopened has no intrinsic value and therefore falsely valorized as it remains indefinitely in a historical archive. As I've already mentioned, I understand that the Tamiment Library does not have the manpower to sieve through each and every piece of paper that gets donated to it. But, how is the distinction between a pack-rat like valorization of ancient papers and vital historical documents determined? The answer, of course, subjective. One man's garbage... The plain truth: not all pieces of papers are equal.

I imagine that throwing away from a donated collection could be disrespectful, perhaps even sacrilegious for an archivist. No one would want to make a quick judgement call and accidently toss some hidden historical masterpiece. This would be particularly tragic if it pertains to a historical period, event, movement is so ancient that it has lost the surviving witnesses or participates. These papers than are the only sources from which historians can draw their conclusions and connections. For the Spanish civil war or any significant event, the fear is that when the remaining veterans pass on, the intimate understanding of it will never again be present in our collective memory. With time, we could forget. When people stop caring, they start forgetting. Certainly, it would be the saddest occasion if the Spanish civil war were to disappear from our international, collective consciouses. I'm completely confident that this would never happen for the same reason my throat tightens and my eyes sting at the mere contemplation of Picasso's Guernica. This war has made an indelible mark already, because so many cared so much.

Sometimes forgetting and throwing away is necessary though. I can't draw a line in the sand and say "this is to be kept and valued, while this doesn't have and will never have any value." It just seems to be to retain quality for any system, a certain level of pruning and weighing must be involved.

Toby Jensky's Photo Archive, cont.

I found out that Toby Jensky actually marries the photographed man appearing in the photo archive: Jason Patrick Gurney -surprising because in all her letters mentioning the men she had had a relationship with, Pat Gurney is not a name I remember. Romantically, she met him while tending his wounds.

I find it all a little frustrating -my continued investigation of the photo archive. These were heirlooms, priceless memorabilia of a very personal, one-in-a-lifetime experience. Now, my gloved hands have the tedious duty to extract all of the tiny, the blurry, the unidentified characters. My eyes give a cursory scan of the photo, judging any salient quality. And seconds later, I return them to their sterility in an envelop, in a folder, in a box, on a shelf in a library. I feel also though I 'm doing these memories a disservice, but for the life of me, even with the good quality photos, I can't seem to draw any new conclusions.

I see a cute photograph of Jensky sitting on steps with smiling, Spanish children -all giving a fisted salute.

I see a postcard, never sent. It depicts a stampede of children in the campo. There are a few adult figures, but there has to be hundreds and hundreds of children filing a dusty road. I suppose that this is a children's colony or an orphanage. The chaos, the lack of adult supervision is apparent.

I open a new folder -"Spanish Women". None of them are named; the photos don't note place or date but I enjoy looking this pretty and smiling faces. There is a photo of a young woman in field sunbathing. She is wearing plain but diaphanous clothing. She must have been spunky. I am also reminded that whatever social gains these progressive women made during the second republic, Franco swiftly demolished. In my own mind, I hold spanish women on a pedestal, the apex of beauty, style and character. I realize that I see what I what to see in the photos. I have to be wary that see these for their intrinsic value and not for the personal value I place on them.

These photos certainly satisfied my voyeurism, but I feel as though I haven't gained anything tangible. I'm reminded of the hermeneutic circle. I must have patience and try to absorb the

fragments. These pieces will comprise a fuller understanding.

Toby Jensky's Photo Archive

My favorite archive so far! No need to decipher handwriting -a picture is worth a thousand words. To be honest, not much actually "information" can be extrapolated from these photos; in fact they really only lead to more and more mysteries and questions, but I can finally put a face to a woman I know reasonably well: Toby Jensky. The archive is not only the compilation of Jensky's photos but also of Dr. Edward Barsky and a Pat Gurney who I've never heard of before. I don't know why all the photos are together in box, but I managed to get through only a couple of folders so there will definitely be a chance to look closer and figure out the relationships demonstrated in the photos. The first photographs of smiling nurses on a ship. Coming later were the photos taken in Spain. All of them were taken in leisure times: soldiers sleeping, Spanish, American and other posing in their uniforms arms around one another. Some faces come up over and over but most are not identified and the relationships of smiling friends is no where detailed. Through the photos of Jensky, I feel like I can finally piece together who she was. She is very attractive and usually surround by male companions -substantiating how the letters portraying her as a heartbreaker. There are pictures of her working, surrounded by spanish children. Through her wide smile, I can infer a woman of good-cheer and dedication.

Though the folder titled "Pat Gurney" only contained two photographs, one of them was the most exciting for me. It was a big picture of two men standing in front of what I immediately cognized to be the Ciutadella park in Barcelona! I can't exactly explain why this was so exiting and astonishing to me, but I literally gasped when I saw it!

Dollard, Day Three

I continued to look at Dollard's fear pamphlet, taking note of some interesting statistics. Because this study was done retrospectively, with no study of pre-war personality, I don't think any of the conclusions drawn by Dollard would hold up against true scientific scrutiny, but his survey does provide accurate and interesting statics elucidating the ALB vet mentality. The top five fears of ALB vets were (in this order): of being a coward, crippled/disfigured for life, dying, captured/tortured, being wounded. However, the fear of being a coward quickly subsides after the first couple of times in battle. ALB vets feared being wounded in the abdomen the most, above brain or heart or torso. This is probably because infection would quickly set it and death would come slowly and painfully. The survey as mentions how fears evolved as the soldiers became more experienced. It also says "three-quarters of veterans were afraid in their first action" and that "only" 9% of the vets claimed to never been afraid. Though I don't know the exact phrasing of this question, I seriously doubt the veracity of these claims of "only" 9%. It seems completely shocking that fear never crossed the minds of so many men. Other statistics about the best way to deal with soldiers:

70% said that the chronic deserter should be shot.

70% said that the best way to deal with a veteran soldier that "cracks up" in battle is to remove him.

38% said that the best way to deal with a "green" man who is afraid in battle is to talk to him. 25% said that they should just make him face it. 8% said that he should be shot.

These statistics simply show that loyalty was a quality highly held by the veterans, and most of them would have encouraged "tough love".

I continued by reading a transcript of a radio interview that Dollard gave. It was on Adventures in Science broadcasted July 8, 1944. It does showcase the possible revolutionary nature of this study. The interviewers says "fear, has until recently been taboo in military circles". Though the interview itself doesn't come to any new, interesting conclusion, it is funny to read the transcript that was obviously meant to entertain. The banter is witty and very-dated.

After that, I looked at a couple of the carbon-copied ALB vet interview transcripts. They are very long and not that interesting but they do give a concise and dry recount of the soldiers' diverse experiences in the war.

John Dollard's Fear Research cont.

It seems that every archive is more interesting the second time you visit it. This is especially true for Dollard's. I can't say that any of his research astonishes me; it present ideas/tactics that are completely common knowledge today that I thought them to be instinctual. Only when I saw it within the context contrived by the archive, I could understand how this didactic compilation was in many ways, ground-breaking. I examined Dollard's actual published pamphlet that synthesizes all of the lessons learned via Abraham Lincoln Brigade veterans' interviews. It outlined some very basic but useful information. He characterizes fear and courage as being contagious, so within a fighting situation fear should be suppressed. Alternatively, outside the battlefield, fear should not be suppressed. It is in fact, more detrimental. Jokes should be encouraged to release tension and distract the soldiers. Above all else, discussions between leaders and troops assessing the danger of a forthcoming battle, are key for managing fear. Of course, fear is a necessary and useful emotion; it mobilizes, heightens senses and produces a more cautious and alert soldier, but the negative effects can be corrosive. Thus, it is immensely important for a soldier to know that he is not the only one dealing with this powerful emotion. I get the feeling that the acknowledge of fear within the military was unheard of before this study. The machismo would have prevented any useful discussion leading the isolation of "cowardly" soldiers.

The pamphlet also discusses how to maintain the highest troop morale. 95% of ALB vets said that "inner discipline" that comes from self-regulation and true understanding of war aims along with good leadership produce the most effective soldier. Of course, ALB vets were volunteers and therefore, fighting for a cause they felt passionately about, but it is interesting how scrappy the technologically-inferior republicans were. They held out for much longer than anyone could have predicted and this must have been due to their common, unrelenting goal -something worth fighting for.

Facing Fascism DVD

The film/DVD of Facing Fascism has had probably the most effect on me. What it did that the readings, archives and discussions could not impress upon me, was that it presented the feeling of what it was to live during that time. The severity of the depression created a new world view for so many in the city. In our relatively apathetic society today, it really touches me that so many during this era were not only peripherally involved in this foreign struggle but truly, passionately dedicated. I can’t even begin to imagine what living in wake of the depression would have been like: the failure of American laissez-faire capitalism giving rise to two confronting, massive ideologies –communism and fascism. What could it have been like in a world so polarized with such an uncertain future?

Though I don’t mean to diminish the contributors' idealist vigor and earnest empathy (it is truly commendable), it just seems to me that fun was a large component in the war effort. Maybe “fun” is not the best word, but the songs they sung with such emotion and parties they held to fundraise were a large part of these people’s lives. They must have felt great fulfillment being a part of a greater cause fighting for good, but it was also most certainly entertaining (the rallies, the stripteases, and the uniting commitment.)

The film also gives a pathway into the true heartbreak at the end of the war. Being that the effort had been all encompassing in the lives of so many and that the Spanish civil acted as a bellwether for the further tragedy of WWII, the end of it has made a great impact. It has has made indelible, poignant impression on our collective memory.

New Subject: Dr. John Dollard

The other day, I began to look at Dr. John Dollard’s archives. He was not a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He was, in fact, a psychoanalyst and Anthropologist professor at Yale. In the early 1940s, he conducted a survey of ALB veterans, attempting to study fear and morale in fighting. His research, though not sponsored by the War Department, was intended to help the then current soldiers of World War Two. His aim was to disperse life-saving tips and lessons learned by ALB vets while better understanding the psychology of the soldier. The survey includes 300 interviews of ALB vets, and some interviews are included in the archive. I began by looking at several newspaper clips speaking of Dollard. In some kind of business or sale magazine, Dollard is mentioned. It says that Dollard’s fear study could have implications on business. Perhaps knowledge of combating fear in stressful situations could help businesses train new salesmen. In retrospect, this level of research in stress management seems elementary almost intuitive, but perhaps this kind of information had never before been elucidated in an academic sense. In any case, I'm not entirely fascinated on "new" techniques of salesmen training. Hopefully, my next attempt at his archive will prove to be more fruitful.

Toby Jensky, cont.

As I got further into Toby Jensky’s archive, some of the answers to my original questions came to light, though I don’t think my further investigations lead me to any new insights on Jensky’s character –it seems pretty consistent through out her correspondence. I discovered that the archive box also includes the correspondence of Max Schacter (her brother in law) and Philip (Paul) Schacter who was serving in Spain. In a letter dated September 2, 1937, Toby writes her sister saying that Phil has gone missing after the Battle of Brunete in July. Toby tells of all her elaborate attempts to get more information on Phil but he had either been capture or killed, but his whereabouts were completely unknown. The files of Max Schacter begin with a March 25, 1938 letter to the Department of State. Over months and months, the Department of State continued to respond with repetitive, letters detailing how still no information on Philip or Paul was available and that that type of inquiry usually takes quite a bit of time. By December 19, 1938, the Schacter family received a letter that “feared Mr. Paul was killed in action at Belchite sometime in August 1937. Of course, this information is only partly true, but hopefully at least brought the opportunity to mourn their son and brother. Reading these letters, created a vivid image of how much suffering a family could go through knowing nothing of a missing loved one. It details how frustrating dealing with the bureaucracy would have been.