Edward Lewis, best known as the producer of Stanley Kubrik’s Spartacus (1960), passed away this week; he was 99. His life and work had several important connections to the Spanish Civil War. For Spartacus, Lewis hired screenwriter Dalton Trumbo who, along with Lincoln vet Alvah Bessie, was one of the “Hollywood Ten.” When Lewis demanded that Trumbo be credited publicly...
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Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Edward Lewis, producer of “Spartacus,” and the Spanish Civil War
The Volunteer for Liberty, V2, no. 25, July 19, 1938 The functions of a Cabo is to see that his men execute quickly and efficiently the order of his superior officers. To this end he must have, first, an extensive knowledge of military technique; secondly; the respect of his squad; third, a sense of...
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Tags: Activists, Blast from the Past
Posted in Blog | Comments Off on What are the Duties of a Cabo? By James Lardner
The Volunteer for Liberty, V2, No. 25, July 19, 1938 Ode to the Fly The fly, the fly, oh me, oh my, it gets in my hair, it sits on my chair. In spite of all “Flit” it gets in...
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Tags: Blast from the Past, Poem
Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Typhoid – Poem, (Its poisonous) by Hank
The Volunteer, February 1974 He was one of my oldest friends. We knew each other long before Spain in the street of Brownsville. If there was one thing that characterized him, it was his zest for life. He would sing on picket lines, while we dragged furniture back for evicted neighbors. On Friday morning,...
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Tags: Blast from the Past
Posted in Blog | Comments Off on To Milt Goldstein by Maury Colow
The Volunteer for Liberty, V. 1, No. 25, December 6, 1937. You asked him why he came to Spain, how he came to hate fascism. You ask because his background is Mississippi and Texas, where reaction is strong in the ruling class. His folks were planters in Mississippi. If you trace the family you...
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Tags: Abraham Lincoln Battalion, Belchite, Blast from the Past, Brunete Offensive, Phil Detro
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The Volunteer for Liberty V.2, No. 30, August 26, 1938 For the Lincolns it was action from the very start. Even before we crossed the Ebro we were under enemy fire and what’s more important, the enemy was under our fire. I don’t mean only the artillery fire that was sweeping the approaches to...
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Tags: Blast from the Past, Ebro Offensive
Posted in Blog | Comments Off on With the Lincoln-Washington by T. M.
The Volunteer for Liberty, V2, no. 33, October 6, 1938 All was not exactly quiet on the British Battalion’s sector during the last action of Hill 565. This despite the fact that the Battalion was theoretically in reserve, in accordance with the accepted reserve police of the Division, the Army Corps and the Army....
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Tags: Blast from the Past, British, Ebro Offensive
Posted in Blog | Comments Off on With the British Battalion by Volunteer Staff
The Volunteer for Liberty, V2, No. 30, August 26, 1938 Copernico is alive! Throughout the Brigade there are those who knew and it follows, admired him, who will be overjoyed to hear it. We knew he was captured (during the March retreat) and almost certainly felt that he was killed. Now we have...
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Tags: Blast from the Past, The Retreats
Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Copernico by Morris Miller
Originally published in The Volunteer for Liberty, V2, No. 33, October 6, 1938 Deep in a natural cave at the head of a baranco is the command post of our Brigade. Here, at one time, peasants had utilized the natural shelter, filled its mouth with masonry and constructed a home. The cavern is partitioned...
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Tags: Blast from the Past, Ebro Offensive
Posted in Blog | Comments Off on The Brigade Command in Action at the Ebro Front by A. C. B. (Alvah Cecil Bessie)
The Volunteer for Liberty, V2, No. 31, September 5, 1938. It was a great game. The Mac-Paps put up a swell battle and lost gamely. (It isn’t too much out of the way to say they took it sort of hard, so why not...
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Tags: Blast from the Past
Posted in Blog | Comments Off on How the English Trimmed the Mac-Paps “Futbal” Whiskers by D. G.