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A Disturbing Trend in Recruitment

January 10, 2020
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A Disturbing Trend in Recruitment

  Most American volunteers demonstrated a high level of commitment during their voyage to Spain. While only a few turned back voluntarily, some were sent back.  Of those who were sent back, medical conditions were the most common reason, though some were sent back for political reasons.  Only three are known to have turned...
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American Volunteers by Unattributed

January 3, 2020
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American Volunteers by Unattributed

The Volunteer for Liberty, Vo. II, No. 2, January 13, 1938 The month of January is an especially significant month for Americans in Spain. It was on January 2, 1937 – a year ago – that the first large group of American volunteers set foot on Spanish soil. Reaching Albacete four days later they...
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Christmas at the Brigade by unattributed

December 27, 2019
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Christmas at the Brigade by unattributed

The Volunteer for Liberty, v. 2, no. 2, January 13, 1938 In case any of the folks at home paused in the middle of their Christmas dinners to have a few sober thoughts about the boys in Spain, they will be glad to know that the boys had a vey good time. The Brigade...
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Ricardo Diaz of the Mac-Paps by unattributed

December 20, 2019
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Ricardo Diaz of the Mac-Paps by unattributed

The Volunteer for Liberty, V. 2, Special 15, April 9, 1938, p. 2. When I asked Capt. Diaz to give me his life story, he smiled and said it was unimportant. This time Capt. Diaz was wrong. The lives of all anti-fascists are important in these decisive days, especially those who have proved themselves...
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One Spring Day by Hilliard Edgar Bernstein

December 13, 2019
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One Spring Day by Hilliard Edgar Bernstein

Pursuit of Reason, Philadelphia: Adelante Press, 1971, pp. 21-31 The early morning weather was fine, just fine; warm and sunny, with a very slight breeze from the South. I could smell Africa, over six hundred kilometers away and four thousand feet below me. The month was April. Blue swallows flitted greetings to Spring. I...
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Transmissions on the Long Trek by unattributed

December 6, 2019
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Transmissions on the Long Trek by unattributed

The Volunteer for Liberty, Vol. 2, No. 20, May 25, 1938, p. 3. “Halto!” “Manos arriba!” “Que Brigada?” We of the Transmisiones are becoming expert in replying to these gambits. At Belchite, Lecera, Albalate and Caspe we learnt our lesson, and the fruits were shown in this latest march from Batea. Out of 78...
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“With His Own Body He Shielded Me . . .” by John Patterson, No. 1 Company, British Battalion, 15th Brigade

November 30, 2019
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“With His Own Body He Shielded Me . . .” by John Patterson, No. 1 Company, British Battalion, 15th Brigade

The Volunteer for Liberty, Vol. 2, Special 15, April 9, 1938, p. 3. Attached to the British Battalion when we went into action at Fuentes de Ebro last October were two American comrades, Sam Kaplan and another (whose name I never knew), whose great courage in volunteering to get me to safety when I...
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What did it cost to send a volunteer to Spain?

November 22, 2019
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What did it cost to send a volunteer to Spain?

                    An undated report listed the costs for sending a volunteer:   Passport, birth certificate, picture, fare tot County seat etc. $15.00   Average fare (West Coast, Middle West, New York) $30.00 (from the West Coast $60.00 to come to N. Y. by bus.)  ...
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William Loren Katz (1927-2019)

November 19, 2019
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William Loren Katz (1927-2019)

With the passing of William Loren Katz, the world has lost a great historian and educator. Katz helped reshape the way American history is taught, publishing over 40 books on African American, Native American, and progressive history and editing two major series totaling over 200 books on anti-slavery resistance and African American thought. His lifetime...
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The Antifascist Tower of Babel: Language Barriers in Civil-War Spain

November 19, 2019
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The Antifascist Tower of Babel: Language Barriers in Civil-War Spain

The International Brigades were a hybrid bunch: multi-ethnic, multi-national—and multi-lingual: not everybody spoke everybody’s language. This posed serious organizational challenges for the Republican war effort.
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