Hannah Ellerbeck
HONS 2011J
Final Essay
Professor Hernàndez-Ojeda
Benjamin Iceland
Personal Statement
As a vibrant, passionate, young college graduate, Benjamin Iceland’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War interested me greatly due to our similar age and upbringing. Though he was born 86 years before I was, his life as a college student in New York City rings true to mine in many respects. We were both born and raised in New York City and went to colleges in New York City as well. As someone who prides myself in learning, I feel a relation to Benjamin Iceland as he was able to incorporate his love of the classics into the way he acted as a soldier in Spain.
Benjamin Iceland was an intellectual but gave up his career aspirations as a teacher to learn more about the communist party in order to help fight fascism. His background in the classics is evident in the memoirs he wrote, however. He used his knowledge of philosophy and literature to
help him mentally process the grueling conditions he was in. His love of the classics therefore guided him throughout his time in Spain. His passion for fighting against fascism and the way he incorporated his love of literature into this fight makes him an important figure to remember.
Moreover, after the war, Iceland explicitly blended his love of literature and fighting fascism by becoming the editor for “The Volunteer” — a newsletter produced by the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB). Iceland himself was a member of the John Brown battery, one of the units in the the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
The history of the Spanish Civil war has largely been ignored in schools and the involvement of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade has not been well recognized His work as an editor has allowed the memories and stories of the veterans to live on. He contacted many veterans in order to try and piece together as many firsthand stories about the war as possible. He also wrote many biographical stories about his own involvement in the war and these works are what allowed me to find out so many details about his life at the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives. In this essay, I focus on Benjamin Iceland’s experiences throughout the war; from arriving in Spain until finally returning home.
Benjamin “Ben” Iceland was born in 1910 in New York City. He grew up in the Bronx and attended New York University in which he studied classics. In college he became fascinated with the idea of communism through a classmate who invited him to join the National Students League; a communist-run group. His college experience thus became a mix of Homer and Virgil with Marx and Stalin. This marked combination later proved to influence his experience in the war. Upon graduating college in 1933, the country was in the midst of the great depression and jobs were extremely scarce. As a classics major he wanted to teach Latin, but as he lamented in a narrative entitled “Biographical”, “There were no jobs for teachers – much less for Latin teachers” (1). He therefore took up a series of odd jobs, such as shoveling snow and working as an usher.
Though Theodore Roosevelt had just been elected president, the New Deal had yet to begin when Benjamin Iceland graduated college. He witnessed the horrors of people living in poverty all around him. There were no government assistance programs and the country was simply in ruins. Those who were unemployed protested incessantly for the creation of governmental programs to bring them jobs and help them find homes. The New Deal was quickly implemented, however, and Benjamin was able to see firsthand how protesting could bring about immaculate change. “To me,” he wrote, “it was a revelation that organization and mass pressure could bring results” (1, Biographical).
It was this passion and excitement about communism, which as he wrote, “stood for a world free of depression, exploitation, war and race hatred” which lead Benjamin to want to fight in Spain. Though he was elated that the communist-like aspects of the New Deal lead him and many others to obtain jobs, he was frightened that overseas fascism was becoming more and more popular. Spain became a symbol of hope for Benjamin Iceland. If fascism could be overturned in Spain, perhaps the rest of the world would be influenced to abandon it as well. In a paper titled “Early Days in Spain”, Iceland stated that when International Brigades formed, “I felt I belonged with them, and I knew I must get there,” and described the mass inclination for people to volunteer as “the passion of the times” (3). Still, though many people may have been passionate about wanting to fight, Iceland proved that his determination went far beyond just passion. In 1937 he was a newlywed and his wife argued with him incessantly about the prospect of him leaving. She accused him of not being truly in love with her as the real reason he wanted to leave. The night before he set sail, even Benjamin’s best friend questioned why he would do such a thing. When Benjamin responded that he was going to fight fascism, the friend remarked, “I know that. But do you have to be so serious about it?” (4). It is clear that Benjamin did not give himself enough credit for the immense amount of bravery and courage that went into leaving behind his entire life. Though many people had “passion” about the cause, far fewer were quite as “serious” as Benjamin.
Simply getting to Spain was a rigorous ordeal. After taking the S.S Georgic to France, Iceland and a group of others set to climb the treacherous Pyrenees Mountains to get into Spain. The climb was grueling and there were no breaks along the way – one man even collapsed, and the group was forced to leave him behind. Though Benjamin’s feet were close to buckling, he managed to get through the climb, feeling “great exhilaration” (4, Early Days in Spain) when finally reaching Spain.
Along the climb, Benjamin thought hard about his decision to fight in Spain. His background in literature and education seemed to clash with his current actions of climbing a mountain to get into a country to be a soldier. Questioning his decision, he wrote, “Why was I going to Spain? Was I a romantic or a revolutionary?” (2, Early Days in Spain). It was hard for him to understand how someone who lived his entire life devoted to education could now be employed in such an extremely physical role. The Pyrenees Mountains had simply been “a name in a geography book” (2, Early days in Spain) before this day, but now they would be forever marked in his memory for the physical hard bearings he faced while climbing them.
Benjamin Iceland soon found his worlds blending together, however. Instead of working against each other, his knowledge of literature served as a mental guide throughout the war. After three days in Figueras becoming acquainted with the surroundings, (including the lack of food and adequate living conditions) an old train with missing cars took Benjamin and other Americans on a long trip to where he would eventually be fighting. Iceland quickly adapted to his newfound life as a soldier and felt as though he had given up his past life as an intellectual, but admitted, “But still, as the train rolled south, when I looked upon the blue waters, I found myself thinking of the wanderings of the Ulysses, and wondering whether my wife, like Penelope, would be waiting for me when I returned home. I recalled the words from Xenophon: ‘Thalassa, thalassa'”(2, Early Days in Spain). In James Joyce’s Ulysses, the Greeks shouted “Thalassa, thalassa” when they finally reached the sea while retreating from a lost battle. Benjamin Iceland, on the other hand, said this before any fighting had even begun for him. The uttering of this line thus served two purposes, though perhaps unintentionally. First, this is a literary that symbolized the many adventures he would soon face. Though he had no fighting experience himself, he had read about the Ten Thousand Greek fighters in Ulysses. The second purpose of the line “Thalassa, thalassa” was to foreshadow the upcoming events he would face in having to retreat from the war and surrender. Though there is no possible way Benjamin could have known he would be on the losing side of the war, the fact that he uttered this famed line shows that he was attuned to the reality of surrendering he would soon face.
In fact, it was Benjamin Iceland’s involvement in the process of surrendering that, in my opinion, most vividly represents his character. The Aragon offensive marked one of the most significant military events for the International Brigades. The Republicans had just lost the battle of Teruel, which proved to be a decisive turning point in the war. The Nationalists bombed the area heavily, and although the Republicans initially had control over the city, the Rebel Faction’s superior weapons and greater number of men allowed them to take over the city of Teruel. After their great loss, Benjamin and the rest of his comrades from the John Brown battery had about a week of rest in Valencia and then travelled to a town near Belchite where they prepared for the upcoming offensive they had heard rumors about. At this point, Benjamin was exhausted from the strain of the war. Upon seeing a ruined town, he said to himself, “Will it ever end, my new world of bombs and blood and noise and fear?” (3, The Great Retreat) He was so fully immersed in the world of war that he was beginning to lose his sensitive, intellectual side.
As the offensive took place in the harshest of conditions, Benjamin proved that he had not, in fact, lost sight of his true character. The Nationalists dropped bomb after bomb relentlessly over Aragon to the point where firing back at them would be no use. With a heavy heart, Benjamin took shelter in a trench he had dug a few days prior with tools so dull they barely did the job. When a starving dog tried to edge into their trench, Benjamin’s friend Louie threw the dog out into the open, but after multiple attempts, Benjamin moved his aching, shivering body as best as he possibly could to make room for the dog. He thought to himself, “The poor dog is even more miserable than we are, not understanding why men should be hurling death at one another, making the ground quake, and sending bombs down from the Spanish blue sky” (5, The Great Retreat). Though Benjamin risked death by moving over for this dog, for he had to partially remove himself from the shallow trench, he did so anyway. His ability to reason and feel compassion for a dog during such a dreadful event shows that Benjamin’s compassionate and poetic, side was still alive and well.
Benjamin further showed his humanitarianism during the Aragon offensive with the use of reasoning. The offensive was close to being over, and the Nationalists had clearly won. Nationalist troops began retreating in victory, running straight past Benjamin’s artillery. Benjamin ran out to face the enemy combatants, pointing his pistol at a group of soldiers. He noticed, however, that the soldiers were extremely young, and one started crying at the sight of the pistol. Though he had a crystal clear opportunity to kill the enemy, Benjamin used his philosophical reasoning skills by determining, “the groups coming from the ridge were increasing in number, and one brave man could not stop it.” He furthered this thought stating, “After all, they’re only kids, they don’t know what it’s all about. We would like to get out of this place too” (5, The Great Retreat). During a time of war, where senseless deaths were often committed, it is absolutely remarkable that Benjamin was able to rationalize that killing this particular group of soldiers would not put a stop to the many more that were inevitably coming. Benjamin’s compassion demonstrates his incredible character, even under times of duress.
The loss of the battle of Teruel combined with the loss of the Aragon offensive, (or the Great Retreat as it is known as) spelled out a bleak future for Benjamin Iceland and the rest of the International Brigades. As the Rebels were winning the war, and the Republican fight continued on, the International Brigades knew that their time in Spain would soon be up. Benjamin described the months after the Aragon offensive as confusing and disorganized due to the fact that the Nationalists had divided the parts of Republican Spain in two. During these last few months, Benjamin experienced absolutely no military action. Instead, he and his friends focused on trying to find food to eat and thinking about their lives at home. Benjamin spent many nights hungry because Spain had very little food. Even restaurants held signs saying “No hay comida” (2, Last Months in Spain).
As a way to distract himself from the tedious and uncomfortable conditions he was in, Benjamin turned to his intellectual background and love of literature. Writing letters to loved ones was a favorite pastime among Benjamin and his friends. When one man, Bill, admitted to being a “terrible speller,” Benjamin stepped in to help by becoming “his regular amanuensis” (2, Last Months in Spain). Not only does this episode highlight Benjamin’s kindness by regularly writing the letters for his friend, but it also shows how he used his past as an intellectual to give him strength. In a time where he was both starving, bored, and frustrated by the recent events that took place, he was able to use his skills as a writer to give him a purpose.
In another instance, Benjamin once again used literature to help him process the current situation he was in – one of defeat. While having a conversation with his friend, Ski, Benjamin noticed the sadness his friend was feeling about his class status and thus recited poetry to comfort both his friend and himself. The poem he recited, entitled “Requiem” by Robert Stephenson, went as follows; “Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie. Glad did I live and gladly die,And I laid me down with a will This be the verse you grave for me: Here he lies where he longed to be; Home is the sailor, home from sea, And the hunter home from the hill” (9, Last Months in Spain). Similarly to when Benjamin recited the line from Ulysses on his way to fight in Spain, his recitation of “Requiem” foreshadowed his returning home to New York City. The line “Glad did I live and gladly die” symbolizes how Benjamin had fallen in love with Spain, or was gladly living, but the impoverished conditions he was in made him long to go home, or “gladly die”. Perhaps at times he was so fed up with the lack of resources that he felt as though he wanted to give up just as Stevenson expressed in the line “Dig the grave and let me die.” Moreover, the poem mentions a sailor “home from sea” which foreshadows his return home from Spain. Though he did not know at the time if or when he would officially go home, reciting a poem about the bittersweet process of returning helped both Benjamin and his friend Ski cope with this possibility.
Soon enough, the news came that all of the international brigades would be repatriated. Although this was good news in that Benjamin would get to see his wife again and finally have enough to eat, he was very hard on himself for leaving while the Republicans were losing. He described having a “feeling of regret, of sadness, of work not finished” (9, Last Months in Spain). The pain he felt was so great that it, once again, started to affect his view of himself. Just like when Benjamin asked himself if he were a romantic or a revolutionary when he first arrived in Spain, now that he was leaving he had another set of worries. He described his mental state as “Self questioning, had I lived up to my own image of myself?” (9, Last months in Spain). Throughout his time in Spain, Benjamin was able to combine the two characterizations of himself he feared could not both be true. He was a strong and powerful soldier and still stayed true to his love of classics, therefore being a romantic and a revolutionary. Now, however, he feared that this had all gone to waste and he had simply become a failure. This feeling stayed with him for awhile, as this was not simply a minor setback for the brigades; it meant leaving everything they had worked so hard for without accomplishing their true goal.
Benjamin did not return home for a long time, however. His group in the John Brown Battery was ignored by the League of Nations for months while other brigades were allowed to return home. Though food was scarce, Benjamin still displayed the same compassion he’d always had regarding sharing. He described the rations that were occasionally given out stating, “The townspeople would line up from early in the morning, waiting for hours for a ration of cheese the size of your thumb. Some of the soldiers would line up for cheese also. I felt guilty lining up” (4, Last Days in Spain). Although when Benjamin first found out he would be returning home he was worried that he hadn’t lived up to his expectations, the compassion he showed to the townspeople exemplifies that quite the opposite was true. As a soldier, he put the needs of the people he was fighting for before his own. As a compassionate, sensitive man, he felt too guilty to line up to take food that could be going to others. After a few months passed, the League of Nations Commission eventually arrived and transported the John Brown Battery to Cassà de La Selva where a train finally came to take Benjamin into France, and ultimately home.
Benjamin’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War is an inspiration for all Americans to follow. He proved that he could stay true to himself while also fighting for a cause that did not even effect his own country. From the grueling climb to simply get into Spain, to the many battles and harsh conditions he faced, Benjamin devoted all his physical and mental energy into fighting against fascism. The stories of members in the international brigades have been lost throughout history and not enough people in today’s generation know about the incredibly brave men and women who risked their lives to fight for another country. Reading about Benjamin’s humanitarianism throughout the war makes me want to take more action in today’s political issues. Benjamin was very similar in age too when he left to go to Spain, and I cannot imagine ever doing something as brave as this. Our current president, Donald Trump, has done things such as ban refugees, threaten to build a wall to keep out Mexicans, and, most recently, firing the man investigating him for possible criminal activity. If people like Benjamin could give up everything to fight another country’s war, I feel a greater sense of duty to protest and fight back against the injustices in my own country.
Work Cited
Iceland, Benjamin. Writings. “Biography”. Undated. Box 1, Folder 1. Benjamin Iceland Papers. Tamiment Library & Wagner Labor Archives, New York University, New York, NY. 15 March 2017.
Iceland, Benjamin. Writings: “Early Days in Spain”. 1939. Box 1, Folder 15. Benjamin Iceland Papers. Tamiment Library & Wagner Labor Archives, New York University, New York, NY. 15 March 2017.
Iceland, Benjamin. Writings: “Last Days in Spain”. 1939. Box 3, Folder 12. Benjamin Iceland Papers. Tamiment Library & Wagner Labor Archives, New York University, New York, NY. 15 March 2017.
Iceland, Benjamin. Writings: “Last Months in Spain”. 1939. Box 1, Folder 16. Benjamin Iceland Papers. Tamiment Library & Wagner Labor Archives, New York University, New York, NY. 15 March 2017.