Shane Harilall

Professor Maria Hernandez-Ojeda

HONS 2011J – Spanish Civil War in Literature and Film

18 December 2020

Personal Statement

I initially elected to partake in this class due to a total lack of knowledge concerning the Spanish Civil War. As far as I was concerned, the Spanish Civil War was another pointless conflict with little to no meaning. I cannot believe how wrong I was. I have since come to understand the significance of the Good Fight, and as such am remorseful for my initial feelings on the matter. However, I am also grateful for the experience, as I now understand the personal sacrifices and emotional resilience of the volunteers who risked their lives for the sake of others. Having done copious amounts of research on Steve Nelson and his endeavors both before and after the Spanish Civil War, I felt a personal connection to the man, despite only knowing the legend. I gained an admiration for him and found myself in an emotional state upon reading his obituary in the New York Times. And so, I write this to not only inform others of the live of Steve Nelson, but also to celebrate his life and attempt to contribute to the immortalization of this man. My only disappointment in this class, is the fact that I could not have taken it in person. (more…)

Sylvia Welch

THHP 2011J

Hunter College-CUNY

Prof. Hernandez-Ojeda

Virginia Malbin

Personal Statement

In the fall semester of 2020, I enrolled in a course on the Spanish Civil War. Prior to this class, I didn’t know anything about this period of history. Throughout the semester, our class engaged with riveting and emotional works of art, literature, and film that taught us about this captivating period of time. We learned about the struggles against fascism, nationalist and republican propaganda, and how the war had enormous effects that rippled through individual lives, communities, and countries. As a cumulative final project we were assigned to study the life of an Abraham Lincoln Brigade volunteer.  This project is designed to deepen our understanding of the events during the Spanish Civil War through learning and writing about a volunteer’s personal experiences. Virginia Malbin was a volunteer, social worker, wife, anti-fascist, union-member, and public speaker. I chose to research and write about her because I felt that she and I had a lot of similarities in our lives. I also empathize with many of her experiences leading up to her joining the ALB, such as the police brutality she witnessed and the urge to fight against what we view as immoral. I’ve seen many timely parallels while studying Virginia Malbin’s story and learning more broadly about the Spanish Civil War in class. There is great political tension and uprising in America today, and fascism is on the rise in many countries. This fight is the same battle that we have struggled with through generations. This story, and the stories of all the other ALB volunteers, are vital to our place in the fight against fascism today. (more…)

Vasilis Kontodimas

Professor Hernandez-Ojeda

HONS 2011J, Section 01

8 Dec. 2020

Nicholas Ioannou Demas’ fight “to stop the barbarians”

Personal Statement:

Before I selected Nicholas Ioannou Demas as the one Abraham Lincoln Brigade volunteer to research, I knew how treacherous the life for the Greek population had been in the early twentieth century.  My grandparents had personally served and lived through WWII and the ensuing Greek civil war.  So, I wanted to see what could motivate a Greek man, together with his brother,  to risk their lives for Spain when Greece still faced myriad issues.  I started with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives and discovered that my subject was a Cypriot Greek born before WWI.  Then, I re-examined my understanding of the Cypriot issues at the time and contacted my relatives who lived in Cyprus to see if there is a memorial of sort for the Cypriots who supported the Spanish Republic.  I got access to a talk by Paul Philippou.  Unfortunately, I never obtained his book Spanish Thermopylae.  However, I was able to reach Demas’ daughters and I interviewed them on November 16, 2020.  This interview was momentous because they shared their father’s letter, written on January 20, 1938.  Demas’ words displayed his character and the formative forces that created his character.  British colonization, military aggression, immigration to Egypt and US, and workers’ economic disparity  were central in making a man willing to stand against barbarous and cruel inequalities, that impacted the world.

(more…)

Mei Meadow

HONS 2011J

Final Essay

Professor Maria Hernández-Ojeda

Vincent Lossowski

Personal Statement

While researching the life and involvement of Vincent Lossowski in the Spanish Civil War, I initially came upon several interesting facts about his numerous military services and affiliation with the Communist Party online; however, it was only when I interviewed Paul Lossowski, Vincent Lossowski’s son, and read more personal artifacts such as letters between him and his mother and wife during his time in Spain that I achieved a better understanding of who Vincent Lossowski was. More formal correspondences and newspaper clippings from after the war documented the harassment by the U.S. government that Lossowski experienced for serving as a volunteer in Spain. I began to contextualize the facts with historical and societal influences during his life as well as familial anecdotes to piece together an interpretation of his life and experiences in the Spanish Civil War. (more…)

Somaly Tum

Spain Today: Film and Fiction

Professor Villa, The New School

May Levine Hartzman

Personal Statement

Before this semester, I didn’t know much at all, if anything, about the Spanish Civil War. It was never taught in my previous schools, and it wasn’t until I began my research and watched the 1984 documentary, The Good Fight, that I found out about the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and the thousands of other volunteers who traveled to Spain to fight against fascism. In total, there were about 40,000 volunteers from all over the world. While I was looking online at the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA), I came across a single folder from the Frances Patai Papers (Box 3, Folder 2) on May Levine Hartzman. I was drawn to her file because I wanted to learn more about the experiences of women who volunteered in the Spanish Civil War. After reading her biography, I found May Levine’s story to be very compelling and I hope to extend a similar feeling of hope and inspiration to others who are fighting for justice by sharing her legacy.  (more…)