Maggie Kearney

HONS 2011J

Final Essay

Prof. Maria-Hernandez Ojeda

Ruth Davidow

Personal Statement

Ruth Davidow first caught my attention with her interview for the 1984 film The Good Fight my classmates and I streamed at the beginning of the semester. The documentary was one of my first real exposures to the Spanish fight against fascism, as I had never heard about the International Brigades in school beforehand. My only knowledge of this point in history before beginning this Spanish Civil War in Literature and Film course was Picasso’s Guernica, which conveyed the terror of the war only. I had no context for its role in world history or knowledge or appreciation for the courageous and determined spirits who fought with their lives against fascism. Ruth reflected upon her time in the war with such bluntness, and yet in a manner that made it clear that she was proud and without a single regret. I immediately admired her ability to make herself a responsible defender of global freedom. Ruth’s perspective as a Jewish woman at such a critical time in history also stood out to me, and the fact that she was able to put herself on the line against a global effort that aimed to quash and victimize people just like her. Ruth made it clear through her interviews that her career as a public health nurse absolutely made her a forever activist for life, health, and freedom. Ruth struck me as a strong woman and a beacon of hope for a future of resistance.

Writing about such a fascinating figure who devoted her life to such strong activism at first felt intimidating. While I had access to the online files of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, the scope of their online availability is limited. Unfortunately, I could not visit or access the physical archives and thus many of Ruth’s documents and recordings due to COVID. Nevertheless, I was able to connect with Ruth through recordings of interviews across films and articles about her on sites like the San Francisco Gate of the city she settled in and The Volunteer founded by Abraham Lincoln Brigade veterans. Another major foundation to my writing process was the privilege I had to speak with Ruth’s daughter, Joan Keller Selznick (JK), about her relationship with her mother and the Spanish Civil War, memories of her mother’s commitment to social justice, and how she inherited her own affinity for social justice. Online articles and photos helped me understand the sequence and impact of her life events and choices, but the recordings I had of her interviews and my conversation with JK showed me Ruth’s heroic, humanitarian personality. Despite limited access due to COVID, I feel that these excerpts have helped me form a thorough understanding of Ruth’s activist life.

The Story of Ruth Davidow (1911-1999)

Life Before the Spanish Civil War (pre-1936): Born in Volkavisk, Russia (now Belarus) just six years before the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, Ruth Rebecca Davidow emigrated to Brooklyn with her mother, sister, and brother, Michael, at the age of three. The family emigrated the same year that the First World War began, its importance to global history and Ruth’s life especially unbeknownst to them. Nevertheless, Ruth’s parents raised her and her siblings to be very political. JK described Ruth’s father as a “rebel photographer” who would capture moments meant to provoke thought and controversy (Selznick). Ruth’s mother was a political activist in her own right, mobilizing Brooklyn neighbors for Marxist revolution. As a Russian-Jewish woman, Ruth’s mother was optimistic about the Bolshevik revolution when it rose in 1917, encouraging her to be even more politically active. She among many New York Russian Jews of the time hoped that Marxism would not only solve class differences but quash global anti-Semitism as well. Despite her father’s bout with tuberculosis, Ruth’s mother managed to continue her activism while working in the garment industry where she led the International Ladies Garment Worker Union. She was known to bring her children to rallies, and sold The Daily Worker, a communist newspaper, in their Brooklyn neighborhood. Ruth’s mother was undoubtedly a major role model for both her and her brother Michael, who became a known political writer for The People’s World in Europe.

 

As the economic depression began to stir, Ruth had to help support her family with odd jobs due to her father’s lingering illness. Originally, Ruth was inspired to study law, but her family’s poverty did not allow it. Opting for activism in the form of public health and safety, Ruth instead chose nursing as she could obtain that degree without tuition despite complaints from her father. Like many of her fellow Jewish nurses who went to Spain, she enrolled at Brooklyn Jewish Hospital (see fig. 1). There, Ruth was active in the unionization of health workers and ran programs for Brooklyn residents. The rising Depression motivated her to further political activism in an escalation that she found natural. Nursing helped radicalize her, as she personally witnessed the most severe effects of the Depression and economic systems upon individuals. She always believed in people over institutions.Though she would after the war grow weary with the organized Communist Party in the US and its authoritarian approach, she was at this point motivated by their revolutionary agenda as the only party with the working class’ interests that could bring in genuine social change. As a Russian-Jewish family, one can only imagine how the Davidows felt watching the rise of Hitler across the Atlantic in 1933. While she of course wanted to do what she could to halt the spread of global fascism, she at first could not envision how she could take action in a crisis that seemed so far away:

I think, basically, it was because I was a nurse that I was very upset about the kinds of things that were happening. Not only to Jews in Germany, but people in Spain, and people in Ethiopia. And, you know, for a while I thought this had nothing to do with us, that these people had to fight their own battles. I was against another World War. I was sort of an isolationist without thinking about it. But, as things got worse, and when they went into a country that just had democratically elected a new government, and our own government which said they were democratic and believed in elections put an embargo on them I was terribly upset.” (Interview, Into the Fire- American Women in the Spanish Civil War, 2007)

Involvement in the Spanish Civil War (1936-38): In the summer of 1936 with support from both Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, Francisco Franco initiated a coup d’etat of his fascist forces against the democratically elected Republican government of Spain. International brigades of volunteer anti-fascists across Europe and the world quickly formed. Ruth Davidow, now 25, heard about this through news reports and word from Communist party members and unionists. She had also begun to attend events and debates with groups such as the Committee to Help the Spanish Republic, which would permanently alter Ruth’s life and outlook. The congregation helped her understand how much of a personal stake she held in global fascism as a Jewish, socialist woman. It hit home for her that “they were out for the whole world” and she decided that as many people as possible had to help stop them (Davidow). This was the first time Ruth felt like she herself could do something to stop global fascism, even if the government refused. Despite growing media attention to the crisis in Spain and the brutal effects upon civilians, the Roosevelt administration remained stubbornly isolationist. They officially agreed upon non-intervention in August of 1936. This was motivated by a general fear of communism and by the amoral strategy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany. As we know now, this sordid political pursuit only allowed Hitler to expand unchecked and terrorize millions. Knowing how personal of a concern that Hitlerism was for Ruth, her feelings of frustration, fear, and betrayal must have been immeasurable. These anguished feelings must have only grown when the Roosevelt administration imposed a travel ban and an arms embargo in January of 1937. She was one of over 30 young Jewish-American women motivated to get to Spain. With the rest of the 2,800-person Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Ruth was motivated to illegally leave for Spain in June of 1937 despite the risk to her health, safety, and even her American passport. 

Upon her arrival on June 13 of 1937, Ruth was placed with Dr. Irving Busch at an improvised medical facility in the small town of Bella Casa around 20 miles behind the front lines (see fig. 2). Much of the medical force was Jewish as well, and they often spoke Yiddish. Ruth and the other medical personnel worked tireless 24-36 hour stretches to treat wounded soldiers. Ruth persevered and bravely served Loyalist soldiers even through a debilitating case of malaria. She and other nurses quickly learned to ignore their own illnesses and exhaustion. Ruth and her colleagues amazingly focused on the ideals of the cause, knowing that their exhaustion meant that the world might be free. She toiled here for around six months before she was transferred to front-line duty. Conditions and available medical equipment at the front were dangerously crude. Ruth arrived to find that they were working out of a makeshift hospital in a cave with only a tarp camouflaging it from the air. Adequate medical supplies were hard to come by; Ruth recalled that they only had a few needles to go around, that they had to sharpen them on stones and that if one snapped it was “a tragedy” (Davidow). While Ruth’s noble efforts saved many lives, she was also forced to witness many deaths of blood loss, shock, or infection. Front-line work was especially high-pressure, Ruth and her colleagues were forced to operate under the constant threat of an air raid. 

Ruth courageously served the wounded Republican soldiers. Over her near two years in Spain, she reflected upon human nature and the future of global resistance. She realized that idealism alone could not save Spain or the world. Despite her courage and the unfathomable bravery of the soldiers, the Republicans were still ill-equipped. While committed to justice in Spain, she knew they needed international assistance to hold out against Franco. Nevertheless, she carried on with everything she had. Ruth was a force to be reckoned with in her own right. She famously caught one of the hospital cooks sabotaging soldiers’ recovery by watering down precious milk reserved to rebuild their strength. Ruth took matters into her own hands without hesitation and confronted him with a kitchen knife, regarding him as a secret fascist sympathizer, and told him if she heard of it happening again she would be justified in using it. This incident, however intense, is very telling of Ruth’s commitment to protecting justice. Ruth would do anything she could to secure the safety of the people and the preservation of anti-fascist resistance. The milk supplies were never again tampered with. Following her gallant, driven efforts and leadership at the front, she was again transferred from the front to Castellejo where she was able to boost the morale of the medical professionals and patients dramatically. 

Beginning on July 24th of 1938 following a scramble for reorganization, the Republican army embarked on its final great offensive in the Spanish Civil War. The Ebro River was then the boundary between newly-captured Franco territory and what Republicans had left of Catalonia. This was a last-ditch hope to turn the tide of the war, hoping that the correct, honorable side of history may prevail. The Battle of the Ebro was also the longest of the Spanish Civil War, not officially concluding until November 26th. Over this drawn-out stretch, Ruth heroically set out for front line duty yet again at Pozoblanco on the Cordoba front. This battle was particularly traumatic for Ruth. One story that haunted her for years and stuck with JK was when Ruth was working with a mortally injured 15-year-old soldier and as he bled, he cried out desperately for his mother. Ruth recalled that despite his torturous pain, they had no morphine to give him and all she could do was be at his side. Ruth somberly remembered that “I didn’t know what to do. I sat by his bed and the tears were streaming down my face” (Davidow). Even when she could not physically help, and when the moment killed her, she stuck by the boy in his darkest moment. The front was pelted with so many fascist bombs that she became convinced she would not get home alive. Even Ruth was worn down to the point of nearly giving up. Her staff reported that at one point she tried to leave the front line, only to return tearfully within an hour. Perhaps Ruth was coming to terms with the fact that the Republicans she toiled, starved, and was traumatized for were losing. She had to accept in this moment that though she was fighting the “good fight,” though they knew that fascism in Spain would lead to global fascism, though she needed so much to stop this spread, the war would be lost because of international indifference. Ruth and fellow Lincoln Brigade members were painfully aware that fascism was far from an isolated problem that would solve itself:

When we said we went to Spain to stop fascism from coming here, we meant it. I think we alerted the whole world to fascism. You know, I remember the first Spaniard, a farmer, who said to me, ‘Wait. These people will get the real war because they’re not helping us now.’ And they did.” (Interview, Into the Fire- American Women in the Spanish Civil War, 2007)

Shortly after this incident and before the Ebro battle ended in September of 1938, the Republican government in an attempt to corner Franco in good faith opted to send the international brigades home. The volunteers were called to Barcelona to be sent off, where Ruth recalled they were promised to be Spanish citizens forever. She remembered it as a “blurry, teary day” where she appreciated her and her fellow brigade members’ efforts but felt a sense of guilt that she could not stay and further contribute to the fight against global fascism (Davidow). While she and the rest of the brigade were exhausted, they wished desperately to carry on the fight. Rather than worry about her own health or safety, Ruth was concerned with the health of the world. In Spain, Ruth was also associated with Enrique Lister ’s famous Fifth Regiment, known for its idealism. Both men that Ruth would later marry were part of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Fred Keller who is JK’s father, and Vernon Bown. Ruth’s altruism and commitment to global activism were great, and she intended to continue to fight from home.

Life and Activism after the Spanish Civil War (1939-1999): Ever diligent, Ruth Davidow hit the ground running in terms of her activism the moment she stepped back on American soil. In collaboration with famous female ambulance driver Evelyn Hutchins, Ruth embarked on a lecture circuit throughout the South in an ambulance. Ruth and Evelyn spoke to churches, school groups, etc. about their experiences in Spain (see fig. 3). They raised funds, supplies, and food for Spanish refugees and mobilized people to get informed and rally behind anti-fascism (see fig. 4). Ruth recalled a desperate effort to make people aware of the dire situation there and of the major threat of global fascism. Nevertheless, as they moved through the lecture trip, Spain fell further and further to Franco. One can only imagine the deep frustration the women felt trying their hardest to make people with a stubborn, American-influenced isolationist view understand that Franco’s rise was an omen for the whole world. It is tiresome to be on the right side of history ahead of what feels like everyone. Ruth and Evelyn received word that the war officially ended and Franco won Spain on April 1 of 1939 during a large rally at a church in Tampa. Ruth sadly remembered the collective heartbreak in this packed church, remarking that “you never saw a whole audience stand up and cry like we did, all of us. It was terrific sorrow” (Davidow). Despite this major blow, Ruth refused to be discouraged. She settled in San Francisco, quickly becoming acquainted with radical activism in the area. She was a major leader in the West Coast chapters of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade which represented ALBA members’ interests. In September of that same year, as Ruth and her comrades tried desperately to caution everyone, Hitler invaded Poland and officially began World War II. Rather than preach I-Told-You-Sos, Ruth and her comrades pursued their militant activism in stride.

Ruth’s persistent activism reached around the country through the next decades of her life. Around this point, Ruth married then-officer of the Electricians Union Fred Keller. Ruth also briefly joined the Communist Party at home, but quickly quit due to their purist approach. Raised by active Marxists, JK was always acquainted with social issues and encouraged to take political action. The family was unique in that almost all of JK’s childhood role models: Ruth, Fred, Ruth’s mother, and Ruth’s brother Michael Davidow were active communists. For JK, political activity was “everything I am” (Selznick). Ruth was proud of JK, who was around 7 during segregation, accompanied her young Black friend to a public pool in protest. JK fondly recalled that her uncle, beaming with pride, would send notes praising her young political action from a “secret admirer” (Selznick). Keeping things in perspective, Ruth emphasized that years before the U.S. armed forces were integrated, Oliver Law commanded a fully integrated unit of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. As always, the brigade was years ahead of the rest of the United States. Ruth was sure to be honest and encouraging with her daughter’s ambitions in social justice. Rather than try and shield her from the world, Ruth engaged her daughter in political happenings. 

At another point in JK’s childhood during the Red Scare, both of her parents were targeted by the FBI. The FBI aimed to intimidate the family on the principle that the couple was “un-American” and Ruth a premature anti-fascist, to which Ruth responded that “I’m not just a pre-mature anti-fascist. I’m a forever anti-fascist” (Davidow). Officers showed up at their home, asked neighbors and spread negative stories about them. Ruth refused to be repressed, and made sure JK knew it as well. JK remembered  being aware of the FBI presence and being told to be especially careful about who to speak to and about what, but otherwise her parents refused to be stifled. The family carried an awareness of their privacy following the incident, but Ruth continued activism with the same ferocity as ever into the later years of her life. She carried her experience in Spain through the rest of her life. As JK grew older, she fondly recalled attending rallies and demonstrations organized by fellow ALBA veterans and the ways they brought her closer to her mother. Ruth proudly organized against the House un-American Activities Committee that essentially subjected anyone with a dissenting view from the government to scrutiny. She defiantly persisted after she and her husband were arrested at one of these demonstrations. She retained her commitment to international justice and activism as well, travelling to Cuba for 18 months between 1960 and 1962 following the revolution to upgrade the Havana public health system. Ruth even considered the possibility of yet again being a combat nurse there when a U.S. invasion seemed imminent. Along with Abe Osheroff, she further took an active role in the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project. Ruth seemed to follow justice wherever it went. Always supporting what is right, Ruth was also notably the only non-Native allowed to assist Native health services during the Indigenous takeover of Alcatraz island in the 1970s. Ruth never stopped the fight into advancing age, even attending Beijing’s International Women’s Conference as a delegate at her 85th birthday. Ruth maintained the same, humble and determined spirit she had during the war throughout her life, remarking during the 50th anniversary trip in 1996 when she was rewarded for her services that “I didn’t come here to be honored, I came here because I wanted to be in an anti-fascist front” (Davidow). Ruth stayed undeterred by threats from public order or society into her old age, loudly and proudly resisting against every injustice until she passed away in 1999.

Conclusion

A woman of strong convictions and blunt awareness, Ruth Davidow’s decision to assist the fight in Spain was natural. The rise of fascism in Europe and the world was such a deeply personal matter to Ruth as a Jewish, socialist woman in a way that did not afford her the luxury of happily averting her gaze. She knew humanism, understanding that a Spanish or European matter of injustice is about all of us. Bravely, Ruth put her foot down because she knew it was the right thing and that someone had to take on the difficult but important fight against fascism. Despite countless physical and mental blows by Franco and later by the US government, Ruth stubbornly stayed standing. Regardless of backlash and attempts at repression, she refused to be complacent in the eyes of injustice. Ruth is a role model for any and every activist, making injustice her personal enemy and defending it herself wherever it arose. 

 

Sources

Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives. Volunteer of the Week: Ruth Rebecca Davidow. 7 Jan. 2020, www.facebook.com/AbrahamLincolnBrigadeArchives/posts/volunteer-of-the-week-ruth-rebecca-davidowruth-was-born-in-1911-into-a-poor-jewi/2881994938479526/.

Buckner, Noel, et al., directors. The Good Fight: The Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. 1984.

Carroll, Peter N. The Lincoln Brigade and Racial Justice: A Tradition. 22 Mar. 2014, albavolunteer.org/2014/03/the-lincoln-brigade-and-racial-justice-a-tradition/.

Carroll, Peter N. Vernon Wilbert Bown (1917-2012). 2 July 2012, albavolunteer.org/2012/07/vernon-w-bown-1917-2012/.

Delgado, Ray. Ruth Davidow. 6 Feb. 2012, www.sfgate.com/news/article/Ruth-Davidow-3076749.php.

Goldfine, Jael. Meet The Radical Nurse Who Joined The Spanish Civil War. 20 Aug. 2018, forward.com/culture/books/407978/meet-the-radical-nurse-who-joined-the-spanish-civil-war/.

Guthmann, Edward. “They Fought for Ideals in the Spanish Civil War,” in San Francisco Chronicle, May 12, 1991, p. 28.

Keller Selznick, Joan. Personal interview. 9 Nov. 2020.

Newman, Julia, director. Into the Fire- American Women in the Spanish Civil War. First Run Features, 2007.

Patai, Frances. “Heroines of the Good Fight: Testimonies of U.S. Volunteer Nurses in the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939,” in Nursing History Review. Vol. 3, 1995, pp. 79–104.

Kupfer, Peter. Chronicle Staff Writer. Out on the Frontlines in Battle After Battle / For Aging Veterans of the Spanish Civil War, That Voluntary Stint Was Often the First of Many Fights. 29 Jan. 2012, www.sfgate.com/news/article/Out-on-the-Frontlines-in-Battle-After-Battle-2814600.php.

Ruth Davidow. 1 Feb. 2012, www.sfgate.com/news/article/Ruth-Davidow-2919968.php.

Thomas, Mark. Women’s Involvement in Spanish Civil War. 15 May 2018, library.duke.edu/research/student-activism/documents/scw_women.