Fiona Weinstein

Maria Hernandez-Ojeda

The Spanish Civil War in Art, Literature and Film

18 December 2020

Volunteer Aaron Hilkevitch

 

Unwavering Commitment to Freedom: Aaron Hilkevitch

 

Personal Statement

As a student of political science and human rights, I was especially interested in the circumstances and psychology that encouraged the volunteers of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade to take up arms and fight against Fransisco Franco and his fascist army in the Spanish Civil War. While taking into consideration the affects and conditions produced by the Great Depression that preceded the Spanish Civil War, it is still valiantly impressive that Americans and other nationalities outside of Spain were willing to lay down their life to fight fascism. Additionally, many of my studies in this semester have overlapped which allowed me to examine fascism in places like Nazi Germany, which bears many similarities to the Spanish situation and helps me to contextualize these phenomenons. The Spanish Civil War happened within the interwar period in Europe, meaning between the first and second World Wars. The rise of fascism during this time was symptomatic of sentiments and anti-progressive reactions that were brewing long before World War I. The implementation of new governments, regimes and constitutions, such as those in Spain and Germany after World War I which promised minority rights and steps towards equality underlined everything the fascists resented. Aaron Hilkevitch was surely aware of these issues, as he committed his life to anti-fascism. I must also assume that Hilkevitch possessed a special insight into the psychological phenomenon of fascism with him being a psychiatrist, which was the first thing that compelled me to investigate his time in the Spanish Civil War, and his life devoted to anti-fascism both before and after the war.

Hilkevitch’s Life Before the War

Aaron Hilkevitch was born in Odessa, Russia, where his father, Benjamin Hilkevitch worked as a doctor and a member of the Menshevik Party (Jensen). The Menshevik Party was part of the Russian Socialist Movement, and originally part of the Bolshevik Party but the two split in 1903 after establishing differences in governing styles. Although both could agree on their primary goal of the destruction of capitalism, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, wanted a tight, organized group of highly committed members of the party who followed orders as given, which would make more difficult any infiltration by the Tsarist police (at the time of the split the Tsar still controlled Russia). The Mensheviks, led by Martov, preferred a democratically organized party that was less tightly regulated and where members were free to engage in discussions on differing points. Additionally, the Mensheviks were inclined to work with the Russian liberals, who are more centrist than socialists and communists (Cavendish). After the revolution is February of 1917 in Russia, the Mensheviks were part of the provisional government, but in the October Revolution of that same year, the Bolsheviks and the Soviets toppled the provisional government and gained control over Russia (MIA). After the Bolsheviks assumed power, the Hilkevitchs fled Russia and headed to what is now Istanbul, then to Massachusetts, and soon after, to Chicago (Jensen).

In an interview with Judy Hoffman, Aaron Hilkevitch describes his entire life as having a constant radical inclination, there was not one instance or experience that flipped on a switch. One can assume that his father’s experience in the socialist Mensheviks and both of their connections to Russia which was undertaking socialist and communist revolution as Hilkevitch was growing up. Further, Hilkevitch was raised in Chicago, Illinois where he followed in his father’s legacy and joined the Young People’s Communist League (Jensen). His upbringing in Humboldt Park was liberal and exposed him to artists who influenced his engagement in antifascism. Many of the residents in his community were also immigrants, which meant it was not unusual to be a leftist. Once Hilkevitch left for college at the University of Chicago, his connections to his activist groups somewhat diminished, but he continued to stay active. One experience Hilkevich shared in his interview with Hoffman was that while he was in college, the cafeteria would not allow people to sit in the area who did not buy lunch. Of course, because this was during the Great Depression, many students at the time were bringing their own lunches. Hilkevitch organized a campaign against the cafeteria rules and they eventually reached a compromise that if students bought a coffee, they could sit in the cafeteria (Hoffman). After undergrad, Hilkevitch went to the University of Illinois Medical School (Jensen). During the beginning of his education, Hilkevitch helped organize a strike to protest against low wages and outright withholding of wages of high school teachers at the time. This upset the educational bureaucrats and the medical school attempted rescind his acceptance by informing him that the school reevaluated his application and decided he was in fact, unqualified. Hilkevitch did not accept this rightist stronghold, and fought for the position to be retracted, and he succeeded. Yet, he describes his time in medical school as one of the least radical times in his life because he was focused on school. As Hilkevitch was making his way through medical school, the world was experiencing the Great Depression of the 1930s and the rise of fascism in Europe. After medical school, Hilkevitch was interning at Cook County Hospital. During the internship, Hilkevitch caught word that the antifascists needed doctors to go to Spain. He described his immediate reaction to join the army as a sense of duty in which he had no other choice (Hoffman), despite the fact that “he had no training as a battlefield surgeon” (Jensen). And since he had no responsibilities at that time–except his internship–he headed out to Spain to fight the fascists. Subsequently, the internship ended early (Hoffman).

The Spanish Civil War 

While many American volunteers had to go through extrajudicial means such as crossing the border between France and Spain, either through boat or through the mountains, Hilkevitch was able to fly to Paris and then take a train to Barcelona. Those who had to cross the border were volunteers who did not have a passport, while Hilkevitch had one. Often, crossing the border by boat often resulted in being torpedoed, which made it very dangerous. Once Hilkevitch arrived in Spain, he went straight to Albacete, which was the headquarters of the International Brigades. The brigades attracted all different kinds of people, there were adventures–people who went for the experience, there were a lot of union members who likely resinated with the fight for socialist values, and there were also intellectual who came to fight. Despite the abstract reason for each volunteer’s official decision to go to Spain, together they were united against fascism. Hilkevitch describes this phenomenon as communal and explains that it was nice to be a part of something bigger than the individual. On this theme of communality, members of the bridges disliked wearing their insignias which distinguished them hierarchically. Since they were communists they felt that they were all equal and this conflicted with that notion (Hoffman).

As for many anti-fascists, going to war was for nothing more than resisting fascism and protecting freedoms. According to Dr. Robert Galatzer-Levy, a colleague who did his residency under Hilkevitch at the University of Chicago, Hilkevitch never glorified the war, he understood the horrors of it and “had no illusions about that” (Jensen). This is a good example of how Hilkevitch was truly committed to communism and helping others on the basis of fundamental freedoms that can only be achieved through communal struggle. Additionally, it is interesting to look at this aspect of Hilkevitch specifically because it shows the difference between the leftists and the rightists in the interwar period and throughout World War II (WWII). Hannah Arendt in Origins of Totalitarianism discusses the psychology of the fascist masses in Germany, but it is also very applicable to the Spanish nationalists. Specifically, many fascists in Europe before WWII fought in the First World War or grew up with that influence in their homes (Arendt). This experience with war did not make them resentful of the experience, instead they reveled in it (328). They thought that bringing back wartime would help restore the their hierarchical places in society that came before the introduction of liberal and minority rights in the Weimar Republic (329). These circumstances were extremely similar to the ones that produced a fascist uprising in Spain in the interwar period. So, for Hilkevitch to declare his time served in Spain as not something to be romanticized, it really helps distinguish the leftist view that violence is sometimes necessary for protection of freedom, from the far-right view that violence is a means of maintaining old societal hierarchies.

Unwavering Commitment to Freedom

These sentiments of protection, communalism and willingness for the potential sacrifice of livelihood for the common good was something that followed Hilkevitch in his medical work after his service in the Spanish Civil War. Additionally, he did also serve in the Army during WWII as a chief of psychiatry stateside. Of course, this further shows his commitment to anti-fascist work. However, he also continued communistic this work back in Chicago. Hilkevitch set up a private psychiatry practice in the city and dove into his Freudian psychoanalytical work. According to Hilkevitch’s daughter, Victoria Bedford, patients who couldn’t pay the fee for treatment received it anyway. Hilkevitch also contributed his time and services to the Uptown Free Clinic in Chicago in the 1960s, and he was one of 41 arrested for protesting unfair labor hours at the outpatient section of the Uptown Clinic (Jensen). Additionally, Abraham Aamidor, in “Shockwaves,” pieces together the story of his brother, Yehoshua Chaim Rosenberg, or Sydney, born in Warsaw, Poland in 1936, who eventually crossed paths with Hilkevitch (Aamidor 30). Sydney, his father and his mother did not escape the war as did the rest of the family (30). While the family thankfully survived the war and eventually came to the United States, the experience of being Jewish in WWII was extremely traumatizing, especially for Sydney (30). Sydney was briefly enlisted in the US military, before being Generally discharged, with a letter from a supervisor saying that he should seek a doctor’s assistance (32). It is very likely that this psychological trouble was brought on by his experience with growing up during the Holocaust, and the outright horrors that were administered against him and other Jews; another testament to what the anti-fascists were fighting against. Further, Sydney eventually was referred to Hilkevitch at the Galesburg Hospital because treatment was free and accessible (32). Unfortunately, Aamidor disagrees with the diagnosis given by Hilkevitch that labeled Sydney as schizophrenic rather than having mass trauma PTSD, which was a common misdiagnosis at the time (32). Aamidor describes a weakness in Freudian psychoanalysis called countertransference, which discusses the feelings a therapist or psychiatrist has towards their clients (Good Therapy). Despite this purported diagnoses, Hilkevitch’s principals as a communist were clearly intended, which were to help people who could benefit from his skills even if they could not pay.

Hilkevitch’s life is a testament to the ability that people possess to commit to something that they believe in. Hilkevitch was raised as a communist and continued that work in all parts of his life. It is extremely impressive that Hilkevitch stuck to his convictions, especially considering the violent backlash that communists were receiving in the United States during the period of McCarthyism that followed the Spanish Civil War and outlasted World War II. I wonder, however, if somehow his involvement in WWII as a chief of psychiatry somehow alleviated some of that aggression. Regardless, against the will of Franco, Hitler, and United States, volunteers of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade stayed strong in their beliefs in communism and their commitment to freedom. It is inspiring to see people who are willing to use their small, individual bodies and minds to stand up for their beliefs, even against all odds. To continue those convictions throughout one’s life is even more inspiring. It shows that if one person can make a difference in other people’s life, imagine what kind of a difference the collective could make in each other’s lives. It is a shame that socialism and communism were violently labeled as a “bad word” during McCarthyism. Especially because all it really advocates for is people getting what they need, not what they can pay for. But history is full of a general trend of two steps forward, one step back, and the capitalistic powers that be are indeed, powerful. However, as we look forward at the state of this world and we see similarities of populist movements today to those in the interwar period in Europe, concerns, of course, arise. Just as the Spanish Civil War was fought between two sides that wanted to either preserve tradition or extend freedoms, current circumstances mimic such relationships. Meaning, as tensions rise between the left and the right again, the world should be aware that lack of proactivity is dangerous. When the traditional powers are ruptured and a path is cleared for some other form to take power, it could be replaced with something good or evil, assuming we agree on what is good and what is evil. In no attempt to be too abstract, the point is better underlined by the encouragement for us all, myself included, to follow Aaron Hilkevitch and his fellow Abraham Lincoln Brigade volunteers and fight for what is right and what will be in the best interest for everyone in the end.

Aaron Hilkevitch and his involvement in antifascist militancy during the Spanish Civil War was inspiring for many reasons. Namely, for his willingness to sacrifice his life to resist fascism in a place that he could not directly see the affects of from the comfort of him home. After the war, Hilkevitch went on to exhibit these same antifascist tendencies in his work in the psychiatric field through allowing patients to be seen who could not pay, as well as continuing to protest against injustices. His commitment to communist ideologies and sentiments are inspiring to anyone who feels like this world could be better. Further, it shows that little deeds of individuals can make a difference in other people’s lives, and of course begs the question of what would this world look like if everyone (or at least most people) lived to benefit others. Lastly, the overall fascist movements in Europe in the interwar period and during WWII leave us all with the reminder that things like that happened as a result of economic and imperial crises, and they can happen again. Not to sound too alarmist, but if the situation arises again, I hope there will be people like Hilkevitch and the other Abraham Lincoln Brigade volunteers who are proactive in fighting for what is just.

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Aamidor, A. (n.d.). Shockwaves. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://arkreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/51.1-Apr-2020-Aamidor-Shockwaves.pdf

Arendt, H. (1985). Preface to Part Three. In The Origins of Totalitarianism (pp. 305-388). San Diego, NY, London: Harcourt Brace.

Cavendish, R. (2003, November). The Bolshevik-Menshevik Split. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/bolshevik-menshevik-split

Good Therapy. (2019, September 25). Countertransference. Retrieved December 18, 2020, from https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/countertransference

Hoffman, J. (1996, January 01). Aaron Hilkevitch interview. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://mediaburn.org/video/aaron-hilkevitch-interview/

Jensen, T. (2008, October 7). AARON HILKEVITCH: 1912 – 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2008-10-07-0810060590-story.html

MIA: Encyclopedia of Marxism. (n.d.). Menshevik Party. Retrieved December 18, 2020, from https://www.marxists.org/glossary/orgs/m/e.htm