Elisheva Adler
Professor Maria Hernandez-Ojeda
HONS 2011J – Spanish Civil War in Literature and Film
17 December 2020
Leonard Bertram Levenson: “Lenny”
Personal Statement
This semester, I have had the privilege of taking a course about the Spanish Civil War, taught by Professor Hernández-Ojeda. Prior to taking this course, I had no knowledge about the Spanish Civil War. This semester I have learned about the historical background that led up to the Spanish Civil War and the valiant efforts of the international brigade volunteers to support the Republic and fight the battle against fascism. I have had the honor this semester, to conduct research and delve even further into the life of one of the heroic volunteers of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Mr. Leonard Bertram Levenson. Through my research and interview of Mr. Levenson’s daughter, Joan Cohen, I have gained invaluable insight into the life of Mr. Levenson and feel that his legacy in-conjunction with his fellow ALB volunteers must be immortalized as a means of attesting to their selflessness and courageous actions. I hope that by writing about Mr. Levenson’s life, his legacy and devotion to helping others will be passed on, and hopefully influence others to feel, speak, and act like he did.
Background:
Before deep diving into the life of Mr. Levenson it is important to understand the historical background of this time. In July 1936, a coop was led by a right wing militant group against the newly and democratically elected republic in Spain. The coop was overpowered yet it spiraled Spain into a civil war that would last for approximately three brutal years between Franco’s Nationalists and the Democratic Republic. During this time, the sister democracies, including the United States declared a neutrality pact which enforced non-intervention. This act left the Republic of Spain alone to fend off the Nationalist party which was aided by Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s Italy. As a result, the International Brigades formed, an organization of more than 40,000 men and several hundred women from fifty-two different countries that volunteered to fight alongside the Spanish Republic against Franco’s Nationalists. The Abraham Lincoln Brigade was the American unit of International Brigade volunteers and was compromised of approximately 2,800 men and women. Mr. Levenson belonged to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, and he and his fellow comrades were willing to sacrifice their lives for a cause that obligated a morally inclined societal conscious. One out of every three international brigade members died fighting this “good fight” against the evils of Franco’s regime aided by Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. (Levenson, 1986)
“Lenny” Before War
Lenny, full name Leonard Bertram Levenson, was among the 2800 Americans who volunteered to fight the war against fascism in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Lenny was born on July 2, 1913 in New York City to a Jewish family that had emigrated from Latvia. Lenny was a thoroughly educated individual whereby he achieved his bachelors degree from the City College of New York and a LLB, law degree, from the New York University Law School. Following his academic career he worked for the FBI in Washington D.C as a fingerprint specialist. During this time, Mr. Levenson was strongly affiliated with socialist and communist parties, which he believed to be the purest form of democracy due to their strong desire to enforce socialism and the end of man’s exploitation of other human beings (Searcy, 2017). Lenny witnessed the struggles of his fellow man in Spain and recognized his moral obligation to aid those in need. Therefore, without hesitation, he halted his professional advancement, and selflessly joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, to fight for his ideology of peace, justice, equality, and democracy. (S. 2020)
“Lenny” During the War
In the summer of 1937, Mr. Levenson decided to set out for Spain aboard the Britannic vessel. Lenny told his parents that he was merely going “on tour of Europe” while in fact he was willingly sacrificing his life for his pure and noble ideology. Lenny sailed from Chelsea Piers in New York City to Le Havre, a community in France, where he then traversed the country by train, and ultimately after crossing the Pyrenees mountain range by foot entered Spain. Upon arrival in Spain, Lenny received four months of training before he was relocated to the front lines of the war and witnessed action for the very first time. Lenny, a lieutenant in the ALB, fought in the battle of Fuentes de Ebro , battle of Teruel, and the Great Retreats. Due to the unhygienic war conditions Lenny suffered from lice, scabies, and fleas and was admitted into the hospital in the south of Spain. However, even in his current state and regardless of the fact that he was wounded in action, Lenny continually fought the war against fascism up until the international brigade units were withdrawn from Spain. (Anderson, 1995)
“Lenny” After the War
Lenny returned safely to the United States on December 15,1938 where he married Goldie and had two children Eric and Joan. I had the privilege of interviewing his daughter Joan, who only strengthened the strong sense of character and moral consciousness that defined Mr. Levenson. Unfortunately, similar to many of the Abraham Lincoln brigade volunteers, Lenny experienced harassment upon his return to the United States, especially by the FBI for his political beliefs (Anderson, 1995). Yet, Lenny was not deterred and continued to engage in the worldwide battle against fascism whereby he joined the U.S military and risked his life again in WWII. Lenny also fought for his ideological beliefs by participating in anti-Vietnam rallies in addition to more recent rallies against the war in Iraq (Coale, 2005). Furthermore, Lenny became incredibly politically active as he became a member and ultimately the leader of the Communist party in the United States’s (CPUS) branch in Long Island, NY. Mr. Levenson’s career at International Publishers, a strong Marxist publishing house, in addition to his editorial role of political affairs for the CPUSA’s journal, embodied his strong political and ideological views. Additionally, Mr Levenson remained active as a veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade whereby he was the editor of their newsletter The Volunteer. Lastly, and most importantly, up until his death at the age of 92, Lenny continued his role as an activist and will be remembered as a lifelong socialist and marxist who was dedicated to the struggle of humanity and motivated by a strong moral compass (Lebowitz, 2005).
Lenny’s Legacy:
I started this semester unaware of the historical event that is the Spanish Civil War or its everlasting implications. Through my research of volunteer Leonard Bertram Levenson, or who I feel I have come to know as Lenny, I have been left with an invaluable message about the importance of social consciousness. Being a member of a society, we owe it to each other to be socially conscious, to be aware of the problems within a society and seek to engage rather than evade. The United States in addition to other democratic countries took a stance of non-intervention, whereby they evaded their societal obligation and responsibility to help others in need. The lasting message I have learnt from Mr. Levenson and his fellow volunteers, is the importance of taking action against societal and moral injustices. Today, in our current climate these injustices still exist and as a society we have a choice to either turn a blind eye and feign indifference like so many have done before us, or go against the grain, and follow the lead of Mr. Levenson, and fight for a world blessed with peace, justice, equality, and democracy.
References:
Anderson, L. (1995, April 27). Abraham Lincoln Brigade Survivors Paid Tribute in 58th Year. The Westsider, p. 1.
Coale, B. (2005, December 19). Leonard Leveson (1913-2005). The Volunteer, p. 1.
Lebowitz, A. (2005, October 4). Statement by National E.C of Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (CCDS) [E-mail to G. Malmgreen].
Levenson, Leonard. “U.S. Communists in Spain: A Profile.” Political Affairs LXV, no. 8
(August 1986): 22–28.
Photo Unit #: C060 [Photograph]. (1937, October). Series C: Group Portraits, September 1937-August 1938., Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive. http://sites.dlib.nyu.edu/viewer/photos/11_0729/1
S. (2005, September 15). Len Levenson, 92, fighter for democracy. People’s Weekly World Newspaper Online. Retrieved December 17, 2020, from http://www.pww.org/article/articlereview/7736/1/286/
Searcy, R. (Ed.). Leonard Levenson Papers. Retrieved from http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/alba_151/alba_151.htmlhttp://sites.dlib.nyu.edu/viewer/photos/11_0729/1