Ross Wheeler
Español 37026

Hunter College-CUNY

Profesora Hernández-Ojeda

James Bernard Rucker

Dos grandes obreros heroicos se enfrentan a las puertas del archivo Tamiment, de NYU; pintado de pie, están como acomodadores hacia los documentos, fotos, pósteres, y artefactos que documentan las causas y condiciones laborales en los Estados Unidos hace dos siglos. Los documentos de la colección de la Brigada Abraham Lincoln fueron el interés de la clase. Después de una introducción, la bibliotecaria demostró los métodos de uso e interpretación por contextualización de los materiales históricos. Inicié una búsqueda de los soldados de Bridada Abraham Lincoln y aprendí, por una colección de papeles recogidos para crear el libro African Americans in the Spanish Civil War: “This Ain’t Ethiopia, But It’ll Do”, que 83 soldados africanos americanos servían en España[1]. El libro me interesó porque el asunto del racismo en América fue (more…)

Laura Montoya

Hons 2011J

Hunter College-CUNY

Professor María Hernández-Ojeda                                                                                                                                             

Jewish Involvement in the Spanish Civil War: The Story of Mark Straus

Personal Statement

          It is not often one gets the chance to go through primary sources and relive the story of such heroic characters. It was an intimidating task at first to think that words would not be sufficient to narrate the memories of a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War and accurately bring their story back to life. While going through the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives list it was difficult to decide whose story I would be brave enough to tell. I chose Mark Straus because, unlike most volunteers, his files extended only to one small box. I concluded that the limited content in the box made telling his story evermore important. When I began going through the materials I realized that there was not one printed document. Instead, it was a composition of hand-written letters from him, family members and friends in French, English and Yiddish.  (more…)

Rafid Amin

HONS 2011J

Hunter College-CUNY

Professor Hernández-Ojeda

Milton Wolff

Personal Statement

                Milton Wolff first caught my eye when I watched the documentary The Good Fight (1984) with classmates in our Spanish Civil War in Literature, Film and Art course, led by Professor Maria Hernandez-Ojeda. We watched the documentary fairly early into the semester and so, I did not know much about the Spanish Civil War yet. At first, I was interested and awed by the fact that we were watching a documentary involving veterans from a war that happened almost eighty years ago. Milton Wolff, as well as several other volunteers of the Abraham Lincoln Brigades, made an appearance and although I knew very little about the war at the time, there was something uplifting about the documentary. Wolff caught my attention as he had a way with words in the documentary and he fully expressed his need, a global need, in fact, to take on fascism during the Spanish Civil War. It was immediately clear to me that Milton Wolff had a perspective on life larger than his own, that he could see a much bigger picture. (more…)

Cassidy Kristal-Cohen                      

HONS2011j

Hunter College-CUNY

Prof. Hernandez-Ojeda

                        Abraham Osheroff: A life of activism and exuberance

                                                Personal Statement

            In my studies of the Spanish Civil War, I frequently found myself making comparisons to what had occurred thirty years later in Nicaragua, during the Sandinista era. The similarities between the two events are striking, and numerous. When I discovered that Abraham Osheroff had fought in the Spanish Civil War during the 1930s, as well as traveled to Nicaragua to build homes during the 1980s— I knew that I wanted to study the progression of his life. Primarily relying on resources from the Tamiment Library archive at NYU, as well as from online publications, I came to understand that Osheroff’s activism expanded far beyond the Spanish Civil War, and Nicaragua. Rather, in seemingly every progressive movement of the 20th century (that he was alive for), Osheroff was present and actively fighting. The more I learned about Osheroff, the more I came to admire, and respect him. In particular, I was drawn to his personal, political philosophy titled “radical humanism”. His articulation of this philosophy has had a lasting impact on how I think about my own political work in terms of lying outside a rigid ideology. Learning about Osheroff’s life has humanized the conflict in Spain, and shown me just how truly exceptional the Abraham Lincoln Brigade volunteers were.

(more…)

Alyssa Fernandes

HONS 2011J

Hunter College-CUNY

Professor Hernández-Ojeda

Charles A. Barr

Personal Statement

            Before this year I had never heard of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and was surprised to discover that these incredible stories, not yet 100 years old, were not shared more frequently. When tasked with researching the life of one Abraham Lincoln Brigade volunteer, I knew it would be difficult to choose one person from the lengthy list of brave women and men. I decided that I would try to uncover the story of someone less known, who perhaps didn’t acquire much fame but still deserved to be acknowledged.

            Within the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, not many interviews or documents detailing the life of Charles A. Barr exist. However, from just a few his recorded quotes, he captivated me with his fearlessness and passion for the Spanish cause. Without wasting time and without any experience in political activism, he got a passport merely weeks after his 18th birthday and left to fight in Spain soon after. (more…)