Americans in the Spanish Civil War: The Abraham Lincoln Brigade

Blog overview

From 1936 to 1939 about 2,800 Americans, men and women of every background, race and class answered the anti-fascist call of the Spanish Republic and embarked upon a journey across the Atlantic to fight in the Spanish Civil War. This blog series tells their story, sometimes from an individual’s perspective, sometimes from a broader historical context in order to remember their contribution to international solidarity.

Part 4. Memories and Meaning of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade

By Dario Graziano

December 19, 2024

Nancy Wallach is a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archive board (ALBA)and daughter of Hy Wallach, an American volunteer of Jewish-Polish descent that fought in the Spanish Civil War. The following interview took place on October 17th, 2024. Nancy spoke about her father’s experiences in the war and the legacy of the Abraham Lincoln …...

Read More

Part 3. ‘A Closer Look’ at Vaughn Love, an African American in the Spanish Civil War

By Dario Graziano

December 12, 2024

In the rich collections of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives are many stories still waiting to be unveiled or that have received very little to no attention. This blog article, based on my MA thesis research and using sources from the New York University‘s ALB archive, uncovers the unpublished autobiography of Vaughn Love, one of …...

Read More

Part 2. Race, Class and Gender in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade

By Dario Graziano

December 5, 2024

Coming from a country that in the 1930s was already quite multicultural, the Americans who fought in Spain were from a variety of socioeconomic classes and from different (ethnic) backgrounds. Most of them were white working class  men with strong communist convictions, but recent studies are drawing attention to the women and African Americans who …...

Read More

Part 1. The Spirit of Solidarity: A Closer Look at the Abraham Lincoln Brigade

By Dario Graziano

November 28, 2024

From July 1936 to April 1939, the Spanish Republican government waged a war against the fascist forces led by dictator and general Francisco Franco. Twenty-seven nations quickly signed an alliance pledging non-intervention. The United States adopted a position of non-intervention as well, although unofficially. At the same time, Mussolini and Hitler aided Franco with huge …...

Read More
↑