Visit 12

Earlier in the week, I finally finished off the Lardner folder. The visit before that I had read a great many of his letters when suddenly they stopped and all I had left were letters from others. But before I get to my discovering his death and my reaction, I wanted to write about some things he had said.

This is why the archives are great. You can read passages like this one: "There are still some phases of war that I haven't seen, so that I am not sorry to be returning to the front, but for your comfort it is very unlikely that we shall see action for some time. There is a lot of reorganization and remoralization to be done. One thing that makes me more satisfied with life than ever is that I have a very good idea of what I am going to do with my life."

There are several things I wanted to touch on within this. First, there's the hint that morale was sinking amongst the troops and that structural work had to be undertaken, probably due to loss of lives and dwindling of resources. On a personal note, however, I found that I really identified with Lardner in this passage. I understood that going back to the front meant for him more experiential knowledge and I was glad that that was something for which he was still seeking. I guess I felt similar to him then because I sort of do the same thing--I'll try things just to gain the experience and the knowledge that comes with it. Still, we know Lardner wanted to write. So that might be a reason for his wanting to see more fighting--so that he could accurately render the experience. I was really glad when I read that he thought he'd found a clear direction for his life from then on. I'm always hoping I'll reach a moment like that in my life and it's gratifying to see that it does happen for some people. At the same time, it's infinitely sad. Just as he finds he understands himself and his purpose, his life is cut short. It's very tragic--so tragic that it's literary. There's even a term for it in Greek--anagnorisis--the point of recognition of one's identity; knowledge that comes too late and is often followed by tragedy.

The last letter we have in the folder is dated September 19th, 1938, and its last sentence reads: "This is not a very cheerful letter but I will do better next time." As I scanned the last folders I realized there was no next time. To me, that last letter set an oppressively sad tone. I may have started crying then or it may have been after John Murra's letter. Murra's letter was perfect. It was addressed to Lardner's mother and told all about James' adventures and accomplishments in Spain, how kind and intelligent he was. That part was about three-fourths of the letter. The revelation of James' death was subtle and sort of indirect, followed by a statement that there was nothing more to say of it. After I had gotten over the shock of James' death and went back the second time to finish the folder, I looked at Murra's letter again and tried to imagine a mother receiving that letter. And then I tried to imagine John Murra, lying in a hospital bed in Spain attempting to write a condolence letter to the mother of one of his closest friends now dead. I just think this series of letters is a great microcosm of the suffering experienced by every American volunteer and family wrapped up in the Spanish Civil War. But it doesn't stop there. It points further toward toward the tragedy of the Spanish people, and even further into the future when innocent civilians all over the world were ravaged and devastated by fascism.

Questions have been coming to me now about the relevance of the Spanish Civil War. I envy that generation for their activism and their passion, and in a strange way, for the great evil they witnessed in their time. For at least they could identify that evil and fight it. In our time, there is no clear enemy, no obvious manifestation of the darker side of human nature. How can we carry on the fight? To where has fascism slipped away? And is it growing, ready to emerge in a new twenty-first century form?

Visit 11

As requested, the last time I visited the archive I checked out the Good Fight box hours before actually seeing the film. Another student was using the box when I came in. I asked what folders were interesting since the box was pretty big and I had about an hour and a half to read after walking over from work.

The first interesting thing I looked at was a letter from Clute Wilton's father to the Secretary. His letter began with an impressive opening where he recounts his family's involvement in patriotic wars: a father in the Civil War, a great, great grandfather in the Revolutionary War, two sons in the Great War, and one currently fighting in Spain. The rest of Mr. Wilton's letter serves to connect his son's current fighting in Spain to the values and spirit of those fighting in the other American wars mentioned: "He has asked me to write to you, to ask you in the name of all that is fine and true and great in our American tradition to please give the Spanish government just a fair chance. " He says that his son has informed him that ammunition from America is killing American soldiers in Spain while "we do not permit the real government of Spain to buy ammunition from us." He calls this policy "one of the most inhumane, diabolical, and un-American practices I have ever heard of." I just thought this letter was interesting because it connected Spain's cause with America's in a way that I haven't seen before. And after having seen the movie last night it reminds me of a quote from one of the veterans: "The government wasn't representing the thoughts of the people."

This becomes very disconcerting when studying the American opinion of the Spanish Civil War because, as far I as I can think, this may have been the first time where the government deliberately ignored the will of the people, rendering the premise and the promise of our government to represent the people barren. Vietnam was the first wide-spread instance of this. Was the Spanish Civil War its precursor?

I ask the question because there was a folder that really obscures the answer to the question. The folder was called Franco's Fascism or something like that. I began to read an article called "Life in Nationalist Spain" dated October 1937 from the publication The Commonweal. Reading the first paragraph, I wrote down a quote that I thought was particularly laudatory of the Republican side: "it is not only the courage of his troops that is winning the war but the magnificent organization and cooperation of civilians of all classes." As I continued reading, I realized there was something wrong with my comprehension of the article, for it was turning pro-Franco. I looked at the quote again and picked out "his troops"--Franco's. This shocked me. It was the first of many shocks I would receive reading through the publications in this folder. I remember I was extremely tired when I got into the archive, but my indignation woke me up. I became absorbed in this folder and actually didn't get to look at anything else.

To answer the quote above, we know that Franco's army was not a cooperative coalition of all civilian classes. It was of the upper classes. And the troops weren't even civilian--a good fraction were foreigners. Many outrageous statements followed that were either untrue or scarily close to descriptions of fascism. In fact, there was an entire article with the aim of proving that Franco's Spain was not fascist--but contained several descriptions that fit exactly the fascist model.

This is the worst: "The mission of the new state according to General Franco himself is the establishment of social justice in Spain according to the teachings of the Catholic Church. AS the means necessary to fulfill this mission the state must be organized in the best and most efficient way, it must posses unity and hierarchy, it must be guaranteed stability and independence from party politics ... If there are any rights suppressed it will be the 'rights' of irresponsible agitators to incite mobs to burn and to loot." Two things particularly stand out: 1) "independence from party politics"--this statement effectively categorizes Franco's state exactly in place with the rest of the single-party states of that time and the rest of the twentieth century. 2) The fact that the author feels the need to mention and justify "rights suppressed"--"if there are any"--sends a signal to the discerning reader that this action is much more sinister than the defensive author aims to let on.

These were just a couple of examples of unsettling statements found in these publications. It was extremely interesting to me to find these papers because I now wonder if a large segment of the population believed these articles and helped to cancel out the voice of the pro-Republican activists.

Visit 10

My last visit to the archive just about finished James Lardner's folder. I would have read the rest but Tamiment was closing. I plan to finish it off next time. I did get to find out that James didn't make it, which I could have found out by reading a finding aid, I suppose, but I feel as if you always forget whether the person you're reading from died there or not. You don't remember the fact and it doesn't become real until you read the actual letters of condolences. Because you almost feel like they're still alive, when reading the letters. It's much more heartbreaking, then, to read through a box without knowing the outcome. Sometimes I chide myself for not researching the person more before I start reading, but I think I will stop that because, in not knowing, the series of letters becomes so moving.

This folder, Folder 4 Aug-Sept 1938, opened sort of dramatically with postcards indicating to the recipients that Lardner had been wounded. I would just like to compliment whoever arranged the folder this way because the next piece of correspondence was a letter to Mrs. Lardner explaining the exact details of the event, those details for which I had immediately begun to search after the first brief postcards piqued my anxiety for Lardner. The arrangement, therefore, was actually exciting and satisfying. Weird experience, I guess.

As early as September 2, 1938 Lardner knew that Spain was preparing to release the International Brigades: "This paragraph is confidential and possibly inaccurate. From a number of events and opinions and rumors I gather that a gradual and lengthy process of removing the I.B. from Spain has begun. Herbert Matthews, N.Y. Times correspondent...says he thinks it will take six months or so." This excerpt reveals that at least the war correspondents and journalists had access to this sort of confidential information early. I guess it's just surprising to me reading these letters how much information was available and known by the troops. I mean, contrast this war with WWI, where the soldiers barely knew what they were fighting for. In Spain you'd think that foreigners volunteering there would have no ideas whatsoever about the larger picture, but in this war they do. I guess it speaks for the political commitment and international outlook of the volunteers. Because they were passionate they were knowledgeable.

I was going to write about James Lardner's death and my reaction but I think I will save what I have for next blog post after I've finished the last few documents in the box. I want to sort of close totally on the subject. So I need the totality of the information.

Visit 9

One of the greatest benefits of reading Lardner's letters is coming across lines where he's spot on in his analysis of the world situation. Because he's a writer, he knows how to convey these ideas in an effective way, which he's constantly doing because the main interlocutor out of the folders is his skeptical and reluctant mother.

In one very interesting letter he defends the Soviet Union, but not unconditionally, while taking stabs at the policies of the U.S. Lardner seems to have a more realistic attitude about Russia than we might expect: "there may not be the same kind of freedom of speech as in the United States, but you have to remember that the Russians are carrying through a project which was generally considered impossible when they started." Not only does he present Russia's situation with nuance, he also seems to know enough about the economy and demography of Russia to know that, based on those two subjects, it was one of the least likely of the powerful countries to be able to carry out a Marx-inspired revolution at that time in Europe.

We don't have the letters Mrs. Lardner wrote back but we get an idea of her arguments through reading Lardner's responses. Apparently, Mrs. Lardner tried to make the case that much progress had been made back home. Perhaps this was the view of many in the country. Lardner counters, "As for the progress made in your lifetime in the public attitude toward the exploitation of labor, et al., it seems to me that the simultaneous progress in the number of unemployed makes it look rather empty. Not to mention the number of wars." Here, Larder really cuts into the U.S., making good points about its failures and hypocrisy. Perhaps this disillusionment with their country and its failures to serve them and their loved ones was what drove so many young Americans to become internationalists, concerned not just for their own freedom and well-being, but for that of citizens across the continents.

Again Lardner shows great insight into the international situation as evacuation time draws nearer. He writes to his mother, "Don't pay any attention to the non-intervention committee. There is not chance of Hitler's or Mussolini's withdrawing support from Franco before it is all over..." This was interesting to me because I hasn't thought about whether there actually was a committee for non-intervention and whether they published any of their own news or propaganda. Still, it's clear from this excerpt that whoever spread this news was not to be believed. Maybe there was a lot of false information and false hope circulating at the time.

Towards the very end of one of the correspondence folders, there's this prediction: "It looks as if it would drag on here until some big change in the international situation decides the outcome. Fortunately almost any change would favor us." These lines, to me, are so regrettably sad. One, because they are so true. Two, because they reveal still how much optimism was possessed by the Americans who believed in and fought for this cause. Larder was right. The international situation would decide the outcome. And he was right that almost any change would benefit the Republicans. But there was no change. The war did drag on, and the world watched and said nothing as Franco finally marched into Madrid.

Visit 8

So my new guy has been James Lardner. Last time, I read the second folder in his box and this time I got through at least one more--it may have been two; I forget. I skipped the first one because it pre-dated his enlistment in the war and I wanted to jump into his service in Spain. As of now, I plan to go back to those papers. I think they may be more interesting after I know what happens to him during the war.

I don't know if Lardner ended up writing any literature as a result of his experiences but I'm reading the letters hoping that something shows up. If not, I'm doing the same thing that I would with any other volunteer. And I really like reading Lardner's letters because he's a writer. He's perceptive and intelligent and a lot of the time his analyses match up exactly with what historians have said about the same subjects.

In the letters Lardner says he's become a corporal and commands four men, 3 of whom are Spaniards. This was new for me. Thus far, I haven't come across explicit instances where Americans and Spaniards fight together. I thought the Americans fought with the Americans and the Spaniards with the Spaniards. I know that they fought under command of mixed nationality, but I didn't think the mixing went on below those upper ranks. Lardner did mention the boys were in their teens. Maybe that had to do with it. Maybe they weren't actually soldiers, just boys recruited from the local village?

Something very interesting to read was Lardner's justification of communists and their ideology. Of course the mother's letters are not available but it's clear that much of Lardner's letters are written as a response to arguments his mother puts forth against communism--which is very interesting. Even though her son is risking his life in Spain for a lot of these ideas, the mother doesn't give unconditional support without criticism. Instead, they argue. I've been very interested, since I've started reading these letters, in what the other American opinions were concerning the Spanish Civil War, communism, the Soviet Union, etc. Most of what we've been reading has taken the communist perspective. Therefore, these letters were extremely interesting because, through Lardner's counter-arguments, one can identify the initial objections and learn the opinions of someone holding an opposing view to that which I have been used to reading.

Lardner says: "In the first place"--which is indicative of an argumentative response--"it is not the goal of the Communist Party in any country to establish socialism or communism by violent overthrow of the government" but rather "to win the people over to their way of thinking by peaceful, organizational methods." Lardner recognizes, however, that violence does play a role in the communist struggle and justifies it by pointing out that force is simply the means through which opponents of communism maintain power. Therefore, communists are forced to fight back with force.

I'm unsure whether 1) this is really the official reason for the prominence of violence in communist ideology or at least propaganda or whether 2) this does not match up with official doctrine and is just Lardner's justification to his mother and maybe to himself. It sort of is sophisticated reasoning, however, and I would prefer myself that the first of the two options is the true one.

Lardner quoted negative stereotypes about communists which I thought I should record: "dirty bomb-throwing foreigners etc." Sounds like Bolshevik? What significance does this hold for the history of that time?

Video History

Since I went to stay with a friend for the weekend and was away from the archive, I thought I would bring along with me the complimentary DVD to the Facing Fascism exhibition. I've been wanting to watch it, but I never really sat down to do so until now. Needless to say, I'm very happy now that I've seen it. I guess what struck me about all the testimonies was the degree to which these people were involved in Republican Spain's cause, whether actively, ideologically, or emotionally. It's easy to tell from the interviews that the Spanish Civil War had a great effect on the interviewees' lives, which is really interesting considering these were Americans sympathizing with the problems of one European country.

I admire them for seeing in the Spanish Civil War what no one else at the time did--or at least not the democratic governments--that, complicated though it was, there was something of a dichotomous fight raging in this war between something more desirable for mankind and something that was not. I choose these terms to describe the sides because I don't want to simplify the war down to good vs. evil. No war is ever that simple. But I do mean to say that this war came closest to that description than any I can think of. And that's reflected in the interviewees' testimonies. One of the most poignant segments of the DVD for me was the "When the War Was Over..." segment. There were two interviews placed one after another that were really moving: Irving Schiller's and Amy Swerdlow's. Schiller seemed reach back into his feelings at the time and his words in the video were strong. He pointed to Spain as the place where fascism could have been stemmed. He said Hitler ruined the entire 20th century. It's a grand statement to make, but a quick reflection proved to me that it could be argued. Amy Swerdlow said, "Spain was a pure cause--for me." I think this quote must have summed up what many Republican supporters felt at the time. So Spain had a big effect on those who followed its convulsions. A quote from Abe Asheroff that I particularly loved: "And Spain was the place where I learned that I didn't have to know that I was gonna win in order to fight."

If I may comment on the video in its entirety, something I really liked about it was the tone of the ending, which was set by the interviewees. Vera Schiller said more than once that we're still trying to find a better way to run the world. Ultimately, I thought the video sustained a sense of tragedy that, when it came to the end, lingered. Thinking back on the testimonies, one questions whether we've moved very far since the Spanish Civil War, since that defining moment, where we capitulated.

Visit 7

In the previous visit I had satisfied myself with Archie Brown and was ready to move on. I think I have a good grasp now of the average experience of an American International Brigadier. I guess at this point I should feel lost as to what direction I should take regarding my project, but my natural interests are pointing me towards something to do with art. Because I have experience already with analyzing the art of propaganda, I'm thinking I might want to shy away from that now and focus on either formal visual art or literature. What intrigues me most about the Spanish Civil War is its impact on the people who lived through it. Impact is expressed through art. This is what I'd like to study--how people expressed the myriad of complicated issues and feelings engendered in this war.

Having more or less decided on this general direction, I started looking up names of creative people who were involved in the American volunteer brigades. I ordered a box of Ralph Fasanella's but upon looking through it, I found that the contents were mostly correspondence from later dates, which I was not interested in right then. The finding aid online says there should be more to the collection but I wasn't to figure out whether I had to order a different box number. I ended up just looking at the James Lardner Papers' finding aid and, seeing it contained 1930's correspondence, just ordered that instead.

Lardner was part of a family of writers. I read that he died in Spain. With the confusion over which box to get, I wasn't able to read very much and I plan on picking it up again next time--but I did notice the recurrence of some themes I've been keeping track of in the other letters.

Optimism: [About Valencia] "...and I don't think it will ever be conquered. there are too many people here who are fighting for things they believe in, and too few on the other side."

Scarce resources: "Four days in Barcelona were enough for me to see that there is not much chance of my getting into the artillery just now. There are too many trained men and not enough guns."

The finding aid said that someone (I forget who now) said of Lardner: he was the las to enlist in Spain and he was the last to die. I think this is a very powerful statement about the nature of the war and I hope to come back to it after I've read more from Lardner's papers.

Visit 6

Monday when I went to the archive, I decided to call back the Archie Brown Papers and bring that inquiry to a kind of conclusion. Since I wasn't able to read the full sequence of letters in my last visit, I started at the chronological end of his civil war correspondence and worked backwards. First, I wanted to know when they actually left versus when he knew they would be leaving. Last time the letters that mentioned the Americans' departure were dated in October. This time I found that they actually left sometime after December 22. I don't know whether this has any special significance; whether it indicates anything. I do remember, however, Brown saying that the French government was particularly unhelpful, which he marked as ironic since one would think that the French would want American volunteers out of Spain, since that policy would line up with their policy of non-intervention.

Something that was prominent in Brown's letters was the scarcity of resources--not only military resources but ordinary resources for civilians like food and soap. On October 18th he describes the great new lodging they've been given: "At the present moment I'm living practically in the lap of luxury... [descriptive paragraph]... But you can't get a damn thing to eat." That last line is actually enjambed to a second paragraph for extra stress. These lines reminded me of a paragraph in a previous letter: "Bimbo along with others went out to work the fields. The peasants are elated--there has been such a lack of man power. It's a shame to see the way the countryside is ladened with food and cannot be picked and the cities and the people generally are rationed." This is an issue I hadn't thought about but it makes perfect sense. Men are resources. A country needs them to fight but also to work. When men are trained well but ill-equipped, the casualties are higher than they should be. Thus, the country lost men at too great a rate. The frustrating issue, however, is that this loss was not the Republicans' fault. How could they equip their soldiers without being able to buy weapons?

What continues to surprise me in these letters is the examples of optimism I find. The volunteers can be discouraged, but they cannot be completely disheartened. Brown says, "Well we are finally on our way. We're sorry that we had to leave Spain before the struggle has been settled--but since we can do more good on the outside--it is better to be home working than in the rearguard of Spain waiting." Thus, Brown assumes the fight will continue on and he will continue to fight, if not in Spain, at home.

I think many Americans thought the war would go on longer than it did. That's what I've found in most of the letters I've read, at least. Even in Hemingway's play the main character predicts the war will go on for much longer. I wonder why the Americans felt this way when most Spaniards seemed to know that the end was near.