Delmer Berg, Last U.S. Survivor of the Spanish Civil War, Dead at 100
April 1, 2016 4:51 PM Subscribe
The Death of the Last Veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. "Delmer Berg, 100, was one of the Americans who volunteered to fight Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War, and he never stopped fighting for leftist causes." Berg died on February 28, 2016. The war ended 77 years ago today.
Author Adam Hochschild has written a history about the Americans who volunteered to fight in the war: "Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939"
Here's an adapted excerpt from the book on American oil giant Texaco's support for Franco's regime: The Oilman Who Loved Dictators, Or How Texaco Supported Fascism
Recent interviews with Hochschild:
Fresh Air: In Many Ways, Author Says, Spanish Civil War Was 'The First Battle Of WWII'
Democracy Now: "Spain in Our Hearts": Adam Hochschild's New Book Gives Life to the Americans Who Fought Fascism
Fueling Fascism: The Secret History of How Texaco Supplied Oil to Fascists in Spain
Another piece by Hochschild: Berkeley’s Bravest: The Cal Scholar Who Inspired Hemingway’s Spanish Civil War Hero
Speaking of Ernest: Hemingway’s forgotten Spanish civil war play to be produced for only second time ever. "The Fifth Column," now revived for the first time in 70 years, is fascinating for what it reveals about the author
Another war story: My Dad’s Spanish Civil War Secret Tore Our Family Apart: Eunice Lipton grew up fascinated by her charismatic Uncle Dave, who died in the Spanish Civil War. That fascination turned to fury when she found out how her father had wronged him.
Author Adam Hochschild has written a history about the Americans who volunteered to fight in the war: "Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939"
Here's an adapted excerpt from the book on American oil giant Texaco's support for Franco's regime: The Oilman Who Loved Dictators, Or How Texaco Supported Fascism
Recent interviews with Hochschild:
Fresh Air: In Many Ways, Author Says, Spanish Civil War Was 'The First Battle Of WWII'
Democracy Now: "Spain in Our Hearts": Adam Hochschild's New Book Gives Life to the Americans Who Fought Fascism
Fueling Fascism: The Secret History of How Texaco Supplied Oil to Fascists in Spain
Another piece by Hochschild: Berkeley’s Bravest: The Cal Scholar Who Inspired Hemingway’s Spanish Civil War Hero
Speaking of Ernest: Hemingway’s forgotten Spanish civil war play to be produced for only second time ever. "The Fifth Column," now revived for the first time in 70 years, is fascinating for what it reveals about the author
Another war story: My Dad’s Spanish Civil War Secret Tore Our Family Apart: Eunice Lipton grew up fascinated by her charismatic Uncle Dave, who died in the Spanish Civil War. That fascination turned to fury when she found out how her father had wronged him.
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posted by Pope Guilty at 5:38 PM on April 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Pope Guilty at 5:38 PM on April 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
Huh. No mention of the brigade in Lincoln's Wiki page.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:02 PM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:02 PM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
homunculus: "John McCain on Delmer Berg: Salute to a Communist"
Jesus, that was really good. Why can't McCain be the writer of that piece, instead of the pinheaded caricature he plays on TV?
posted by notsnot at 6:29 PM on April 1, 2016 [20 favorites]
Jesus, that was really good. Why can't McCain be the writer of that piece, instead of the pinheaded caricature he plays on TV?
posted by notsnot at 6:29 PM on April 1, 2016 [20 favorites]
Some say that communism is not cool. Many others say that fascism is even less cool.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 7:26 PM on April 1, 2016
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 7:26 PM on April 1, 2016
Not everyone who fought in the Abraham Lincoln brigades was a communist. Not all the rest were anarchists, either. The people who fought Franco were complicated.
posted by corb at 7:39 PM on April 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by corb at 7:39 PM on April 1, 2016 [2 favorites]
Highly recommend the 1984 documentary about the ALB, "The Good Fight", which features interviews with a number of volunteers - whatever America and whatever world those folks were fighting for is the one that I want to live in. They uniformly radiate compassion, humor, righteous rage at injustice, and an earthy humanity that is deeply inspiring.
As things deteriorate politically in the US again, I regularly think about a quote from Paul Robeson that is on the Brigade Memorial in San Francisco:
"The artist must take sides. He must elect to fight for freedom or for slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative."
Thanks and deep respect to Delmer Berg and to everyone who saw fascism for what it was, and tried to grab it by the throat.
posted by ryanshepard at 7:57 PM on April 1, 2016 [19 favorites]
As things deteriorate politically in the US again, I regularly think about a quote from Paul Robeson that is on the Brigade Memorial in San Francisco:
"The artist must take sides. He must elect to fight for freedom or for slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative."
Thanks and deep respect to Delmer Berg and to everyone who saw fascism for what it was, and tried to grab it by the throat.
posted by ryanshepard at 7:57 PM on April 1, 2016 [19 favorites]
For some reason, my brain read the headline as "Spanish American War," and I was all, WTF?
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 8:08 PM on April 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 8:08 PM on April 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
.
posted by Mister Bijou at 11:18 PM on April 1, 2016
posted by Mister Bijou at 11:18 PM on April 1, 2016
Vaya con dios, "premature anti-fascist."
posted by Captain l'escalier at 4:54 AM on April 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Captain l'escalier at 4:54 AM on April 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
If he did this today he would be on a drone assassination hit list for a few weeks and then he would die young. Sometimes I sort of wish I had been born a hundred years ago.
posted by bukvich at 6:25 AM on April 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by bukvich at 6:25 AM on April 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
Sometimes I sort of wish I had been born a hundred years ago.
Yeah. I hear you. I was lucky enough to be born 78 years ago. And though I have achieved much during these years, I fully recognize just how LUCKY I have been.
posted by notreally at 7:49 AM on April 2, 2016 [4 favorites]
Yeah. I hear you. I was lucky enough to be born 78 years ago. And though I have achieved much during these years, I fully recognize just how LUCKY I have been.
posted by notreally at 7:49 AM on April 2, 2016 [4 favorites]
.
posted by doctornemo at 10:44 AM on April 2, 2016
posted by doctornemo at 10:44 AM on April 2, 2016
On the counterfactual side, it can be argued (Hugh Trevor-Roper has) that had Franco lost the war, Hitler would have been better placed to win WWII.
posted by IndigoJones at 12:49 PM on April 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by IndigoJones at 12:49 PM on April 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Interesting. Thanks for that link, IndigoJones. ALB veteran Moe Fishman claimed the opposite: that the Spanish Civil War was a missed opportunity to stop the rise of fascism and prevent WWII altogether.
Fighting Fascism: The Americans - Women and Men - Who Fought in the Spanish Civil War
posted by homunculus at 1:00 PM on April 2, 2016
Fighting Fascism: The Americans - Women and Men - Who Fought in the Spanish Civil War
posted by homunculus at 1:00 PM on April 2, 2016
When I was a wee bairn, I met a veteran of the Spanish-American War.
posted by y2karl at 1:13 PM on April 2, 2016
posted by y2karl at 1:13 PM on April 2, 2016
Great post.
For anybody interested in reading further about this conflict I suggest The Spanish Civil War by Hugh Thomas
posted by adamvasco at 6:35 PM on April 2, 2016
For anybody interested in reading further about this conflict I suggest The Spanish Civil War by Hugh Thomas
posted by adamvasco at 6:35 PM on April 2, 2016
We are eating buttered toast over here!
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 8:57 PM on April 2, 2016
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 8:57 PM on April 2, 2016
I think this is probably a good place to put this link to Ione Richardson artist, photographer and activist who worked in Barcelona as well the camps in France. IN 1938 she exhibited the Spanish drawings at the Julien Levy Gallery to benefit the Rehabilitation Fund for the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. She also spoke at the Fulton Theater demonstration against Fascism.
posted by adamvasco at 7:35 AM on April 3, 2016
posted by adamvasco at 7:35 AM on April 3, 2016
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posted by homunculus at 4:55 PM on April 1, 2016 [18 favorites]