(RADICALISM) Wendorf Paul Postcard from a member of the Abra

Sale 2324 - Lot 295

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Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200

(RADICALISM.) Wendorf, Paul. Postcard from a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. Autograph Letter Signed, to Martha ___, on the verso of an unaddressed postcard titled "España será la Santa Elena del fascio" depicting Mussolini with a boot planted in Spain; minor wear, three marks by recipient in red. Albacete, Spain, 19 May [1938]

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Paul Wendorf (1911-1938) was a graduate of Columbia University and became a Communist activist and labor organizer in New York City. He sailed for Spain as part of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in 1937, where he spent considerable time on the front, but also wrote for the brigade newspaper and did educational work. He was killed by an air strike during the Ebro campaign on 18 August 1938. This postcard was written a few months before his death, and refers to the battalion's library "located in the front-line trench."
In full: "Dear Martha: Thanks for your personal note about the subscription. The first copy has already been added to the battalion's Circulating Library, located in the front-line trench. The editorial dept. might like to use the cartoon. Regards to Al Taylor." Wendorf gives his address as 17, 1 Socorro Rojo, Albacete--the 17th Battalion of the 1st Brigade of the "Red Aid" unit. Albacete in southeastern Spain was the base city of the International Brigades.