1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910812030703321

Titolo

The good fight continues : World War II letters from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade / / edited by Peter N. Carroll, Michael Nash, and Melvin Small

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, : New York University Press, c2006

New York, NY : , : New York University Press, , [2006]

2006

ISBN

9780814772973

0814772978

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (305 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

CarrollPeter N

NashMichael <1946->

SmallMelvin

Disciplina

940.54/8173

Soggetti

Anti-fascist movements - United States - History - 20th century

Soldiers - United States

World War, 1939-1945

World War, 1939-1945 - Participation, African American

World War, 1939-1945 - Public opinion

World War, 1939-1945 - United States

Spain History Civil War, 1936-1939 Veterans Correspondence

United States Foreign relations 1933-1945

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Letters selected from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives collection at New York University's Tamiment Library.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 275-276) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Before Pearl Harbor -- At war with the army -- Problems in red and black -- In the combat theaters -- Premature antifascists and the postwar world.

Sommario/riassunto

Written with passion and intelligence, the letters of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in World War II express the raw idealism of anti-fascist soldiers who experienced the war in boot camps, cockpits, and foxholes, but never lost sight of the great global issues at stake. When the United States entered World War II on December 7, 1941, only one



group of American soldiers had already confronted the fascist enemy on the battlefield: the U.S. veterans of the Lincoln Brigade, a volunteer army of about 2,800 men and women who had enlisted to defend the Spanish Republic from military rebels during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). They fought on the losing side. After Pearl Harbor, Lincoln Brigade veterans enthusiastically joined the U.S. Army, welcoming this second chance to fight against fascism. However, the Lincoln recruits soon encountered suspicious military leaders who questioned their patriotism and denied them promotions and overseas assignments, foreshadowing the political persecution of the postwar Red Scare. African American veterans who fought in fully integrated units in Spain, faced second-class treatment in America's Jim Crow army. Nevertheless, the Lincolns served with distinction in every theater of the war and won a disproportionate number of medals for courage, dedication, and sacrifice. The 154 letters in this volume, selected from thousands held in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives at NYU’s Tamiment Library, provide a new and unique perspective on aspects of World War II.