## Prologue

In a quiet air-conditioned room down in Washington, D. C., a group of men are meeting. A stenographer takes down every word. Documents are offered to the person who seems to be in charge. Questions are asked and answered. Occasionally a new face will appear. Occasionally the empty seats reserved for the public will be occupied by a scattering of people. There is no shouting, no dramatics. All proceeds with great calm and great monotony. It is difficult indeed to attach any significance to what is happening. The press, usually so hungry for news, is noticeable only by its absence.

These are the proceedings of the Subversive Activities Control Board and what is happening in this room is of immense importance to you as an American. Before long 264 organizations shall have had hearings before this board. If the courts uphold the McCarran Act under which these organizations are being heard, they will be destroyed. Whatever viewpoints they represented, whatever information they made available to you, whatever services they rendered shall cease, and after them will come another 264 organizations, and still more, until every organized voice of opposition in America today is silenced.

The Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade is one of the organizations before this board.

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## And What They Knew, They Know

There are not many veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade—the majority are dead. Almost two thousand have fallen on the battlefields of two wars against fascism. Their bodies are part of the hills and groves of Spain—the beaches and jungles of the Pacific —the hedgerows of Normandy and the sands of North Africa—and many went down at sea.

Those who died and we who survive were volunteers—acting from no compulsion except clear understanding—spurred only by the demands of conscience—asking nothing except the right to defend freedom from reaction—world peace from the onslaught of war—the right to be actually and physically in the front lines against fascism.

Our organization, the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, springs from the very heart of America. It came into existence only to give expression to the anti-fascist feelings of America. It is the living symbol of the hatred and detestation most Americans feel for that last survivor of the Axis, Francisco Franco, the butcher of the Spanish people. When our organization, which for 17 years and in two wars has defended the welfare of the United States, is asked to register by the Subversive Activities Control Board as an enemy of the United States—it is fitting and proper that we bring our case to you.

The essential character of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade is best expressed by the phrase that was manufactured to taunt us—we were called “premature anti-fascists.” And it is true that first and last we are anti-fascists. To be called premature,

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was to acknowledge our early readiness to
volunteer our lives to stop fascism when so
many in high places were making deals with
fascism and slandering those who stood against
it. Our taking up arms against Franco in 1936,
'37, and '38 was a vital factor in creating that
climate of anti-fascism in America which was
so important for the mobilization of the power-
ful national effort which defended our country
in World War II.

The late Genevieve Taggard, a clear voice
for freedom, reveals this understanding of our
role in her poem "To the Veterans of the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade."

Say of them
They knew no Spanish
At first, and nothing of the arts of war
At first:
    how to shoot, how to attack,
    how to retreat
How to kill, how to meet killing
At first.
Say they kept the air blue
Grousing and griping,
Arid words and harsh faces. Say
They were young;
The haggard in a trench, the dead on
the olive slope
All young. And the thin, the ill
and the shattered,
Sightless, in hospitals, all young.
Say of them they were young, there was
much they did not know,
They were human. Say it all; it is
true. Now say
When the eminent, the great, the
easy, the old,
And the men on the make
Were busy bickering and selling,
Betraying, conniving, transacting,
splitting hairs,
Writing bad articles, signing bad papers,
Passing bad bills,

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Bribing, blackmailing,
Whimpering, meaching, garroting,—they
Knew and acted
understood and died.
Or if they did not die came home to peace
That is not peace. Say of them
They are no longer young, they never learned
The arts, the stealth of peace, this peace,
the tricks of fear;
And what they knew, they know.
And what they dared, they dare.
—Genevieve Taggard.

Yes—when the demanding need of the time
was to cut through the net of hypocritical
words—when the hour came for men and wom-
en to bar fascism with their bodies—the Abra-
ham Lincoln Brigade was born. And when the
World War we tried to prevent engulfed our
land—when the fascism we attempted to halt
in Spain attacked our nation—veterans of the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade again gave leader-
ship by example on the battlefields of World
War II.

## The Right To Fight

Today there are few who will deny that
the attack on the Spanish Republic launched
in 1936 was the opening gun in the Hitler-
Mussolini plan for world conquest. American
awareness of this danger was immeasurably
strengthened by the direct participation of
Americans in this struggle. Perhaps our great-
est contribution to the cause of democracy at
that time was this arousal and solidification
of anti-fascist opinion at home. The late
Harold Ickes, strong right arm of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, summed up this estima-
tion of our role in a letter written in November
of 1946.

Speaking of the Brigade he said: "...They

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were among the first to see the menace of
fascism and certainly among the first to offer
their lives in an effort to halt this menace.
In the last decade, they have been in the
forefront of all the battles for democracy and
they deserve the best this country has to offer."

When Harold Ickes wrote that letter, he
was talking not only of the Lincoln Brigade's
participation in the war in Spain but also
of our participation in World War II and our
political struggles for the "right to fight."

For the same forces here at home who
rejoiced in Franco's victory, strove desperately
to limit our contribution in World War II.
Not only ours; but also that of hardened fight-
ers of the Spanish Republican Army who, re-
treating from Spain, had been herded into
concentration camps in France and North Af-
rica. In 1940, many Veterans of the Lincoln
Brigade went to jail for leading a successful
drive to stop the French government from
returning these refugees to sure slaughter or
imprisonment in Franco Spain. These trained
anti-Fascist soldiers later formed an impor-
tant part of the French Forces of the In-
terior (Maquis) and helped liberate that coun-
try from the Nazis. The help of these Spanish
Republicans to our side saved the lives of
many American soldiers—just as the help of
Franco to the Nazi side, his spying on Allied
convoys—his sheltering of Nazi submarines—
his threat to the rear of our forces in North
Africa (as attested by General Eisenhower)
was responsible for the death of many
Americans.

There were others who had fought in
Spain who had much to contribute to the Allied
victory over fascism. Many Americans—and

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especially those who fought in the Pacific cam-
paigns will remember Herman Bottcher—pro-
moted from sergeant to captain on the field
of battle—the man LIFE magazine, in a fea-
ture story, reported was known as the One
Man Army. Captain Herman Bottcher—killed
in action on Leyte—Veteran of the Abraham
Lincoln Brigade—refugee from Hitler—was de-
nied re-entry into America along with many
other foreign born Americans who fought in
Spain. With the help of thousands of our fel-
low citizens, we led a successful campaign for
their admittance to the United States. The
glorious record of Bottcher in battle symbol-
izes the contribution made by these foreign
born Americans to this country.

But it was not only foreign born veterans
who were at first denied the privilege of de-
fending America from its enemies. All Veterans
of the Lincoln Brigade had to fight for that
right—and fight we did—thanks to wide sup-
port, again successfully.

Immediately after the attack on Pearl Har-
bor, the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln
Brigade sent an official letter to President
Franklin D. Roosevelt volunteering the serv-
ices of our whole organization. Within a short
time over 50% of our organization were bear-
ing arms or were in the Merchant Marine.
Here is a quote from the newspaper PM of
Nov. 28, 1943:

"Ever since the Army removed its ban
on overseas service for members of the Abra-
ham Lincoln Brigade those who have got into
combat have written a record in blood as
glorious as the one they made when they
first fought fascism in Spain. . . . Although
the War Department denied its existence . . .

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discrimination was widely practised. It ended
about six months ago when Under-Secretary
of War Patterson took cognizance of numer-
ous protests, including some from progressive
Congressmen. Since then, 60 of the 600 Brigade
Veterans have been sent overseas...." Many
more than that 60 soon were in all areas where
our armed forces saw service. They won many
commissions, many medals, and more than a
few gave their lives.

Our Brigade is proud of the long and
successful campaign to give the "Fighters for
Freedom - Freedom to Fight."

One of the best summations of the role
of the Lincoln veterans was expressed by
Major General Bissell of Army Intelligence,
testifying at a Congressional hearing in Feb-
ruary, 1945. Answering charges of reactionary
Congressmen attacking the loyalty of Lincoln
veterans in the Armed Forces, Gen. Bissell
said:

"The Army files show the loyalty of each of these officers . . . Most of these charges were made on the flimsiest grounds . . . These officers have shown by their deeds that they are upholding the United States by force and violence."

The Pattern of Repression

That hearing in 1945, even before victory
had been won in World War II, foreshadowed
the ever-increasing attempts of reactionary
politicians to drive our organization out of
public life and to falsely brand Veterans of
the Abraham Lincoln Brigade as "subversive."

Since that day repression has grown. Now
it threatens everyone. The danger must be
understood. Our dearly bought experience of

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fascism makes us especially sensitive, one
might say allergic, to every manifestation of
this political disease. Our members are among
the first to suffer the effect of an increase in
its virulence. We can detect its signs when
those without our unique experience are still
unaware of its approach. The Veterans of the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade is so truly a cross
section of America that within the small body
of our organization, as in a test tube, we have
seen over the past years the growing deadli-
ness of the reactionary assault on civil rights.

Our members who are in trade unions tell
us of the attempts to shackle labor with re-
strictive legislation like the Taft-Hartley Law
and the now projected Butler Bill. The Negro
Veterans, who together with their white com-
rades, were the first to call for mixed Negro
and white units in the armed forces of the
United States, know from their own experience
of the constant attacks against the Negro
people. Those Veterans, who earn their living
in the professional fields, know of the tight-
lipped silence which covers so many of the in-
tellectuals of our country, hampering research
and study, making intellectual interchange
suspect and intellectuals, objects of suspicion
—transforming our once proud forum of ideas
into a concentration camp of atomic fear.
Every Veteran is aware of the insolent plan
to make any past or present support of a free
Spain, a "subversive" act in itself. Many Vet-
erans have lost jobs, have been persecuted,
jailed and subjected to deportation proceed-
ings because they fought on the side of Re-
publican Spain.

In our years in Spain we met and discuss-
ed with the refugees and exiles from Nazi Ger-

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many, Fascist Italy and Central Europe—the men who later played so significant a role in opposing fascism in their own countries. We heard the same story from all lips—the story which undeniable facts constantly prove. The drive against the Communists, if not resisted by all believers in democracy, soon develops into a drive against all opponents of reaction.

The pattern is clear—let us examine how it operates against anti-Franco Americans.

First, establish that the Communist Party is opposed to Franco. From this base, extend the attack to the most outspoken opponents of Franco. Further extend the attack to all who oppose Franco, no matter what the degree of their opposition or when it was stated. By making opposition to Franco suspect—silence the majority of Americans who dislike Franco and what he represents. Thus with direct attack and indirect threat destroy the democratic right to be anti-Franco.

## The Alliance with Fascism

That is the pattern—that is the plan—now what is the purpose behind the plan.

The purpose too is clear and evident—to batter down the resistance to a complete alliance between the United States and Franco Spain—to pour more and more millions of American tax money into the coffers of the Franco fascists—and incidentally, line some greedy pockets on both sides of the Atlantic—to make Franco a war ally of the United States as once he was a war ally of Hitler and Mussolini against the United States. This disgusting wooing of Franco,

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this frightening insistence on making Franco Spain a major atomic war base, leads to greater and greater isolation of the United States. The closer Franco is brought to our country—the further we are separated from the rest of the peoples of the world and especially from the majority of the oppressed, war weary Spaniards. The people of England, France, Norway and Sweden, to mention only a few, are repelled and made fearful by our courtship of the erstwhile pal of Hitler. They know that alliance with fascism can only be alliance for a war they do not want. Half a world in ruins—the evil memories of Buchenwald—remind us that the road upon which the McCarrans and McCarthys would lead us was explored to its bloody end by Hitler and Mussolini.

## We Will Not Lie

It is in this situation and under these political circumstances that the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade are faced with the demand that we register as a 'communist front' organization—that we lie to the people of our nation and declare that all we have fought for was wrong and that we agree to label our anti-fascist activities from now on as "subversive."

Indeed, there is more precedent for the charges against us in "Alice in Wonderland" than there are in the books of law. Like Alice, we face a court with a fixed idea—a court which opens the trial by proclaiming "Off with their head."

Obviously when the key charge against us is that we are opposed to Franco, we cannot and have no desire to defend ourselves by saying

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ing we are not anti-Franco. We Veterans are as openly and as proudly anti-Franco as the Abolitionists of 100 years ago were anti-slavery. For us to deny our anti-Francoism would be to deny our very existence.

We shall defend ourselves before the Subversive Activities Control Board knowing that this is part of the long fight against reaction—and a defense of the interests of the majority of Americans. We are confident of your continued support. We need this popular support—for the same McCarran who jammed through the law under which we are charged, sits on

the Senate Judiciary Committee which hand-picks the members of the Subversive Activities Control Board which is hearing our case.

This is the same Senator McCarran who was decorated

by Franco for having secured loans of millions of American dollars to keep his bloody regime in power!

Organizations attacked by Attorney General Brownell under the McCarran Act are condemned as either "communist action" or "communist front." The McCarran Act demands the registration for persecution of the membership of the former and the officers of the latter. Such registration orders the organization to make public its financial and other records. They must prominently label all their publications and mail "Communist Action" or "Communist Front." Failure to register can mean imprisonment for an officer or a member of five years in jail and a ten thousand dollar fine. Each day of failure to register is a separate offense and each offense

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calls for the same punishment. Hence it would literally be possible for a person—within a short time—to owe the government several hundred thousands of dollars, as well as a couple of lifetimes—not for anything he has done, but simply for refusing to register as ordered. In the case of this organization—the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade—registration would mean that we agree with the Attorney General's arbitrary finding that we are a "communist front" organization within the meaning of the law. And what is the meaning of the law? Simply this: that a "communist front" organization is one which aids and abets a "communist action" organization which allegedly carries out "conspiracy, sabotage, terror and espionage!"

The Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade has not and does not engage in "conspiracy, sabotage, terror and espionage." We will not lie and say that we do. We refused to register. The Attorney General has therefore cited the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade before the Subversive Activities Control Board.

## "Branded" Americans

The McCarran Act thus seeks to create a "branded" group of Americans—numbering in

the hundreds of thousands—whose rights as citizens will be severely curtailed. They would not be permitted to work for the government, nor in any defense plant or factory even partially eng-

aged in defense work. They would be subject to immediate internment should the President at

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any time declare a 'State of National Emergency'-in concentration camps already set up in several states and capable of holding 100,000 American citizens!

The McCarran Act seeks to take away those rights which every American enjoys as his heritage; the right to work, to live where he pleases, think as he pleases, write as he pleases, the right to due process of law. A large group of second-class citizens would be created and the concentration camp would become an integral part of "the American way of life." This is what threatens us because we have opposed fascism for most of our adult lives. This is what threatens you if you dare to raise your voice against hydrogen bomb warfare. This is the "American" equivalent of the Nazi Yellow Star of David badge that millions of Jews were compelled to wear-until they were fed to the gas chambers and the crematoria!

This is the method of those very forces in the United States who sabotaged the Spanish Republic in its fight against Franco, and who have seized more and more control of the policies of our country. With such men as McCarran and McCarthy in the lead, they made an ally of Franco over the opposition of the majority of the American people. Our small organization did and is doing all in its power to point out the danger of such a policy to the freedom of our country and to the peace of the world. From the time most of our veterans returned from service in the armed forces to now-we have not ceased our efforts for the carrying out of the United Nation resolution condemning Franco Spain as a fascist country.

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## The Right To Be Anti-Franco

Fifteen years after the last shot was fired in Madrid, the clash of ideas which started with the war in Spain still continues in America. The war in Spain was a war in defense of democracy against fascist reaction. The war of ideas here in the United States today is also a defense of democracy against fascist reaction.

Support or opposition to Franco, and all he stands for, still is an acid test of a person's position in that struggle. The very fact that we, who most vividly represent opposition to Franco fascism, are being persecuted in court and hounded by the FBI shows how far down the road of reaction our country has been driven. The political and economic forces represented by McCarran and McCarthy are determined to smear, blacklist and imprisonment all who oppose their drive for reactionary power. Today they attack the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade-their list for tomorrow includes all who have ever opposed Franco.

Nothing more clearly demonstrates this fact than the recent attacks on the American scientist, Dr. Robert Oppenheimer. Of the many sins that he is accused of by the McCarthyites, the greatest, apparently, was his support of the cause of Republican Spain. We need only remind ourselves that during the war in Spain, the majority of the scientists, writers, actors, artists in America participated in the movement that was sweeping the world to save Republican Spain and to beat back fascism there. The Gallup polls of the day estimated that over two million Americans who had opinions on the subject were

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in favor of Republican Spain and wanted to
see the Republic win. From our own experi-
ence we know that most of these Americans
went on record by signing petitions, giving
money, writing letters, and supporting this
movement in many other ways. Nearly every
trade union in America is officially on record
against the Franco regime in Spain.

Attorney General Herbert Brownell, in a
television address to the nation on April 9th,
stated that the Department
of Justice was seeking ap-
proval of legislation that
would extend the Internal
Security Act to include trade
unions. The danger here is ob-
vious! McCarthyism strives
for a world and a country where civil liberties,
trade union rights, freedom of religion are
repressed as they are in Franco Spain. If you
are opposed to Franco, McCarran and Mc-
Carthy as we are—you will support us in our
fight for the right to be anti-Franco and anti-
McCarthy and anti-McCarran. If with your
support, we win—it is a victory for you.

If you are against Franco and McCarran
-against McCarthy and reaction-raise your
voice against the McCarran Act.

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ACT NOW—PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS

WRITE your Congressman asking him
to press for the repeal of the McCarran
Act.

PROTEST to the Subversive Activities
Control Board, 811 Vermont Ave., N.W.,
Wash., D.C. demanding it find in our
favor.

AND ABOVE ALL WRITE to the
State Department and tell Dulles that
you are against United States support
and loans from your tax monies to Franco
Spain.

KEEP THE VETS FREE TO FIGHT FASCISM

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