Most American volunteers demonstrated a high level of commitment during their voyage to Spain. While only a few turned back voluntarily, some were sent back.  Of those who were sent back, medical conditions were the most common reason, though some were sent back for political reasons.  Only three are known to have turned...
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                    An undated report listed the costs for sending a volunteer:   Passport, birth certificate, picture, fare tot County seat etc. $15.00   Average fare (West Coast, Middle West, New York) $30.00 (from the West Coast $60.00 to come to N. Y. by bus.)  ...
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Lloyd Edward Johnson was 41-years old when he arrived in Spain in April 1937.  He was the oldest of four sons born to Norwegian immigrants Seavert and Nesina Johnson. Johnson was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota.  He applied for a position as an apprentice electrician with the Northern Pacific Railway Company when...
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Alexander Sauermilch was one of more than seventy American volunteers who boarded the Ciudad de Barcelona (City of Barcelona) docked in port of Marseille, France on the night of May 30, 1937. The following afternoon as the Ciudad de Barcelona, hugged the coast approaching Malaga she was sighted by a Nationalist submarine. The General...
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  Fred Williams in Spain Twenty-one-year old Fred Williams was living in St. Louis Missouri when he volunteered to serve in the International Brigades.  He sailed for France on October 23, 1937 aboard the SS Champlain and crossed into Spain arriving in Figueres on November 5, 1937.  Williams arrived in Tarazona the American training...
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                  Shortly after the publication of the blog post Seven American Volunteers Refused Permission to Land in France, Paul Hofmann the son of volunteer Albert Hofmann, sent an email correcting and clarifying some of the information in the article. The most important correction was to the...
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The Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History records on U.S. and Canadian volunteers deepens the available insight into the organization and employment of the International Brigades (IB) during the Spanish Civil War.  From these records, it is evident that the IB Command was interested in documenting the background of the volunteers. Two documents prepared...
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The flow of American volunteers to Spain during the first months of 1937, prompted the United States State Department (State Department) to request the assistance of the French government in dissuading American volunteers from crossing France and entering Spain.  French efforts were somewhat half-hearted with officials often turning a blind eye to American travelers...
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Zoul, George. (Zoule); b. November 27, 1908, NYC, Czechoslovakian American; Father Vincent Zoul, Mother Mary Zoul; Divorced; Received passport# 355923 on December 4, 1936,  address listed as 420 East 18th Street, NYC; Sailed December 26, 1936 aboard the Normandie; Served with the XV BDE, Lincoln BN, Served at Jarama (May have transferred into the...
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Saul Friedberg’s short piece on Raleigh Frohman provides crucial information regarding his fate.  It figures prominently in Charles Antin’s search to understand his cousin’s disappearance. Together the two articles shed light on Frohman’s service in Spain. Chris Brooks, Notes from the Biographical Dictionary Project, 2017.   Raleigh Frohman, by Saul Friedberg April 22, 1996...
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