Fighting Fascism in Europe: The World War II Letters of an American Veteran of the Spanish Civil War

Introduction: Lawrence Cane's Fight Against Fascism

INTRODUCTION: LA WRENCE CANE’S FIGHT AGAINST FASCISM Judy Barrett Litoff and David C. Smith A  A  with the challenges of the Great Depression of the 1930s, the political left looked beyond the economic problems of the nation and recognized that a greater threat, the rise of fascist and totalitarian governments, loomed on the horizon. Americans who embraced the ideals of the left expressed grave alarm at the ease with which fascism and totalitarianism had gained popularity and power in Europe and in Asia. In July 1936, with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, many on the left feared that all of Europe would soon fall to fascism. Rightwing General Francisco Franco, with the support of Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini, quickly defeated many of the Republican forces in Spain. As the situation deteriorated, antifascists from around the world, spurred on by the Third Communist International (Comintern) in Moscow, rushed to help the Spanish Republicans . Eventually, 35,000 antifascists from fifty-two countries joined with their Spanish comrades to oppose Franco. Three thousand of this group came from the United States where they fought for the mostly English-speaking Fifteenth International Brigade. One of these Americans was Lawrence Cane.1 Lawrence Cane was born on August 8, 1912 in New York 1 The literature on the Spanish Civil War is voluminous. The starting point for researchers is Hugh Thomas, The Spanish Civil War (New York: Harper and Row, 1977). Three important works on the American experience are Peter N. Carroll, The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Americans in the Spanish Civil War (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1994); Cary Nelson and Jefferson Hendricks , eds., Madrid 1937: Letters of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade from the Spanish Civil War (London: Routledge, 1996); Robert A. Rosenstone, Crusade of the Left: The Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War (Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1980). xii INTRODUCTION City, the eldest son of working-class, Russian-Jewish immigrants, Abraham and Faye Cohen.2 He grew up in East Harlem where he was deeply influenced by the radicalism of the eastern European , mostly Jewish, immigrants who lived in his neighborhood. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1930, he enrolled at City College at the 23rd St. Campus School of Commerce , a progressive institution that attracted many left-wing Jewish students. While at City College, he participated actively in several sports, including boxing and wrestling, was elected an officer of the student council, and served as editor of the college newspaper, The Ticker, where he wrote anti-Nazi editorials. As a supporter of the student antifascist movement, he helped organize protests against the German-American Bund and other Nazi activities in the United States. Larry Cane was an inquisitive person who liked to see things for himself. While a student at City College, he once crossed the United States hobo-style, ‘‘riding the blinds.’’ This trip gave him a new and vibrant look at the people of the United States, as it did other sojourners, such as Justice William O. Douglas and journalist Eric Severeid.3 Following his graduation from City College in 1935 Cane worked at a variety of jobs until shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936. Motivated by his antifascist beliefs , he went to Spain as a volunteer for the International Brigades in the summer of 1937. In a February 12, 1972 radio interview in New York City, Cane talked about why he chose to go to Spain. He noted that mainstream Americans of the 1930s simply did not recognize the powerful threat that fascism posed to the world. By contrast, those who volunteered for Spain understood ‘‘that the fascist powers, led by Hitler and Mussolini, were bound on world conquest.’’ By joining in this effort, Cane became part of the initial military endeavor to bring an end to fascism.4 2 Lawrence Cohen changed his name to Cane in early 1939 following his return to the United States after the Spanish Civil War. 3 William O. Douglas, Go East, Young Man: The Early Years, An Autobiography (New York, Random House, 1974) and Eric Severeid, Not So Wild A Dream (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1995), originally published in 1946. 4 WBAI-New York radio interview, February 12, 1972. See Appendix H. INTRODUCTION xiii By the time Cane volunteered for the International Brigades, the U.S. State Department had banned travel to Spain...