Abe Osheroff
Encyclopedia
Abraham Osheroff was an American social activist, carpenter, war veteran, documentary film
maker, and lecturer.
In the early 1930s, he began political work. In 1931, during the Great Depression
, the police arrested him for moving the furniture of evicted families back into their houses. A policeman, who was a member of the American Nazi Bund
, beat up Osheroff while he was incarcerated and called him a "Goddamn Jew." Around this time, he joined the Communist Party
. In 1935, aged 20, he was organizing miners' unions on behalf of the party and raising aid for striking workers.
When the Spanish Civil War
came in 1936, Abe felt no real compulsion to go and fight, until he saw the bombing of Guernica
by the Luftwaffe
. This convinced him to fight, as he believed no one should be allowed to inflict such suffering on others and get away with it. He joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade
and was wounded at the Battle Of Belchite
(1937).
Back home in 1938 after a severe injury to his knee, Osheroff ran for the New York Legislature as a Communist. When World War II
broke out, he enlisted in the US Army
to fight the Nazis
in Europe. Ironically, the Army did not allow him to go overseas because they were concerned about his political views. Instead, he served as an instructor, based primarily in the South.
At the beginning of World War II, he married his first wife, Sylvia, and had a son Carl. After the war, he taught at the Jefferson School Of Social Science in New York, a Marxist adult school with ties to the Communist Party. After his first wife divorced him, he married Claire Rosenbaum in New York City and they went semi-underground in 1949, moving around the country, working as a carpenter under an assumed name after a tip-off that he was pursued by the FBI. He left in 1951, under persecution from the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
He left the Communist Party in response to the revelation of Stalin
's purges, and in 1956, moved to California with his wife and two year old son, Pete. He abandoned the family many times in order to pursue more lofty goals of saving the world and in 1959, when his daughter, Jo, was only six months old, his wife filed for divorce. Later that year Abe married his third wife Noel. They had three children, Nick, Dov, and Sara, and lived in Venice, California until they divorced. Abe was key in the struggle to save the Venice Canals from development and to stop authorities from driving out the poor families, like his, that dominated the area. Abe worked as a carpenter and taught his two sons, Nick and Dov, the trade.
After splitting from many of his best friends in the Communist Party, he threw his efforts into the Civil Rights Movement building a community center in 1965, in Holmes County
, Mississippi
, where he was threatened by the police because he was working with African Americans. (The police were allied with Ku Klux Klan
elements.)
In 1974
he completed the documentary Dreams and Nightmares, on the Spanish military bases sold to Franco
's dictatorship by Nixon
, which shocked many, as at the time Nixon was still a popular president. Dreams & Nightmares won the top award at a documentary film festival in Leipzig
, then in East Germany. Permission to return to Spain in 1971 in order to create the documentary was obtained because Osheroff, despite his lack of experience, succeeded in duping the authorities of the still-ruling Franco regime.
In 1985, he organized a village building brigade in America to travel to Nicaragua
to aid the Sandinistas. Later, he was highly active in movements opposing the Gulf War
and Iraq War, and he drove the Peace Mobile.
In March 2008, Osheroff traveled with his wife, Gunnel Clark, and friends from his Seattle home to San Francisco for the unveiling of the United States's first monument to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He was determined to go, and it took great effort to get him there. But Osheroff was the guest of honor, one of the 20 or so last survivors of the Brigade. Osheroff used to say, "I have one foot in the grave but the other keeps dancing."
After more than seven decades of deep involvement with what he called "radical humanism," Osheroff died on April 6, 2008, a few days after returning to Seattle.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
maker, and lecturer.
Biography
Born into a family of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Sarah and Louis Osheroff, in Brooklyn, New York, he spoke Yiddish and "a good smattering of Russian" before English.In the early 1930s, he began political work. In 1931, during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the police arrested him for moving the furniture of evicted families back into their houses. A policeman, who was a member of the American Nazi Bund
German-American Bund
The German American Bund or German American Federation was an American Nazi organization established in the 1930s...
, beat up Osheroff while he was incarcerated and called him a "Goddamn Jew." Around this time, he joined the Communist Party
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
. In 1935, aged 20, he was organizing miners' unions on behalf of the party and raising aid for striking workers.
When the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
came in 1936, Abe felt no real compulsion to go and fight, until he saw the bombing of Guernica
Bombing of Guernica
The bombing of Guernica was an aerial attack on the Basque town of Guernica, Spain, causing widespread destruction and civilian deaths, during the Spanish Civil War...
by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. This convinced him to fight, as he believed no one should be allowed to inflict such suffering on others and get away with it. He joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade
Abraham Lincoln Brigade
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade refers to volunteers from the United States who served in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. They fought for Spanish Republican forces against Franco and the Spanish Nationalists....
and was wounded at the Battle Of Belchite
Battle of Belchite (1937)
Battle of Belchite was a group of military operations that took place in the Spanish Civil War between 24 August and 7 September 1937 nearby the town of Belchite, in Aragon.-Prelude:...
(1937).
Back home in 1938 after a severe injury to his knee, Osheroff ran for the New York Legislature as a Communist. When World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out, he enlisted in the US Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
to fight the Nazis
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in Europe. Ironically, the Army did not allow him to go overseas because they were concerned about his political views. Instead, he served as an instructor, based primarily in the South.
At the beginning of World War II, he married his first wife, Sylvia, and had a son Carl. After the war, he taught at the Jefferson School Of Social Science in New York, a Marxist adult school with ties to the Communist Party. After his first wife divorced him, he married Claire Rosenbaum in New York City and they went semi-underground in 1949, moving around the country, working as a carpenter under an assumed name after a tip-off that he was pursued by the FBI. He left in 1951, under persecution from the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
He left the Communist Party in response to the revelation of Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's purges, and in 1956, moved to California with his wife and two year old son, Pete. He abandoned the family many times in order to pursue more lofty goals of saving the world and in 1959, when his daughter, Jo, was only six months old, his wife filed for divorce. Later that year Abe married his third wife Noel. They had three children, Nick, Dov, and Sara, and lived in Venice, California until they divorced. Abe was key in the struggle to save the Venice Canals from development and to stop authorities from driving out the poor families, like his, that dominated the area. Abe worked as a carpenter and taught his two sons, Nick and Dov, the trade.
After splitting from many of his best friends in the Communist Party, he threw his efforts into the Civil Rights Movement building a community center in 1965, in Holmes County
Holmes County, Mississippi
-National protected areas:*Hillside National Wildlife Refuge *Mathews Brake National Wildlife Refuge *Morgan Brake National Wildlife Refuge*Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, where he was threatened by the police because he was working with African Americans. (The police were allied with Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
elements.)
In 1974
1974 in film
The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...
he completed the documentary Dreams and Nightmares, on the Spanish military bases sold to Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's dictatorship by Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, which shocked many, as at the time Nixon was still a popular president. Dreams & Nightmares won the top award at a documentary film festival in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, then in East Germany. Permission to return to Spain in 1971 in order to create the documentary was obtained because Osheroff, despite his lack of experience, succeeded in duping the authorities of the still-ruling Franco regime.
In 1985, he organized a village building brigade in America to travel to Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
to aid the Sandinistas. Later, he was highly active in movements opposing the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
and Iraq War, and he drove the Peace Mobile.
In March 2008, Osheroff traveled with his wife, Gunnel Clark, and friends from his Seattle home to San Francisco for the unveiling of the United States's first monument to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He was determined to go, and it took great effort to get him there. But Osheroff was the guest of honor, one of the 20 or so last survivors of the Brigade. Osheroff used to say, "I have one foot in the grave but the other keeps dancing."
After more than seven decades of deep involvement with what he called "radical humanism," Osheroff died on April 6, 2008, a few days after returning to Seattle.
External links
- AbeOsheroff.org, official site, now a memorial site.
- New York Times: Abe Osheroff, Veteran of Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Dies at 92
- From Spanish Civil War to Iraq, activist Abe Osheroff looks back
- Abe Osheroff: International Brigades, US Army (Archived 2009-10-24)
- Abe Osheroff: On the joys and risks of living in the empire
- Article with proof of date of birth