Professional Revolutionary
Encyclopedia
Professional Revolutionary: The Life of Saul Wellman is a documentary
about the life of Saul Wellman.
Under-educated, Wellman fought in the army
, worked in a car factory for Ford and was employed at a printing company; Wellman fought against Fascism
in both the Spanish Civil War
and World War II
. Wellman returned home at the start of the Cold War
, to help organize and lead the Communist Party
in America
. Then when the 60s came along, Wellman latched onto the civil rights
movement. The documentary deals with wheelchair-using Wellman, during the last years of his life, at an Iraq
war protest. Throughout his life, Wellman was an organizer and passionate speaker.
Wellman's militant defiance and controversial ideologies began at a young age. “I sucked socialism
at my mother's breast,” he jokes. His mother, a Russia
n immigrant, believed in socialism and took Wellman to hear Eugene Debs, the leading socialist at the time, deliver a speech. But Wellman's defining moment came in high school when he decided to cut school in order to attend a protest. He got expelled as a result. His parents were devastated, but Wellman felt liberated. His last day of formal education was his first day as a revolutionary.
But Wellman's activism was not without controversy. While some have praised him for being “infinitely inspiring” and working towards a communist country, others disagree.
When Fascism threatened Spain, he and his friends, still young, had a naïve understanding of world politics
and social progress, but signed up to fight in the international brigades
anyway. “We didn't know our asses from our elbows,” he admits. Later, Wellman became a leader among American Communists, but when the Soviet Union
's corruption was exposed, he abandoned the movement to promote Civil Rights and protest the war in Vietnam
.
But Wellman's pursuit of his political passions came with negatives for those close to him. While he was busy with social activism, his wife was left at home to work full time and raise their children alone. Wellman acknowledges the fact that his career disadvantaged his family, but he felt that his work was necessary to change society.
Other links relevant to Saul Wellman:
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...
about the life of Saul Wellman.
Summary
“I want things to change, where the playing field is leveled,” Wellman says, “where equality emerges as a reality...where the horrible things about inequality are eliminated.”Under-educated, Wellman fought in the army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
, worked in a car factory for Ford and was employed at a printing company; Wellman fought against Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
in both 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...
and 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...
. Wellman returned home at the start of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, to help organize and lead the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Then when the 60s came along, Wellman latched onto the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
movement. The documentary deals with wheelchair-using Wellman, during the last years of his life, at an Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
war protest. Throughout his life, Wellman was an organizer and passionate speaker.
Wellman's militant defiance and controversial ideologies began at a young age. “I sucked socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
at my mother's breast,” he jokes. His mother, a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n immigrant, believed in socialism and took Wellman to hear Eugene Debs, the leading socialist at the time, deliver a speech. But Wellman's defining moment came in high school when he decided to cut school in order to attend a protest. He got expelled as a result. His parents were devastated, but Wellman felt liberated. His last day of formal education was his first day as a revolutionary.
But Wellman's activism was not without controversy. While some have praised him for being “infinitely inspiring” and working towards a communist country, others disagree.
When Fascism threatened Spain, he and his friends, still young, had a naïve understanding of world politics
World Politics
World Politics is an academic journal founded in 1948. It publishes articles from all subdisciplines of political science. Material might be historical in nature, current affairs, journalistic, or policy-oriented. It includes research on all topics of import in the field of international affairs...
and social progress, but signed up to fight in the international brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
anyway. “We didn't know our asses from our elbows,” he admits. Later, Wellman became a leader among American Communists, but when the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's corruption was exposed, he abandoned the movement to promote Civil Rights and protest the war in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
But Wellman's pursuit of his political passions came with negatives for those close to him. While he was busy with social activism, his wife was left at home to work full time and raise their children alone. Wellman acknowledges the fact that his career disadvantaged his family, but he felt that his work was necessary to change society.
Reception
The documentary met with mixed reviews. The subject of the film, Wellman, met with more praise than the film itself. Wellman was said to have been an, "infinitely inspiring model to many idealistic youths." And by listing his achievements the flattery of his pupils, reviews establish him as a hero figure.See also
Other films about American Jews:- A Home on the RangeA Home on the RangeA Home on the Range: The Jewish Chicken Ranchers of Petaluma is a 2002 documentary by Bonnie Burt and Judith Montell about a group of Jews who fled from pogroms in Eastern Europe and prejudice in America to organized a socialist society in rural Northern California, where they relied on raising...
- Awake ZionAwake ZionAwake Zion is a 2005 documentary by Monica Haim that documents a connection between Jews and Rastafarians. Rasta is a religious movement that came out of Jamaica. The followers accept Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia as God incarnate, grow their hair in dreadlocks and smoke cannabis for religious...
- From Swastika to Jim CrowFrom Swastika to Jim CrowFrom Swastika to Jim Crow is a 2000 documentary that explores the similarities between Nazism in Germany and racism in the American south . In 1939, the Nazi government expelled Jewish scholars from German universities...
- My Yiddish Momme McCoy
- Song of a Jewish CowboySong of a Jewish CowboySong of a Jewish Cowboy is a 2002 documentary about Scott Gerber, a rancher and musician from Sonoma County, California, who sings cowboy music and Yiddish folk songs. The documentary shows clips from his performances and a personal interview with Scott....
Other links relevant to Saul Wellman:
- American Communist Party
- Jewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil WarJewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil WarA minority of the Jewish population, particularly that of Europe's, were active in socialist and Communist organisations in the period between the two World Wars....