Finding Aid to the Lisette and Sam Kutnick Abraham Lincoln Brigade Collection

Finding aid prepared by Leah Sylva in 2021.
Labor Archives and Research Center
2002, revised 2014 and processed with additions in 2021
San Francisco State University
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco 94132-1722
larc@sfsu.edu


Repository: Labor Archives and Research Center
Title: Lisette and Sam Kutnick Abraham Lincoln Brigade collection
Creator: Kutnick, Sam
Creator: Kutnick, Lisette
Collection number: larc.ms.0229
Accession number: 2007/033
Identifier/Call Number: 301
Extent: 3 Linear Feet (7 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1937-1995
Abstract: Materials collected by Lisette (Lee) and Sam Kutnick over the course of their political work in the San Francisco Bay Area. The collection contains typed transcripts of letters (circa 1937-1938) written by members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade from the Spanish Civil War to family and friends in the Bay Area, collected by Lisette (Lee) Kutnick when she served as secretary of the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in San Francisco. Kutnick gathered and typed copies of letters received by friends, as well as many addressed to her and her husband Sam. The letters span the period when the Americans arrived in Spain in early 1937 and continued to the end of 1938 when most of the American volunteers returned home. The collection also contains materials from Sam Kutnick's work on the County Personnel Committee of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This committee was charged with investigating CPUSA members for political and personal transgressions, recommending names to County Leadership for expulsion from the Party. There are handwritten notes with lists of names for further research, correspondence with other County or District Committees to share information on members, correspondence from Party members recommending others for investigation, and files related to the investigation of specific local Party members.
Location: Collection is available onsite.
Language of Material: English. .

Availability

Collection is open for research.

Restrictions

Copyright has not been assigned to the Labor Archives and Research Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from materials must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Labor Archives and Research Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Lisette and Sam Kutnick Abraham Lincoln Brigade Collection, larc.ms.0229, Labor Archives and Research Center, San Francisco State University.

Separated Materials

The following books and pamphlets have been relocated to LARC's Ephemera and book collection: "The Yanks Are Not Coming" stickers; pamphlet, "Story of the Imperial Valley," by Frank Spector, Int'l Labor Defense Pamphlet No. 3; Migratory Labor in California, State Relief Administration of California, 1936; Early Master Teachers, W.P.A., 1940

Related Collections

Related collections include the following LARC holdings: Archie Brown Collection; People's World Photograph Collection; People's World Research Files; and California Labor School Collection.
For more information about the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, see the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives at New York University's Tamiment Library.

Acquisition

This collection was donated to the Labor Archives by Esther Kutnick, daughter of Lee and Sam Kutnick; accession number 2007/033.

Arrangement

This collection is organized into four series, roughly arranged according to chronology:
SERIES 1: Abraham Lincoln Brigade
SERIES 2: Sam Kutnick Papers
SERIES 3: Lisette Kutnick Papers
SERIES 4: Assorted Publications

Biography

Lee Kutnick (1914-2010), born Lisette Levy, was a community and union organizer who supported a variety of leftist causes, including the Communist Party of the United States of America. In the early 1930s, she moved to San Francisco and married Sam Kutnick. From 1937 to 1938, Lee served as the Secretary of the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (ALB). She received, transcribed, and circulated letters sent from ALB members including those written by her cousin, Douglas "Dud" Wayne Male, who fought and died as part of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Lee worked as an office worker for more than 50 years as a member of OPEIU Local 3 and served on the executive board of Local 3 from 1983 to 1986. Lee Kutnick worked until the age of 87 in the office of Sheet Metal Workers Local 104.
Sam Kutnick (1908-1966) was an active member of the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and corresponded with many of the Bay Area anti-fascists fighting in the Spanish Civil War. Sam was a member of the Communist Party of the United States of America and worked on the San Francisco County Personnel Committee for the Communist Party which worked to maintain the "purity" of the Party by investigating and expelling suspected infiltrators, factionalists, and "social deviants." Due to his involvement in the Communist Party, Sam Kutnick experienced repression and harassment from the United States government. Sam was a member of the Miscellaneous Culinary Employees Union Local 110 from 1959 until his death in 1964.

Historical Note

The Spanish Civil War (1936-39) began when a Nationalist faction supported by the military, Catholic church, and conservative groups instigated a coup d'etat against the left-leaning Popular Front government which had won electoral control of the Spanish Republic. This insurrection was met with armed resistance by the Loyalists, a coalition of leftist groups including the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), a confederation of anarcho-syndicalist labor unions.
The Spanish Civil War was a popular cause for international anti-fascists who showed solidarity with the Loyalists by traveling to Spain to fight on the front lines as members of International Battalions, such as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. The Abraham Lincoln Brigade (ALB) was a racially integrated battalion composed of 2,800 anarchist and communist volunteers from the United States. Members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade fought in various battalions (such as the Lincoln Battalion) as shock troops, suffering a high rate of casualties in battle.
These internationalist fighters were supported by groups of radicals in their home country including the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (FALB) in San Francisco. The Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade advocated for their comrades overseas, exchanging letters and gifts between San Francisco and Spain. Members of FALB collected and published letters from Spain to raise money and support for the cause of international anti-fascism.
When the war was over, leaving fascist dictator Francisco Franco in control of Spain, the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade was disbanded and the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB) was created to support returning veterans, aid refugees of the Spanish Civil War, and to continue the fight for peace, democracy, and civil liberties. Upon their return to the United States, surviving members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade were harassed and surveilled by the United States government and blacklisted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) as part of the Red Scare.
The VALB was on the United States Justice Department list of subversive organizations from 1953 to 1971 and members were denied employment and housing opportunities due to their political beliefs and willingness to take up arms against fascism.

Historical Note

The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) was formed in 1919 after splitting from the Socialist Party of America. CPUSA was centered around the belief that workers were united as a social class under capitalism and entitled to control the industries in which they labored. CPUSA was known for opposing white supremacy and advocating for racial integration and civil rights for Black people. The Party and its members were deeply involved in the labor movement in the United States in the early 20th century, organizing and supporting trade unions, worker organizations, and strikes. As anti-capitalist sentiments surged during the Great Depression, the organizing successes of the Communist Party in the United States were followed with intense State repression.
The Red Scare and McCarthyism positioned the Left as a subversive element that threatened the social order of the United States. Due to fears around the domestic and international spread of Communism undermining the United States' imperialist agenda, members of the U.S. Intelligence apparatus worked alongside federal lawmakers, weaponizing fear as a tactic to silence dissent and enforce loyalty to the US government. Known and suspected communists and other radicals were subject to arrests, widely publicized trials, social sanctions and denunciations, and deportations under the Immigration Act of 1918. The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) operated from 1938-1975 to investigate suspected Communists, resulting in those targeted losing employment and facing social isolation.
Due to this repression and other internal tensions within the Left movements in the United States at the time, CPUSA turned inwards to inspect, surveil, and purge itself of undesirable members at the County, Regional, State, and National levels.

Scope and Contents

Materials collected by Lisette (Lee) and Sam Kutnick over the course of their political work in the San Francisco Bay Area. Roughly one-half of the collection consists of typed transcripts of letters (circa 1937-1938) written by members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade from the Spanish Civil War to family and friends in the Bay Area, collected by Lisette (Lee) Kutnick when she served as secretary of the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in San Francisco. Kutnick gathered and typed copies of letters received by friends, as well as many addressed to her and her husband Sam. The letters span the period when the Americans arrived in Spain in early 1937 and continued to the end of 1938 when most of the American volunteers returned home.
The letters document daily life behind the lines and in the trenches, including their food, training, learning Spanish, recreation, and interactions with Loyalist soldiers. Many are told with humor as well as the affirming the righteousness of their cause. The political dogma of the Communist Party can be seen in many letters. Undoubtedly some of the hardships were edited out for families and friends and some letters were censored. Among the prolific writers are Maurice Hawkins, Boleslaw "Slippery" Slivan, and Alphaeus Prowell (an African-American volunteer who died in Spain). Also notable are handwritten letters from Fritz Orton to "Paul," most likely Paul Ryan better known by his pseudonym Mike Quin. Quin writes about Fritz Orton in the collection of his articles in On the Drumhead (page 84).
The other large part of this collection contains materials related to Sam Kutnick's work on the County Personnel Committee of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). This committee was charged with investigating CPUSA members for political and personal transgressions, recommending names to County Leadership for expulsion from the Party. There are handwritten notes with lists of names for further research, correspondence with other County or District Committees to share information on members, correspondence from Party members recommending others for investigation, and files related to the investigation of specific local Party members. These files show how cases were built against members and their associates, sometimes resulting in a chain reaction of expulsion. For example, Vern Smith was expelled for being suspected of homosexuality, then Harrison George was expelled for associating with Vern Smith after his expulsion and for organizing a "renegade, anti-Party group" before Lenny Fels was then expelled for continuing to associate with Harrison George.
Of note are the files of M. Vicker and Jane Barnes protesting and appealing their expulsions. Other material of interest includes two letters from The Crusader in which the anonymous author sends anti-Communist materials and challenges recipients to leave the Party.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Spain -- History -- Civil War, 1936-1939 -- Participation, American.
Spain. Ejército Popular de la República. Abraham Lincoln Battalion.
Anti-Fascism
Internationalists -- Labor -- Solidarity
Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade
 

Series 1:  Abraham Lincoln Brigade 1937-1996 Bulk, 1937-1938 1937-1938

Arrangement

This series is arranged hierarchically into three subseries according to authorship.
Subseries 1.1 contains the letters written from members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who were fighting in Spain and is arranged alphabetically and then chronologically.
Subseries 1.2 contains hierarchically-arranged materials that were created and collected by the San Francisco-based group, the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
Subseries 1.3 is chronologically arranged and contains the materials created by the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.

Scope and Contents

This series contains materials related to San Francisco-based anti-fascists who fought in the Spanish Civil War as part of the International Battalion the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (ALB). It includes the letters that fighters in the ALB wrote from battlefields of Spain to their friends back home in the San Francisco Bay Area, detailing their experiences, political convictions, and reflections on the nature of warfare. This series also contains materials related to the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group which advocated for the fighters of ALB by publishing their letters in newspapers such as People's World and original pamphlets, sending gifts of cigarettes and gum, and garnering political support for the cause of international anti-fascist solidarity. Also present are materials created by the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, demonstrating the efforts of surviving members to commemorate this history and engage in continued international solidarity struggles.
 

Letters from Spain 61868

box 1, folder 1

Andell, Evelyn 61833 1938 March

box 1, folder 2

Bailey, Bill, to Edna 61834 1937-1938, undated

box 1, folder 3

Bailey, Mike 61835 [1937] September 13

box 1, folder 3

Bell, Hilda 61836 1937 December 9

box 1, folder 3

Bridges, E. W. 61837 1937 September 20

box 1, folder 4

Brown, "Bimbo" to Archie 61838 1937 June-September

box 1, folder 5

Caldarella, Michael to Carlson 1937 August 6

Scope and Contents

Original handwritten letter without typed copy.
box 1, folder 6

Cullinen, George to Bob Dagley 61839 1937 August 4

box 1, folder 7

Eaton, Henry to LaRue 1937 August 6

box 1, folder 8

Flanner, John to Justin Vanderlaan 61840 undated

box 1, folder 9

Gomez, Antonio Lopez to Mother 61841 1938 March 4

box 1, folder 10

Hawkins, Maurice H., to his wife from Paris and from Spain 61842 1937-1938

box 1, folder 11

Larsen, Leonard H. M.D. to Louise 61843 1937-1938

box 1, folder 12

Male, Douglas "Dud" to Sam, Esther, Lee, Sis, Mom 61844 1937 November-1938 February, undated

box 1, folder 13

Marques, A. J. 61845 1938 May 18

box 1, folder 13

Masterson, Louis J. to friends, Applestein, D. 61846 1937 October 1

box 1, folder 13

McDaniel, Eluard Luchell 61847 undated

box 1, folder 13

Merriman, Marion to John C. Ross 61848 1937 July-1938 February

box 1, folder 14

Nitzburg, Leo to Edna 61849 1937 October 15

box 1, folder 15

Orton, Fritz to Paul 61850 1937 September-October

box 1, folder 15

Payne, Perley 61851 [1937] April-July

box 1, folder 16

Prowell, Alphaeus to Harry 61852 1937 September-November, undated

box 1, folder 17

Sansone, Joe to Edna 61855 1938 February

box 1, folder 18

Silverstein, Esther to children 61853 1937

box 1, folder 19

Slivan, Boleslaw (Slipp, Slippery) to Archie, Samuel, Ednaita, Lee 61854 1937-1938

box 1, folder 20

Smith, "Junior" to Mike, Joe, Canales, etc. 61856 1937 May-October, undated

box 1, folder 21

Thompson, David 1937 October

box 1, folder 21

Thompson, Frederick to Miss Schneider 61857 1938 June 2

box 1, folder 22

Yeager, N.T. to Henry 61858 1937 September 14

box 1, folder 23

Unidentified, or no surname 61860 1937-1938

Contents

Including: Ken to My darling Sis (Sigrid Parmalie) DM to Ethel DM to E. D....to Mom Jack to L...S...& M... Bob 3/26/38 Evelyn to Mildred Fred to Ann (handwritten) Wade to Mario Caseroli
box 1, folder 24

Transcript of Murphy / White Interview with Sam Kutnick 1938 October 12

box 3, folder 1

Photocopies of letters - A - O 61863 1937-1938

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically and chronologically.
box 3, folder 2

Photocopies of letters - P - Z 61864 1937-1938

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically and chronologically.
box 3, folder 3

Photocopies of letters - Unidentified authors 61865 1937-1938

box 3, folder 4

Photocopy of Transcript of Murphy / White Interview with Sam Kutnick 1938 October 12

 

Duplicate photocopies of letters 1937-1938

 

Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade

box 2, folder 1

Abraham Lincoln Brigade poems, songs 61866 undated

box 2, folder 2

International Brigade publications 61867 1937-1938

box 2, folder 3

Abraham Lincoln Brigade clippings, ephemera 61869 undated

box 2, folder 4

Photographs From Spain 1938

Scope and Contents

Two original photographs sent by Slivan, Boleslaw (Slippery) in a letter to Lee dated Sept. 6, 1938. One photograph shows a sailor, Bill Bailey, Slippery, and Pedro with a machine gun captured from fascists. The second photograph shows Slippery in a helmet loading a clip for the machine gun.
box 2, folder 5

The Story of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion 1938

Scope and Contents

Pamphlet published as a fundraiser by the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Battallion.
box 2, folder 6

Letters From Spain Publication 1937

Scope and Contents

Booklet published by the Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, showing a selection of reprinted letters sent home from the trenches accompanied by illustrations.
box 2, folder 7

Seamen, Longshoremen & Maritime Workers of the Lincoln-Washington Battalion in Spain to The National Unity Convention of Maritime Unions, San Francisco 61862 1937 December 27

Scope and Contents

Statement with list of signers included; pages 2-3 of untitled essay upholding the battle to support a constitutional government.
box 2, folder 8

Precinct 11, Assembly District 19 Index to Register 61831 1943

box 2, folder 9

Spanish Refugee Relief Campaign Letter 1939

box 2, folder 10

Posters from Time Magazine 1938

 

Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade

box 2, folder 11

The Volunteer Newsletter 1984

box 2, folder 12

Videotaping Project 1985

box 2, folder 13

Member List 1987

box 2, folder 14

International Solidarity Efforts 1993

box 2, folder 15

Meeting Minutes 61870 1993-1995

box 2, folder 16

Commemorative Events Ephemera 1985 - 1996

 

Series 2:  Sam Kutnick papers 1933-1964, Bulk 1945-1959 1945-1959

Arrangement

This series is arranged hierarchically into subseries that reflect various organizations and projects that Sam Kutnick was involved with throughout his lifetime.
Subseries 2.1 Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA)
Subseries 2.2 Committee for World Peace
Subseries 2.3 Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee
Subseries 2.4 Miscellaneous Culinary Employees Union, Local 110
 

Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA)

Scope and Contents

Due to State repression and other internal tensions within the Left movements in the United States at the time, CPUSA turned inwards to inspect, surveil, and purge itself of members who were deemed undesireable. The San Francisco County Personnel Committee was charged with investigating Party members to be expelled in the name of the survival and success of CPUSA.
Members of the Party could be expelled for any of the following reasons: 1. Being or suspected of being a state agent, spy, or informant. 2. Being or suspected of being a factionalist such as a Trotskyist or Lovestoneite whose ideology was deemed "impure" by the central leadership. 3. Being or suspected of being a social deviant whose presence in the Party was a threat either to social unity or further State repression. The beliefs and identities targeted in this category include white chauvinists; people with a history of debt, gambling, alcoholism, and receiving psychiatric care; or people who experience same-sex attraction or engage in sexual promiscuity. 4. Associating with former Party members who had been expelled for one of the reasons listed above.
These files reveal the motivations behind the Committee and the mechanisms by which the internal investigations and expulsions occurred.
 

County Personnel Committee

box 4, folder 1

Background 1940-1952

box 4, folder 2

Policies and Procedures 1933-1954

box 4, folder 3

Photographs undated

box 4, folder 4

Meeting Minutes 1945

box 4, folder 5

County Personnel Committee Reports 1950

box 4, folder 6

Correspondence From Other CPUSA Entities 1949-1951

box 4, folder 7

Letters From Local Members 1949-1952

box 4, folder 8

The Crusader 1950

box 4, folder 9

Bridges-Robertson-Schmidt Trial 1949-1950

box 4, folder 10

Smith Act Trial 1952

box 4, folder 11

FBI Visit Reports 1947-1955

box 4, folder 12

FBI Loyalty Investigations 1947-1948

 

Leadership Review

box 4, folder 13

San Francisco Committee on Leadership 1945

box 4, folder 14

Yates, Oleta 1945

 

Reports on Individuals

box 4, folder 15

Case Files 1947-1955

box 5, folder 1

Notes 1950-1954

box 5, folder 2

Adams, Richard 1954

box 5, folder 3

Alexander, Edwin Jr. 1948

box 5, folder 4

Baker, Enos Jr. 1947-1949

box 5, folder 5

Barnes, Jane 1950

box 5, folder 6

Bishop, Dorothy 1950

box 5, folder 7

Brown, Ed 1947-1949

box 5, folder 8

Collier, Emory 1955

box 5, folder 9

Daniels, Hilde 1950

box 5, folder 10

Drury, Jim 1946

box 5, folder 11

Elkins, Mike 1945-1946

box 5, folder 12

Flood, George 1948

box 5, folder 13

Franklin, Francis undated

box 5, folder 14

Furst, Peter / Cannan, June 1951

box 5, folder 15

Gay, Ronnie undated

box 5, folder 16

Hedley, Jean undated

box 5, folder 17

Johnson, Manning 1951

box 5, folder 18

Kaplan undated

box 5, folder 19

Kepner, Jim / Brown, Mel 1949-1950

box 5, folder 20

Kirk, Kris 1950

box 5, folder 21

Kjosness, Mollie / Lucid, Jack 1946

box 5, folder 22

Kutnick, Sam 1945-1960

box 5, folder 23

Littleton, Ed 1951-1955

box 5, folder 24

Payne, Earl 1948

box 5, folder 25

Rector, Nicky / Sherwood, Mary 1947

box 5, folder 26

Reno, Phil undated

box 5, folder 27

Ronconi, Rome 1950

box 5, folder 28

Sanders, Butch undated

box 5, folder 29

Smith, Vern / George, Harrison / Fels, Lenny 1947-1949

box 5, folder 30

Stevens, Arthur 1955

box 5, folder 31

Taylor, Bill undated

box 5, folder 32

Vanderlaan, Justin 1946

box 5, folder 33

Vicker, M. undated

box 5, folder 34

Welch, Ramon undated

box 5, folder 35

Young, Ed & Wife undated

box 5, folder 36

List of expelled members and charges [slides and photocopies] undated

 

National Convention 1959

box 6, folder 1

Program Materials 1959

box 6, folder 2

Declaration of Aims and Tasks 1959

box 6, folder 3

Resolutions 1959

box 6, folder 4

Preconvention Discussion Materials 1959

box 5, folder 5

Reports on the State of the Country 1959

box 5, folder 6

Horizons of the Future Pamphlet 1959

box 6, folder 7

Discussion on "The Negro Question" 1958-1959

box 6, folder 8

AFL Section 1959

box 6, folder 9

SF County Convention 1959

box 6, folder 10

District Convention 1959

box 6, folder 11

Convention Materials and Notes 1959

box 6, folder 12

California Labor School undated

box 6, folder 13

Committee for World Peace 1950

box 6, folder 14

Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee 1954

box 6, folder 15

Miscellaneous Culinary Employees Union, Local 110 1959-1964

 

Series 3:  Lisette Kutnick papers 1950-2003, Bulk 1972-1986 1972-1986

 

Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) 1972-1985

box 7, folder 5

Memos and Reports 1972-1985

box 7, folder 6

Publications 1985-1985

 

Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) 1974-1996

Arrangement

This series is arranged hierarchically into the following subseries:
Subseries 3.1 Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA)
Subseries 3.2 Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU)
Subseries 3.3 Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
Subseries 3.4 AFL-CIO Committee on Evolution of Work Report
Subseries 3.5 Conference Materials
Subseries 3.6 News Clippings
box 7, folder 7

Constitution and By-laws 1974-1996

box 7, folder 8

Committee for International Support of Trade Union Rights (CISTUR) 1982-1985

 

Meeting Minutes

box 7, folder 9

Membership Meeting Minutes 1983-1986

Scope and Contents

Includes financial documents.
box 7, folder 10

Executive Board Meeting Minutes 1983-1986

box 7, folder 11

Bargaining 1983-1985

box 7, folder 12

Grievances and Charges 1987-2003

box 7, folder 13

Campaign Files 1980-1986

box 7, folder 14

Tentative Agreement with Sheet Metal Union Local 104 1997

box 7, folder 1

Personal 1950-1991

box 7, folder 3

Southwest Voter Registration Education Project 1985

box 7, folder 4

AFL-CIO Committee on Evolution of Work Report 1985

box 7, folder 15

Conference Materials 1982-1984

box 7, folder 16

News Clippings 1984-1986

 

Series 4:  Assorted Publications 1935-1996

Arrangement

This series is arranged chronologically.
box 6, folder 16

Song Books and Pamphlets 1935-1954

box 6, folder 17

The Italians of San Francisco: Their Adjustment and Acculturation 1935

box 6, folder 18

History of Journalism in San Francisco 1940

box 6, folder 19

Flashes from Hollywood 1947

box 6, folder 20

Negro Heroes Comic and Soviet Humor Book 1947 1949

box 6, folder 21

Land of the Free, Home of the Brave 1996

Scope and Contents

Ten page booklet written by Esther Kutnick about her experience growing up with Communist parents during the Red Scare, focusing on her relationship with her father, Sam Kutnick.