Sarah Frey, Alexander Furash, Hunter Loy, Jacob Baker, Kaleb Blackard, Melissa Valenzuela, Melissa Valenzuela
Sponsor or Client:
Title:
A Fan, A Photo, and the Spanish Civil War
Abstract:
A Fan, a Photo, and the Spanish Civil War is a student-led research project mentored by Dr. Björn Krondorfer of the Martin-Springer Institute of Northern Arizona University and historian Dr. Ana Varela-Lago. This project aims to educate a public audience about the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) by telling the stories of a select few members of the International Brigades who left their signatures on the back of one of the project’s artifacts, a Spanish fan. The Spanish Civil War pitted General Francisco Franco, aided by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, against the Spanish Republic which was aided by the Soviet Union and the International Brigades.
Writing on the side of the fan also shows that these men all served together from May to September 1938 in the Levante region of eastern Spain in the 129th Anti-Tank Battery. The fan and two photographs were presented to Dr. Krondorfer by German-American, Bernd Häber, who was gifted these family heirlooms from his great-uncle and International Brigades volunteer, Hans Maslowski.
Since March 2021, the team has found records of the volunteers through the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archive, the declassified Russian Archives, and other sources. This information has begun to paint a picture of these volunteers’ experiences, unique involvements, and motivations during the Spanish Civil War. Some of our findings have already been published in Spain and one forthcoming in a magazine about the International Brigades.
Frey, Sarah
Category
Undergraduate Research > Jean Shuler Research Mini-Grants > Poster Presentation
Description