2. After journaling, have students meet either in pairs or small groups to discuss
their reactions to the above questions. Allow 10 15 minutes for groups/pairs to
discuss the issue of volunteering and their personal connections to it
3. Bring the whole class together, and explain that they will now investigate the
stories of several young people who became volunteers in the Abraham Lincoln
Brigade during World War II. Depending on the class, and the existing level of
knowledge about the Spanish Civil War and the International Brigades, the
following section of the ALBA website can be used to provide some historical
background before students begin this next step:
Internationalism & the Spanish Civil War
(
http://www.alba-
valb.org/curriculum/index.asp?module=1&page=P002
)
For additional background on the Spanish Civil War (site under construction)
4. Begin an investigation of four selected volunteers by first dividing the class into
four equal sized groups. Each group will focus on one of the following
individuals, as described in the ALBA site:
Hyman Katz
Ed Balchowsky
Al Tanz
Yekhiel Shulevitch
5. Each group will examine the existing primary and secondary source materials
available for their assigned volunteer. In some cases, there may be less available
information than for other volunteers. Working together, each group address
the following themes and questions:
Origins: Where was this person from? What was his identity, ie how might
he have perceived himself, and how might others have perceived him? How
might these questions of identity have influenced his decision to join the
International Brigades?
Motivations: From what you can find out about this person, why do you
think he volunteered for the International Brigades? What risks did he take
by doing so?
Experiences: What happened to this person during the war? How did these
experiences change his self-image, as well as his outlook on society and
politics?
Additionally, each team should generate a list questions they have regarding
their person's experiences and his motivations for joining the International
Brigades
6. Information for each of these individuals can located within the ALBA site:
Hyman Katz
Jewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
,. Read this page,
focusing on the description of Katz. Click his name to open a link
providing a transcript of a letter from Katz to his mother in 1937.
Ed Balchowsky
Anti-Semitism in the 1920s and 1930s
. Read this page,
focusing on anti-Semitism, but beginning with a short biography of
