Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee (JAFRC) was a nonprofit organization to provide humanitarian aid to refugees of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

History

In 1941, the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee was formed by Lincoln Battalion veterans of the

to provide aid to Spanish Loyalists refugees from

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spani ...

. JAFRC superseded previous groups, including the North American Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy and

American Medical Bureau The American Medical Bureau (AMB), also known as the American Medical Bureau to Save Spanish Democracy, was a humanitarian aid institution associated to the Lincoln Battalion, providing a medical corps, nursing systems for casualties, as well as ...

(the latter of which Barsky had founded in 1936). Specifically, JAFRC was "dedicated to the rescue and relief of thousands of anti-fascist fighters trapped in

Vichy, France Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of Vich ...

, and North Africa" so that they might "return to the active fight against the Axis." JAFRC established a fundraising organization called "Spanish Refugee Appeal" of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee."

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...

took charge of the committee's fundraising and the anti-fascists soon attracted the support of

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...

Lillian Hellman Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, prose writer, memoirist and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway, as well as her communist sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted aft ...

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, H ...

, and

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. In 1942, it was licensed to do so in

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its t ...

by President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

's wartime administration, and the anti-fascists were then granted tax-exempt status. In 1946, the JAFRC began to face nearly-constant attack from federal government organizations. In 1948, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (now the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory t ...

) rescinded JAFRC's tax-exempt status. Thereafter, the Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB) tried to force JAFRC to register as a communist front organization. In April 1951, Allan Rosenberg successfully argued for the complainant Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee in '' Anti-Fascist Committee v. McGrath'' before the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

. In 1955, the JAFRC board voted to disband.

People

Leaders

According to letterhead dated March 17, 1944, leaders included: * Walter Rautenstrauch, National Honorary Chairman * Edward K. Barsky, National Chairman * Lyman R. Bradley, National Treasurer * Helen R. Bryan, National Secretary National Sponsors included: * Dr. Comfort A. Adams * Rabbi Michael Aper * Dr. Hery Lambert Bibby * James L. Brewer * Dr. Walter B. Cannon * Prof. Richard T. Cox *

Martha Dodd Martha Eccles Dodd (October 8, 1908 – August 10, 1990) was an American journalist and novelist. The daughter of William Edward Dodd, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first Ambassador to Germany, Dodd lived in Berlin from 1933–1937 an ...

Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are '' La Bandera'', ''Pépé le Moko' ...

* Dr. Frederick May Eliot * Dr. Henry Pratt Fairchild *

Lion Feuchtwanger Lion Feuchtwanger (; 7 July 1884 – 21 December 1958) was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht. Feuchtwanger's Ju ...

* Prof. Irving Fisher * Prof. Mitchell Franklin * Rev. Stephen H. Fritchman * Prof. Marion Hathaway * Kenneth Leslie * Princess Helga zu Loewenstein * Dr. Robert Morss Lovett * Prof. Kirtley F. Mather *

Philip Merivale Philip Merivale (2 November 1886 – 12 March 1946) was an English film and stage actor and screenwriter. Life and career Merivale was born in Rehutia, Manickpur, India, to railway engineer Walter Merivale (1855–1902) and Emma Magd ...

* Rt. Rev. Edward L. Parsons * Prof. Renato Poggioli * Dr. Francis M. Pottenger *

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

* Prof. Harlow Shapley * Dalton Trumbo *

Dame May Whitty ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the British honours system and those of several other Commonwealth realms, such as Australia and New Zeal ...

* Dr. Max Yergan

Members

* Moses Fishman * Mark Straus MD *

Arthur Szyk Arthur Szyk (Polish: �artur ʃɪk June 16, 1894 – September 13, 1951) was a Polish artist who worked primarily as a book illustrator and political artist throughout his career. Arthur Szyk was born into a prosperous middle-class Jewish fam ...

(alleged)

Spanish Refugee Appeal supporters

Appeal Officers: *

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, Honorary Chair *

, Chairman National Sponsors included: * Rev. Dr. Charles B. Ackley * Lemuel Ayers * Aline Bernstein *

* Alvah Bessie * Lyman R. Bradley * Dorothy Brewster * Arthur G. Brodeur *

Henrietta Buckmaster Henrietta Delancey Henkle, (10 March 1909 – 26 April 1983) better known by her pen name Henrietta Buckmaster, was an activist, journalist, and author best known for writing historical studies and novels. She was also active in the civil rights ...

* Rabbi Elliott Burstein *

Allan Chase Allan Stuart Chase (born 1956 in Phoenix, Arizona) is an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Chase studied at Berklee College of Music with Jaki Byard, at the Creative Music Studio with Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, Karl Berger and Georg ...

Edward Chodorov Edward Chodorov (April 17, 1904 – October 9, 1988), was a Broadway playwright, and the writer or producer of over 50 motion pictures. Filmography * ''Kind Lady (1951 film), Kind Lady'' (1951, writer) * ''Road House (1948 film), Road House'' ...

John M. Coffee John Main Coffee (January 23, 1897 – June 2, 1983) was a U.S. Representative from Washington. Education John Coffee was born in Tacoma, Washington and attended the public schools. He then attended the University of Washington in Seattle, ear ...

* Rabbi J. X. Coeh * Charles A. Collins * Eugene P. Connolly * Kyle Crichton * Bartley C. Crum * Bernard Davidoff * Agnes George De Mille * Mrs. George Adams Dewey *

Earl B. Dickerson Earl B. Dickerson (1891–1986) was a prominent African American attorney, community activist and business executive who successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in '' Hansberry v. Lee''. Early life Earl Burrus Dickerson was born on J ...

* Dean Dixon *

* Olin Downes *

Muriel Draper Muriel Draper (c. 1886 – August 26, 1952) was an American writer, artist and social activist. Biography Moving in English and American art circles, she participated in the Harlem Renaissance. A follower of Russian mystic G. I. Gurdjieff, she c ...

* Rabbi Mitchel S. Eskolsky *

Philip Evergood Philip Howard Francis Dixon Evergood (born Howard Blashki; 1901–1973) was an American painter, etcher, lithographer, sculptor, illustrator and writer. He was particularly active during the Depression and World War II era. Life Philip Evergo ...

Henry Pratt Fairchild Henry Pratt Fairchild (August 18, 1880 – October 2, 1956) was a distinguished American sociologist who was actively involved in many of the controversial issues of his time. He wrote about race relations, abortion and contraception, and immig ...

* L.S. Fanning * Howard Fast *

* Louis Finger * Elizabeth P. Frazier * Rve. Stephen Fritchman * Betty Garrett * Frank Gervasi * Elinor S. Gimbel * Rabbi Solomon Goldman *

Robert Gordis Robert Gordis (February 6, 1908 – January 3, 1992) was an American leading conservative rabbi. He founded the first Conservative Jewish day school, served as President of the Rabbinical Assembly and the Synagogue Council of America, and was a ...

* William Gropper * Chaim Gross * Ralph H. Grundlach * Richard Gump * Ralph Gundlach * Marion Hathaway *

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...

Libby Holman Elizabeth Lloyd Holman (née Holzman; May 23, 1904 – June 18, 1971) was an American socialite, actress, singer, and activist. Early life Elizabeth Lloyd Holzman was born May 23, 1904, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of a lawyer and stockbrok ...

Walter Huston Walter Thomas Huston ( ;According to the Province of Ontario. ''Ontario, C ...

* Stanley M. Isaacs * Mrs. Sydney Joseph *

Barney Josephson Barney Josephson (1902–1988) was the founder of Café Society in Greenwich Village, New York's first integrated nightclub. Opening artists in 1938 included Billie Holiday, who first performed the song "Strange Fruit" there. Background Bar ...

* Rober W. Kenny *

Rockwell Kent Rockwell Kent (June 21, 1882 – March 13, 1971) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, writer, sailor, adventurer and voyager. Biography Rockwell Kent was born in Tarrytown, New York. Kent was of English descent. He lived much of ...

Fiske Kimball Sidney Fiske Kimball (1888 – 1955) was an American architect, architectural historian and museum director. A pioneer in the field of architectural preservation in the United States, he played a leading part in the restoration of Monticel ...

Arthur Kober Arthur Kober (August 25, 1900 – June 12, 1975) was an American humorist, author, press agent, and screenwriter. He was married to the dramatist Lillian Hellman. Biography Early life Kober was born into a Jewish family in Brody, Galicia, in ...

Alfred Kreymborg Alfred Francis Kreymborg (December 10, 1883 – August 14, 1966) was an American poet, novelist, playwright, literary editor and anthologist. Early life and associations He was born in New York City to Hermann and Louisa Kreymborg (née Nasher), ...

Canada Lee Canada Lee (born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata; March 3, 1907 – May 9, 1952) was an American professional boxer and then an actor who pioneered roles for African Americans. After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, he became an actor ...

* M.V. Leof * Kenneth Leslie * Ray Lev * Walter H. Leibman * Daniel A. Longbaker *

Louis Lozowick Louis Lozowick (1892 – 1973) (ukr: Луї Лозовик) was a Ukrainian-born American painter and printmaker. He is recognized as an Art Deco and Precisionist artist, and mainly produced streamline, urban-inspired monochromatic lithogr ...

* Florence J. Luscomb * Richard Lyndon * Louis F. McCabe *

John T. McManus John Thomas McManus (1904 – November 1961) was an American journalist active in progressive politics in the 1950s and 1960s best known as co-founder of the ''National Guardian'', a left-leaning newspaper. Background McManus was born in New ...

* Rev. Dr. John D. Mackay * Manuel Magana * Albert Maltz * Alfred T. Manacher * Richard Maney *

Heinrich Mann Luiz Heinrich Mann (; 27 March 1871 – 11 March 1950), best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German author known for his socio-political novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the Prussian Academy ...

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

Alicia Markova Dame Alicia Markova DBE (1 December 1910 – 2 December 2004) was a British ballerina and a choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her career with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and touring internat ...

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...

Kirtley F. Mather Kirtley Fletcher Mather (February 13, 1888May 5, 1978) was an American geologist and faculty member at Harvard University. An expert on petroleum geology and mineralogy, Mather was a prominent scholar, advocate for academic freedom, social activi ...

* F.O. Matthiesen * Rev. William Howard Melesh *

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

* Saul Mills * James K. Moffitt *

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...

Karen Morley Karen Morley (born Mildred Linton; December 12, 1909 – March 8, 2003) was an American film actress. Life and career Born Mildred Linton in Ottumwa, Iowa, Morley lived there until she was 13 years old. When she moved to Hollywood, she attend ...

* William Morris Jr. *

Zero Mostel Samuel Joel "Zero" Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in ''Fiddler on the Roof'', Pseudolus on stage and on ...

Jarmila Novotná Jarmila Novotná (September 23, 1907, in Prague, Austria-Hungary – February 9, 1994, in New York City) was a celebrated Bohemian soprano and actress and, from 1940 to 1956, a star of the Metropolitan Opera. Early career A student of Emmy De ...

* Michael J. Obermeier * Harvey O'Connor *

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earli ...

* Isabel de Palencia *

Aubrey Pankey Aubrey W. Pankey (June 17, 1905May 8, 1971)Aubrey Pankey in ''Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Immigration Cards, 1900-1965'' was an American-born baritone and noted Lieder singer in 1930s Germany. In 1956 he permanently emigrated to East Germany under ...

* Beryl Parker * Edward L. Parsons * J. Gilbert Peirce * Gerry Pelles * Gregor Piatigorsky * David de Sola Pool *

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

* Walter Rautenstrauch * Anton Refregier * John Reiner *

Quentin Reynolds Quentin James Reynolds (April 11, 1902 – March 17, 1965) was an American journalist and World War II war correspondent. He also played American football for one season in the National Football League (NFL) with the Brooklyn Lions. Early life ...

* William M. Rubin * Mrs. Maurice Bower Saul *

Jimmy Savo Jimmy Savo (1895 – September 5, 1960) was an American Vaudeville, Broadway, nightclub, film and television performer, comedian, juggler, and mime artist. Life Born in New York City as James Vincent Savo on July 31, 1895, Savo began his ca ...

* Geoges Schreiber *

Hazel Scott Hazel Dorothy Scott (June 11, 1920 – October 2, 1981) was a Trinidad-born American jazz and classical pianist and singer. She was an outspoken critic of racial discrimination and segregation. She used her influence to improve the representat ...

Anna Seghers Anna Seghers (; born ''Anna Reiling,'' 19 November 1900 – 1 June 1983), is the pseudonym of a German writer notable for exploring and depicting the moral experience of the Second World War. Born into a Jewish family and married to a Hungarian ...

* Lisa Sergio *

Harlow Shapley Harlow Shapley (November 2, 1885 – October 20, 1972) was an American scientist, head of the Harvard College Observatory (1921–1952), and political activist during the latter New Deal and Fair Deal. Shapley used Cepheid variable stars to estim ...

* Sol Silverman * Hilda Simms *

Edgar Snow Edgar Parks Snow (19 July 1905 – 15 February 1972) was an American journalist known for his books and articles on Communism in China and the Chinese Communist revolution. He was the first Western journalist to give an account of the history of t ...

* Moses Soyer * Johannes Steel * Vilhjalmur Stefansson * Mark Straus * Jack Strauss *

Genevieve Tabouis Genevieve (french: link=no, Sainte Geneviève; la, Sancta Genovefa, Genoveva; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) is the patroness saint of Paris in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Her feast is on 3 January. Genevieve was born in Nanterre a ...

* Dalton Trumbo * M.S. Vidaver *

Harry F. Ward Harry Frederick Ward Jr. (15 October 1873 – 9 December 1966) was an English-born American Methodist minister and political activist who identified himself with the movement for Christian socialism, best remembered as first national chairman of t ...

* Morris Watson * Margaret Webster *

* Mrs. Philip E. Wilcox * Mitchell Wilson *

Carl Zigrosser Carl Zigrosser (1891–1975) was an art dealer best known for founding and running the New York Weyhe Gallery in the 1920s and 1930s, and as Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Philadelphia Museum of Art between 1940 and 1963. In the 1910s, ...

* Leane Zugsmith

References

External sources

Yale University Archives

Digital Commonwealth
{{XV International Brigade Legal organizations based in the United States Organizations established in 1941 Progressivism in the United States Political organizations based in the United States 1941 establishments in the United States Organizations disestablished in 1955 Humanitarian aid organizations Organisations of the Spanish Civil War Spain–United States relations Anti-fascist organizations in the United States