Abraham Bluestein (1909–1997) was an

American anarchist Anarchism in the United States began in the mid-19th century and started to grow in influence as it entered the American labor movements, growing an anarcho-communist current as well as gaining notoriety for violent propaganda of the deed and c ...

who participated in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

Life and career

Abraham Bluestein, known as Abe, was born in Philadelphia on November 1, 1909, to Russian immigrants Mendel (Max) and Esther Bluestein. His parents had been active Russian revolutionaries and fled the country after his father killed a tsarist soldier. In the United States, they were involved in the organization of the

International Ladies Garment Workers Union The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) was a labor union for employees in the women's clothing industry in the United States. It was one of the largest unions in the country, one of the first to have a primarily female membersh ...

(ILGWU) and often discussed anarchism at home. While in grade school, his parents transferred him to the Stelton Modern School on the anarchist Ferrer Colony in New Jersey. He attended public high school in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

. In college, he joined the anarchist Vanguard Group, where he met Selma Cohen, who became his wife. In the 1930s, he edited Vanguard's self-titled ''Vanguard'' publication and ''Challenge''. After college, Bluestein worked as a teacher. Bluestein and Cohen, a visual artist, were anarchist activists and together traveled to Spain during its

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

to support the antifascist

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

in 1937. Based in Barcelona and Catalonia, Bluestein reported for the

Canadian Broadcasting Company The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its English-language and F ...

and served as an information officer for the Republican-aligned, anarcho-syndicalist labor union

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo The (CNT; ) is a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist national trade union center, trade union confederation. Founded in 1910 in Barcelona from groups brought together by the trade union ''Solidaridad Obrera (historical union), Solidaridad Obrera'', ...

. While in Spain, he met the anarchists

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born Anarchism, anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europ ...

and

Augustin Souchy Augustin Souchy Bauer (28 August 1892 – 1 January 1984) was a Silesian anarchist, antimilitarist, labor union official and journalist. He traveled widely and wrote extensively about the Spanish Civil War and intentional communities. He ...

. After the war, Bluestein and Cohen settled in

Croton-on-Hudson Croton-on-Hudson ( ) is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2020 United States census over 8,070 at the 2010 census. It is located in the town of Cortlandt as part of New York City's northern ...

, New York, where they raised four children. As a pacifist during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Bluestein became alienated from the antifascist anarchists. He wrote for ''

The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...

'' and '' American Labor Union Journal'' after the war. Bluestein participated in the

Libertarian Book Club The Libertarian Book Club and Libertarian League were two postwar anarchist groups in New York City associated with Sam and Esther Dolgoff. Libertarian Book Club The Libertarian Book Club was an anarchist circle in postwar New York City. E ...

and edited the 1983 memorial volume, ''Fighters for Anarchism:

Mollie Steimer Mollie Steimer (; November 21, 1897 – July 23, 1980) was a Ukrainian anarchist activist. After settling in New York City in 1913, she quickly became involved in the local anarchism in the United States, anarchist movement and was caught up ...

and

Senya Fleshin Senya Fleshin (19 December 1894 – 19 June 1981) was a Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary and photographer. Early life Senya Fleshin was born in Kiev on 19 December 1894. When he was (16) his family emigrated to the United States and settled in N ...

''. He continued to speak and translate works on Spanish anarchism, such as Souchy's ''With the Peasants of Aragón'', and edited two publications on Spanish anarchism after the fall of fascist Spain. Bluestein was heavily involved in New York's cooperative housing movement and managed ILGWU's Manhattan cooperative houses and the Bronx Amalgamated and

Co-op City Co-op City (short for Cooperative City) is a cooperative housing development located in the northeast section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by Interstate 95 to the southwest, west, and north and the Hutchinson River ...

houses. He became less active as an anarchist, though he retained prominent anarchist friends, and continued to advocate for labor unions and cooperatives through his death on December 3, 1997, in a Croton nursing home.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Abe and Selma Bluestein papers, 1930–1991
at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Bluestein, Abe 1909 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century anarchists Activists from New York City Activists from Philadelphia American anarchists American cooperative organizers American editors American pacifists American people of Russian descent City College of New York alumni Ferrer Center and Colony Jewish anarchists People from Croton-on-Hudson, New York War correspondents of the Spanish Civil War