Before I began my archival work yesterday, I thought about what was most interesting me in the archives and what I want to research for my final project. I am most interested in what it meant to be a Communist in America in the 1930's and how this movement influenced the lives of the citizens of New York City. Perhaps I could do a case study of a soldier in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, such as Bill Bailey, and come to some conclusions about the the New York City left culture from his story. Furthermore, I would be able to come to some conclusions about the place of leftist ideology in modern American; how new ideas have roots in fundamental American tenets and also how new ideas change America in the modern age.

In the archives yesterday, I continued to explore different stories, in search of a case study for this research. I opened the files of Doctor Edward K. Barsky, the famous New York City doctor who volunteered in Spain. In the first folder, however, I didn't find many things pertaining to the Doctor and his own personal story. Instead, there were many interesting government documents of war relief committees in World War II. The first document was a report on the President's termination of the War Relief Control Board and the establishment of the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid in its place. This committee, which still exists today, shows proactive governmental support of war volunteerism, a little too late for the Spanish cause. The document records the net income of the committee and how much of that income is sent overseas and shows that about $90,000 is not sent each year. This begs the question, did the establishment of governmental regulation of volunteered money through this committee decrease the efficiency of monetary aid? What were the benefits of this committee? Did they outweigh the drawbacks?

The next file I looked at contained papers from the International Committee of Coordination and Information to Aid Republican Spain. There was a booklet entitled All Free Men of the World for Republican Spain. The booklet outlines in detail how people internationally can best help Republican Spain, including "Aid to Children," "Aid to Refugees," "Aid to the Civil Population," "Aid to the Combatants," and finally "Medical Aid." There is a strong emphasis throughout the booklet on children and the destruction of the next generation. Second most prevalent is the destruction of women, elders, and the innocent civilian population. There is also a clear attempt in the booklet to make Spain seem like a modernized and capable nation. It says that "For 120 pesetas a month, or 5 dollar, the life of a child is assured in these Colonies where the most modern education is provided.” Also, “It is not through lack of organization that the Spanish Government meets with difficulties in providing for all these people, but only because of the painful conditions foced on it for the import of these products of prime necessity." The Spanish strategies to gain international support that were described in Peter Carol and Heather Grahams' books are clearly present in this book.

Therefore, I found many interesting documents of Spanish propaganda and U.S. Governmental actions during WWII, but very little about Edward Barksy's own story and little of what I want to research in the future. I hope to have more luck next time.