Edward K. Barsky
Doctor Edward K. Barsky | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | February 11, 1975 | (aged 79)
Occupation | Doctor |
Years active | 1921-1975 |
National Chairman of Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee | |
Edward K. "Eddie" Barsky (June 6, 1895 – February 11, 1975) was an American
Background
Edward K. Barsky, known to his friends as "Eddie," was born in
Career
In 1921, Barsky began his own internship at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City; in 1931, he was made an Associate Surgeon at Beth Israel Hospital in 1931.[3]
Spanish Civil War
With the outbreak civil war in Spain in 1936, Barsky left Beth El Hospital[1] joined with a group of concerned New York physicians to establish the American Medical Bureau to Aid Spanish Democracy (AMB) -- an adjunct organization to the North America Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy, later known as the North American Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy.[1] The AMB arranged for the shipment of ambulances and other medical equipment and supplies, and in January 1937 sent a fully outfitted medical team of doctors, nurses, and technicians to Spain with Barsky at the helm.
Barsky sailed for Spain on January 16, 1937, arriving early the next month with enough equipment to furnish a 50-bed hospital.[1][5] There he served with the Republican Medical Service in various American Hospitals.[5] Barsky returned to US from Spain to be appointed Surgeon General of International Sanitary Service.[5] Supporters of his efforts included Albert Einstein, Dr. Walter B. Cannon of Harvard Medical School, and Dr. James B. Peters of Yale Medical School.[1]
After the defeat of the Republican force, Barsky returned to the US, arriving in August 1938.[1][5]
Postwar
Barsky was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) on February 13, 1946, where he refused to turn over the books, ledgers, and other financial documents of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, as was demanded.[6] As a result, Barsky was charged with Contempt of Congress and brought to trial for his willful defiance of Congressional subpoena.[1][6] Ernest Hemingway tried to help him fight the conviction.[1]
In 1952 he worked on behalf of the
Barsky was a consulting surgeon at Beth Israel Hospital at time of death.[1]
Personal life and death
Barsky married Vita; they had a daughter.[1]
Edward K. Barsky died age 78 on February 11, 1975, in
Legacy
Barsky's papers are housed as part of the
See also
- American Medical Bureau
- Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Edward Barsky, Surgeon, Dies; Joined Spanish Republican Side". New York Times. 13 February 1975. p. 28. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Edward Barsky passport issued on 6 October 1921
- ^ a b c Phillip Deery, Red Apple: Communism and McCarthyism in Cold War New York. New York: Empire State Editions/Fordham University Press, 2014; pg. 13.
- ^ Deery, Red Apple, pg. 166, fn. 5.
- ^ a b c d "Edward K. Barsky: Biography," Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, www.alba-valb.org/
- ^ a b Haig A. Bosmajian, The Freedom Not to Speak. New York: New York University Press, 1999; pg. 1.
- ^ "Edward K. Barsky". Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- ^ a b Jessica Weglein, "Guide to the Edward K. Barsky Papers: Descriptive Summary," Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives, New York University, 2014.
- ^ Deery, Red Apple, pg. 116, fn. 8.
Sources
- Photo of Barsky
- Jane Pacht Brickman, "Medical McCarthyism and the Punishment of Internationalist Physicians in the United States," in Anne-Emanuelle Birn and Theodore M. Brown (eds.), Comrades in Health: US Health Internationalists, Abroad and at Home. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2013; pp. 82–100.
- Peter N. Carroll, The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Americans in the Spanish Civil War. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1994.
- Walter J. Lear, "American Medical Support for Spanish Democracy, 1936-1938," in Anne-Emanuelle Birn and Theodore M. Brown (eds.), Comrades in Health: US Health Internationalists, Abroad and at Home. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2013; pp. 65–81.
- Joseph North, "A Case for the Doctor," New Masses, August 19, 1947, pp. 8–9.