Abraham Osheroff facts for kids

Abraham Osheroff (October 24, 1915 – April 6, 2008) was an American social activist, carpenter, war veteran, documentary filmmaker, and lecturer. He was known for fighting for what he believed was right, helping people, and making films.

Abraham Osheroff's Early Life and Activism

Abraham Osheroff was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 24, 1915. His parents, Sarah and Louis Osheroff, were immigrants from Russia. He learned Yiddish and some Russian before English. He later graduated from the City College of New York.

In the early 1930s, Abe started working for social change. During the Great Depression, many families lost their homes. In 1931, police arrested Abe for helping families move their furniture back into their houses after they were evicted. While he was held, a policeman who was part of a group called the German-American Bund (which supported Nazi ideas) beat him. Around this time, he joined the Communist Party USA. By 1935, when he was 20, he was helping to organize unions for miners and collecting aid for workers who were on strike.

Fighting in the Spanish Civil War

When the Spanish Civil War began in 1936, Abe didn't immediately feel he needed to go. But then he saw news about the bombing of Guernica. This was a terrible attack where planes bombed a town and caused a lot of suffering. This event convinced him to fight. He believed that no one should be allowed to hurt others and get away with it. He joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group of American volunteers who went to Spain to fight against fascism. He was wounded during the Battle of Belchite (1937).

World War II and Beyond

After a serious knee injury, Abe returned home in 1938. He ran for the New York Legislature as a Communist. When World War II started, he joined the United States Army to fight against Nazi Germany. However, the Army was worried about his political views. So, they did not send him overseas. Instead, he served as an instructor, reaching the rank of Sergeant, mostly in the southern United States.

At the start of World War II, he married his first wife, Sylvia, and they had a son named Carl. After the war, he taught at the Jefferson School of Social Science in New York. This was an adult school that taught about Marxist ideas and had connections to the Communist Party.

After his first wife divorced him, he married Claire Rosenbaum in 1949. They moved around the country and he worked as a carpenter using a different name. This was because he had heard the FBI was looking for him. In 1951, he left the Communist Party because he learned about the terrible purges (mass arrests and killings) done by Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union.

Life in California and Family

In 1956, Abe moved to California with his wife Claire and their two-year-old son, Pete. They later had another child, Jo. Abe was very dedicated to his activism. He often left his family to work on his goals of "saving the world." In 1959, his wife filed for divorce.

In 1962, Abe married his third wife, Noel Carrawan. They had three children: Nick, Dov, and Sara. They lived in Venice, California. Abe played a big part in saving the Venice Canals from being developed. He also worked to stop authorities from forcing poor families, like his own, out of the area. Abe worked as a carpenter and taught his sons, Nick and Dov, this skill.

Civil Rights and Filmmaking

After leaving the Communist Party, Abe put his energy into the Civil Rights Movement. In 1965, he helped build a community center in Holmes County, Mississippi. He faced threats from the police there because he was working with African Americans. The police were connected to groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Abe had first thought about rebuilding the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee. But after talking with its founder, Myles Horton, they decided to build a community center in Mississippi instead. While building the Mileston Community Center, Abe stayed with Hartman Turnbow, a leader in the movement in Holmes County.

In 1974, Abe finished a documentary film called Dreams and Nightmares. This film was about American military bases that were sold to Spain under the dictator Franco by President Richard Nixon. The film surprised many people because Nixon was still a popular president at the time. Dreams & Nightmares won a top award at a socialist documentary film festival in Leipzig, East Germany. Abe managed to get permission to return to Spain in 1971 to make the documentary, even though he didn't have much experience.

Later Activism and Legacy

In 1985, Abe organized a group of Americans to travel to Nicaragua. They went to help the Sandinistas, a political group there, by building a village. Later, he was very active in movements against the Gulf War and the Iraq War. He even drove a "Peace Mobile" to spread his message.

In March 2008, Abe traveled from his home in Seattle to San Francisco. He went with his wife, Gunnel Clark, and friends for the unveiling of the first monument in the United States dedicated to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. It took a lot of effort for him to get there, but he was determined. Abe was the guest of honor, one of the last 20 or so survivors of the Brigade. He often used to say, "I have one foot in the grave but the other keeps dancing."

Abraham Osheroff died on April 6, 2008, a few days after returning to Seattle. He had spent more than seven decades deeply involved in what he called "radical humanism," which means working for human rights and social justice.

See also

In Spanish: Abraham Osheroff para niños