Watt Family Papers
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Abstract
George Watt served as a political commissar in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War and later as a sergeant in the Army Air Force during World War II. This collection consists chiefly of letters between George Watt and family members during these conflicts.
Biographical Note
From an early age, George Watt (1913-1994) was involved in Communist activities, serving as executive secretary of the Communist National Student League. From 1937-1939, he was a political commissar in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. Watt later served as a sergeant in the Army Air Force during World War II.
After the war, Watt became an official of the American Communist Party. He was one of a group of party officers convicted of sedition in 1953 (the conviction was overturned on appeal). Watt broke with the Communist Party in 1958. He died in 1994 at age 80.
Source: NY Times Obituaries, http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/09/obituaries/george-watt-80-hospital-executive.html
Arrangement
Within each accession, correspondence is arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists chiefly of correspondence between George Watt and family members during World War II, the Spanish Civil War, and the anti-communist movements of the McCarthy era. There is also a page proof of Watt's book The Comet Connection : Escape from Hitler's Europe (1990). First donation: seven handwritten World War II era letters. Five are from George Watt, then in the US Army; three of these are to Milt Wolff. Two letters are about George Watt. Also included is a page proof of Watt's book The Comet Connection : Escape from Hitler's Europe (1990). Second donation (Dec. 2004): approximately 300 letters written by George Watt during World War II to his wife, Margaret Watt. Third donation: (Dec. 2005): approximately 300 World War II letters to and from George Watt (some from his wife, Margaret Watt, and some from Milt Wolff) and miscellaneous documents. Fourth donation: (Oct. 2012): approximately 50 (mostly handwritten) letters written by George Watt between July 1937 and December 1938, after he returned from Spain. The majority of the letters are written to his first wife, Ruth Rosenthal Watt, but there are also letters to Terry Levin, a close friend; his sister, Mae Kwatt; and other family members. This accretion also includes a typewritten text of a radio speech written by George Watt in February 1939. A fifth donation of a CD recording of readings of George and Ruth Rosenthal Watt's letters was added in 2013. 2022 accretion: 44 letters between George and Ruth Rosenthal Watt between 1937 and 1938. 2025 accretion: correspondence between George Watt and Margie Watt (and George and other family members) during his incarceration following being convicted of sedition in 1953, along with other CPUSA members during the McCarthyist era. There are also letters between Margie and other members of the Freeport Committee to Secure Justice for the Ferguson Brothers, of which Margie was the secretary. Letters include a brief note from Thurgood Marshall, and letters from Helen Winter, Carl Winter's wife. Carl was also imprisoned under the Smith Act and was, notably, alongside Alger Hiss. Other materials from the Ferguson Case include correspondence, a pamphlet, ephemera, and other organizing materials. In 1946 two Black brothers, Charles and Alphonso Ferguson, were shot and killed by police in Freeport, New York on Long Island. The ensuing case was an early catalyst for the Civil Rights movement in New York.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the Watt Family were transferred to New York University in 2004. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. For more information, contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu or 212-998-2630.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Watt Family Papers; ALBA 193; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials from the 2004, 2005, 2012 and 2025 accretions were donated by Dan Lynn Watt and Molly Lynn Watt. Donation of a CD recording of letters between George and Ruth Watt donated by Dan Watt in 2012. The accession number associated with this donation is 2013.027. An accretion of letters from Ruth Rosenthal Watt to George Watt was donated in February 2022; the accession number associated with this gift is 2022.012.
About this Guide
Processing Information
This collection is unprocessed. Most materials have been rehoused in archival quality folders. The collection was originally titled the George and Margaret Watt Papers, which waschanged in October 2012 to reflect an accretion of letters to George's first wife, Ruth. In December 2025, an accretion of correspondence and ephemera was rehoused in archival boxes and folders, and added to the collection as Box 5.
