Albert Prago Audio Collection
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Abstract
Albert Prago (1911-1993) was a scholar of Latin American history and Marxist economics, a college teacher and a veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. After being wounded in Spain, he returned to the United States in 1938, and pursued a career in teaching and research. He published several books and articles on labor history, Latin-American history and the Spanish Civil War, earned a Ph.D. in history in 1976, and co-edited the 1987 anthology Our Fight with fellow Lincoln Brigade veteran Alvah Bessie. The collection consists of 16 audiocasettes, featuring talks by several Lincoln Brigade veterans and prominent progressives (including Pete Seeger) created when Prago taught a course on the Spanish Civil War at the New School in New York City in 1981, as well as two cassettes documenting a 1982 radio program featuring Prago, several other veterans and Seeger.
Biographical Note
Albert Prago (1911-1993) was a scholar of Latin American history and Marxist economics, a college teacher and a veteran of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. After being wounded in Spain, he returned to the United States in 1938, and pursued a career in teaching and research. He published several books and articles on labor history, Latin-American history and the Spanish Civil War, earned a Ph.D. in history in 1976, and co-edited the 1987 anthology Our Fight with fellow Lincoln Brigade veteran Alvah Bessie.
Albert Prago was born in New York City in 1911. His parents were Latvian Jewish immigrants to the United States. Although his upbringing was not religious, he explained in an interview that his desire to volunteer to fight fascism had its roots in his Jewish cultural identity, an identity that is reflected in his later research on Jewish involvement in the Spanish Civil War. He joined the Communist Party in 1934. Before his departure for Spain in 1937, he was a charter member of Local 453, American Federation of Teachers, and taught social sciences in the Works Projects Administration adult education project. While a member of the Lincoln Brigade, he served both as Anglo-American editor of the International Brigades' daily newsletter and as the battalion's interpreter. Prago was wounded during the second battle of Belchite in March 1938, and spent more than a year in the hospital before his recovery was complete.
After his return to New York in 1938, Prago concentrated his efforts on teaching and research, and remained deeply involved in radical political activity. He earned a Ph.D. in history at the age of 65 from Union Institute and University, and taught at the Jefferson School of Social Science, Hofstra University, Cornell University's N.Y. State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Empire State College, and the New School for Social Research. His articles on the Spanish Civil War are collected in the 1987 anthology Our Fight: Writings by Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Spain 1936-1939, co-edited by Prago and Alvah Bessie.
Prago retired to West Palm Beach, Florida. He continued to publish historical articles and remained actively involved with the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade until his death from cancer in July 1993.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in chronological order by interview date.
Scope and Contents
In the 1981 fall semester, Abraham Lincoln Brigade veteran Al Prago taught a course on the Spanish Civil War at the New School in New York City, featuring other veterans as guest speakers, as well as appearances by folk singer Pete Seeger and civil liberties lawyer Victor Rabinowitz. The course was recorded on 14 audiocassettes, included in this collection. Also included are two audiocassettes of Prago's Nov 30, 1982 radio appearance on WKCR (Columbia University), speaking about the Abraham Lincoln Brigade; this program which also featured several other veterans and Pete Seeger.
Subjects
Access Restrictions
Materials are open to researchers.
Use Restrictions
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. For more information, please contact the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu or 212-998-2630.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Albert Prago Audio Collection; ALBA AUDIO 090; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials found in collection; there is no documentation concerning the provenance of these materials. The accession numbers associated with this collection are 1982.016 and 2001.141.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596 with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to 2021 are unknown. In April 2021, cassettes were moved from audio cabinet drawers into cassette boxes. New container numbers were created and cassettes were assigned to the appropriate top containers. Collection level notes were written for compliance with DACS and ACM Required Elements for Archival Description.
