For more information and updates on the memorial celebration for Abe, visit www.abeosheroff.org
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Share your thoughts and reminiscences
Gunnel and family invite you to share your memories and reflections about Abe here. Thank you.
38 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I was not close to Abe at all but several times we were on the same stage at some rally; always for peace. He and Gunnel are an inspiration to me and are of those that keep me from getting weary about this world. I'm honored to have met Abe Osheroff. I celebrate his life and hope to garner as much dignity, well-being and sense of justice that he exeplified. My deepest love and condolences to dear Gunnel and his family. Nina Laboy
It was one of the greatest honors of my life to have had Abe consider me a friend. I'm so glad I flew out to SF for the dedication. If Abe was going, I had to go too. A great lifelong moral leader, and inspiration for eternity, really. We must, and will, keep his spirit alive. That spirit will be the tomb of fascism. Salud! Burt Cohen, New Hampshire
Prior to the Iraq War, when our city was getting mobilized to fight against it, I heard Abe speak at a rally at Garfield High School. Many of the young organizers were speaking with what I considered naivety, trying to convince the crowd that we had a chance to "stop this war before it starts". Abe, having the lifetime of experience that he did, was not so naive. He told the audience that "No we won't be able to stop this war from starting, but we still have to fight it". Abe knew we needed to look at this struggle as a long term thing to succeeded, otherwise people become disenchanted with the movement making short term pie-in-the-sky promises. Yes Franco succeeded in taking over Spain, but without people like Abe it would have been easier for the fascists, and they would have been able to consolidate their power better and been of more assistance to the Axis powers in World War II. Chris, Seattle
I am so honored to have met Abe and to have shared his and Gunnel's company for rousing conversation, wonderful food, love, laughter and the joy of living. Abe was and will continue to be an inspiration to me and so many others. His life is a testament to standing up for what is just and doing so fearlessly. Miguel and I are grateful to have been there for the dedication of the Abe Lincoln Brigade monument in San Francisco and to hear Abe wow the crowd one more time. We will continue to share the message of Abe's life and work. With Much Love, Stacey and Miguel Ferguson
I never met Abe, I would have loved to have listened to his 1st hand accounts of his lifetime. I wrote my senior thesis paper for a history degree at the U of Wisconsin on the Abraham Lincoln Brigade 12 years ago. While I didn't pursue history as a career beyond rec'g my BA, the amazing plights of the ALB and the people who went and fought/died at their own expense still has a hold on me to this day. I never tire of re-telling the true stories behind the ALB to those who will listen. I wish Ken Burns would take a swing at doing a PBS special on the ALB :) .. if we don't learn the lessons history can teach, Abe knew intimately history would repeat itself. The ALB roster of individuals weren't but ought to have been amply honored for taking it upon themselves to fight fascists waaaaaaaay before WW II started, they fought the good fight before the rest of the world cared to be bothered to react. Abe's family should be extremely proud of his accomplishments. Obviously, the world needs more like Abe ... most of the people of today really have no clue the debt of gratitude we owe to reactive visionaires like Abe and the ilk of his times. May Abe rest in peace and his family be comforted that they were priveledged in knowing an amazing individual.
Doug Richardson 11501 Northpark Ave. N. Seattle WA
What an inspiration Abe was for any of us who met him! I was fortunate to bathe in his sunshine on several occasions during the last years of his life and always came away feeling warmed and encouraged about the strength of the human spirit. I had a "whee" of a time driving him around in his "Peacemobile". Time with Abe was always intense and it seemed to count for more than other time. One of the messages that Abe drove home on a few of the occasions when I heard him speak publicly was that one oughtn't to be an activist unless one was having fun at it. His modeling of a passion for activism and of love of his fellow mortals was one of the reasons that I wanted young high school "peace activists in training" to sit at his feet. They would come away from those meetings inspired and wanting more time with him. I'm grateful to Howard Gale for introducing me to Abe and Gunnel. Both of them will be held in my heart until the end of my days. Marcia, Seattle
Truly a man who was larger than life, and a profound inspiration. We will all have to work hard and long to try to fill the gap his passing leaves in this world. In gratitude for knowing him-- Kjersten, Seattle
I met Abe when I was a little girl growing up in Los Angeles. He was an amazing carpenter and I often said that I thought he lived at our house over the years my parents were doing remodeling, back in the 1960s. At that time, I knew Abe as a big strong man who would let me sit on his lap while he enthralled me with his stories -some true and some entirely exaggerated. To me, he was like the God Atlas if Atlas had been Santa Claus.
When I got to college, I wanted to go to Spain but was not sure what to do. I'll never forget an afternoon I spent with him then, arranged by my mother, in which my whole dream of Spain grew so large and real and exciting that I left with no doubt about the course my life would take. I lived in Barcelona for two separate years and I am eternally grateful for the role Abe played in getting me there. Abe loved Spain, and the Spanish people, so much. When he returned to Spain much later in life and was given honorary Spanish citizenship, they showed how much they loved him too.
One of the last times I had a little time alone with Abe, a couple of years ago, I was struggling with a job at a community college in Reno, Nevada, and wondering if it was all worth it. I started out with the attitude that it was just a little unknown community college after all, off in the high sierras. I was feeling sorry for myself, and feeling like I almost didn't care any more. Both Gunnel and Abe shared with me their passion for community colleges, their respect for the teachers and administrators who work very hard to give many of the students a second chance, and their belief that it was nobel work. Suddenly, I saw my job and my life quite differently. I left that visit refreshed and renewed and went back to the college and "fought the good fight" for two more years. I finally lost the battle last summer and lost the job but it didn't matter as much as it might have before. Abe has taught me that the fight is all that matters - the good fight; it doesn't matter if you win or lose. I am proud that I fought for my students and for what I believe in and Abe is right: knowing that I did what I believed is enough. I am so grateful for the lessons he taught, his presence in my life, his love and support, and the fact that I have always known he was there, even when we didn't speak or see each other for long stretches. I have grown to love Gunnel and my heart truly goes out to her. As she said in her piece, I also feel that Abe is not really gone and he never will be. Nonetheless, I shall miss him.
“I can’t believe you’re gone” Is trite, yet no less true. So many times I let the long drive, the traffic Deter me from one more visit Until it was too late.
You always challenged us To be our best selves, Demanding a full commitment. Only fair, of course, Since you gave all of yourself So many times.
No-one I’ve ever known Has ever lived his ideals As you did. You cared so deeply And lived so fully I think I thought That you could not die.
Maybe I was right. It is again a cliché To say you live on in our memories But it’s much more than that. Your courage gave us courage. Your passion inspired ours And, most importantly Many young people who knew you Found the courage to live their ideals And they will pass it on.
Hi Gunnel.....I have been thinking about you and Abe. I remember when you sang "Aby baby" at his birthday party.....it was such a wonderfull gathering of people. Such a joyous thing...that party. There is no question that Abe knew more about life....and loved life....at the same time..yes...than anyone I have ever known...and that is rare...most folks ...the more they learn about life...the more bitter they seem to get about things they feel helpless to try and change...I think there is the key......Abe.....never gave up....and he loved people. He loved you....I think most of all. Abrazos Jack in Chicago
Our paths first crossed in the sixties in Venice, and we spent many hours together over a period of time – me mostly listening to the wonderful voluminous stories and admonitions. The well was never empty for this man who so loved story telling. Once after one such saga finished, I asked him if it was true, and his response was, “What the f… do you mean, is it 'true'? If I can think it up, then it’s capable of being created by a human being. So it doesn’t matter if the story is 'true' - what matters is the story."
It was a time of transition of my own life and much of what I heard and absorbed from him remained with me these many long years hence. Many will write and speak of him on this occasion, for he is all of what everyone will utter and remember, enveloped in that physical body that carried his fierce and stalwart soul through his remarkable 92 year journey. Yup, and even though he notes that monuments provide a place for birds to shit, they remind us of those who did the right things, and made the choices that matter – he did all that and left us a rare treasure: he lived, loved, and fought loudly and largely. And for that I thank him.
My heart sends love to Gunnel and rest of his family in this time of quiet.
The best memorial to Abe is to keep up the struggle and keep "fighting the bastards " as Abe often said. Abe has always been an inspiration, through his writings, his films, his history, but to be in his presence and feel his energy was the best. He always gave you the stimulus to continue the fight.
During our respective work in Nicaragua during the 1980's we often met, visited each other's building brigade sites and later, Abe continued the work by fund raising for the projects. He is and will always be there, a celebration of life, a joy to know. Steve Kerpen
I am so sad to learn about Abe's death. My father and he were friends and I think I always saw him as a model of what you should do if you were going to put your values into action. Even though I have not spoken with Abe in probably 20 years I thought about him often. I feel like the world is a little bit poorer for not having him around. My condolences to his family and Gunnel Ben Peck
Dear moster Gunnel! I was so sad to hear that Abe past away! Abe was truly the coolest man I have ever met and I find it a privilege to have had the opportunity to get to know him. He was a legend and such a warm and loving person. I will never forget the weeks we spent in Seattle with you, Gunnel, and Abe in 1992. It was fantastic!
We are happy that we got to know Abe. To talk with him and to listen to all his fabulous stories from a long and rich life was always fantastic. They were told with warmth, humour and with that special twinkle in his eyes. We are really glad that we were able to go to Seattle last September to see you both. Thank you Gunnel for bringing him into the family. Bo and Bodil in Lund
Abe is dead, but the Legend is alive. I'm so grateful that I got to know this extraordinary generous man. And that he let me use his speedy Toyota in W Lebanon during the summer of -86. See you in Herring Heaven. Love Johan and Family, Dalby, Sweden
Just this past week, in the little town of Heiloo, Netherlands, I sat with dear friends talking about the family that brought us together. Of course, the conversation turned to Abe. We did not know at that the time of Abe's passing but his life was being celebrated by people whose lives he had touched. I will forever remember the twinkle in his eye when he would needle me for a reaction. The world will be less interesting with the loss of this wonderful man. My deepest sympathy to Gunnel, Sara, Nick and Dov. Mary Beth Shust
So, who will tell me 'not to hope' now, Abe?...because all I can think of is "I hope another Abe was born the second 'our' Abe left us!" Now we are on our own to continue the good fight, but you have given us inspiration for a life time, so we should not feel orphaned. You left a piece of your heart big like your hands in all of us, and we are all the better for that. Some of your friends have been blessed with seeing you one last time in San Francisco, and see you at your best. I was blessed with having you as my teacher, and my loving, annoying, scolding, part-time sanctimonious, most precious friend. I always feared not to live up to your expectations... until I realize that that 'fear' really did not leave up to your expectations. Your tough love was of the tenderest sort and I will never forget the bliss and gift of that combination.
Before i present my brief utterances, let me say this one thing. Words are simply not enough. The limitations of their use become quite evident at times like this. With any luck all who read this will get a glimpse of the feeling hidden within the words. That is where you will find Abe.
With that said…
It’s been over two weeks since Abe took his megaphone to another front line. Haven’t heard how he is doing in his new setting, whether it is on the warm side…or on the cool side. I do know we have had that unseasonal rumbling in the skies above Seattle…and the Midwest had that unseasonal quaking in the fault lines below New Madrid. I don’t believe in coincidences, so the fact that it occurred at New Madrid is no surprise to me. It has to be Abe’s doing. Anyway, we still have no clear direction which way he went. From my experiences with Abe i would say his battles are on both fronts.
And just like with the Republican vs Democrat mis-labels, i suspect he sees all too clearly that there is also no difference between the gods and the evil-doers. In fact he may very well be inclined to side with the evil-doers, since they are often the active ones, the ones who stand on consistent principles, even if by unconventional means. Unconventional probably suits Abe as well.
Seriously, i doubt that any of us know with absolute certainty where Abe is. But i do know that if there is the remotest possibility of taking an active role in his new setting, Abe will find it. He will go right to the front of the line, even if alone. And he will loudly partake in a good meal along the way. He might even check to see if there is a hidden clause in the Judaeo processing books, something about virgins and horses. And no doubt others will soon join in his goings, so he won’t be alone for long.
I have only known Abe for the past 5 years or so. He himself said we were from different worlds and he would be the first to say that in his earlier days he would not have stopped to even acknowledge my handshake. My capitalistic leanings and my openness to various aristocratic power structures were not where he wanted to be. But then he also enjoyed a challenge. He too wanted to know what makes people tick. So we spent countless hours exchanging worlds. I think he was surprised at the similarities. And i was amazed at how much he had figured out about Life, meaning in line with my own understandings. It wasn’t the typical aesthetically pleasing patchwork remedies that merely placate that he devoted his full Life to. But rather he sought to address the very core structural weaknesses. And that meant creating a considerable amount of unrest, where injustices thrived or where a strong hierarchy existed, even when those injustices were from what we would call our very own comfort zones. Comfort as defined by societal norms did not exist in the world of Abe.
I only wish it could have been more of a two-way exchange between us. It is rare to find someone in Life with whom we can be truly authentic, with whom we can do away with the edit marker. I felt that with Abe. He welcomed authenticity and lived it himself, even if it meant lost opportunities, lost relationships. Of course, the stubborn streak was strong in Abe, but it was also the source of his determination, the source of his rebelliousness. It was easy to see how that attribute served him – he had a hundred lives nested in one.
The more we got to know each other the more he recognized we were both freaks, his words. Now that may strike a chord of discomfort. But what i clearly learned from Abe is that being a freak is a good thing. Not only is it a good thing, but there is really no need to spend any of our Life trying to conform, trying to brush aside our freakish ways. Embrace them and move on. Therein lies our strength. Frak those who can’t deal with it.
We still had our disagreements and i really wanted to take him to task. But my objective was always to learn as much as i could about this rebellious freak. I was always concerned that the pauses he too often took to reach for the oxygen or to pop that ever so tiny glycerin pill would not be enough, that i would miss an untold story. It is sad that a society can find value in pieces of paper, nuggets of rock, facets of hardened coal, strips of land, positions on the ladder, or even unborn fetuses, but completely ignores history personified. We say we need to learn from history, but quickly close the book when that very same history reaches out and speaks to us in a loving and embraceable human form. Abe had become an old man. His body could no longer keep pace with his mind and it troubled him. But his mouth kept going (and going and going) as did his mind. So i had no choice but to jump at the chance to grab hold of some of that Life-experienced knowledge. Abe had reached true Elder status in many areas. That is value. And i will pursue it, even covet it wherever it is. For the sake of the 7th Generation and my own benefit, i can also say that that valued knowledge will not lay dormant in some back room of my mind.
So rather than reiterate those stories, some of which rest in the popular realm, stories that he had mastered to a tee, i have briefly attempted to describe a bit of what it meant to interact with Abe. The interactions were experiences of the heart. And now there is a hole in mine.
It’s the ride, the experiences we have along the way, the scenes in which we partake, the relationships we make, the fests we share in, the dialogues we exchange, the sheer enjoyments of it all…the hugs, the passions. So maybe it’s not about which way he went.
I never had the privilege of knowing Abe personally. He was a member of our Seattle Yiddish Club and would come to a meeting from time to time. At one such meeting he told us a story about one of his experiences in Spain.
The ALB volunteers camew tyo Spain where they were enlisted in fighting groups though arms were sparse and they trained with broomsticks. There were no two-way radios available and the Lincolns had to use their ingenuity to communicate with other battallions. Abe became a runner delivering messages to the various other nationality battallions from all over the world including Italy and Germany. How was he to deliver these messages to groups who did not speak English. When he came to these different battallions he had a problem which Abe solved very easily. He'd ask whethher there was any one who spoke Yiddish, and invariably he found Yiddish-speaking volunteers from around the world. He Asked if there was anyone who spoke Yiddish. Invariably he always found someone. A large propoortion of all the volunteers were Jewish and spoke Yiddish.
My friendship with Abe goes back to the mid-seventies. As I was visiting London in the summer of 1975, I had the chance to see “Dreams and Nightmares” and found out that Abe and I were both living in the same place, in Venice, California. Back there, I contacted him to ask him to show the film at USC, where I was, at the time, teaching- assistant at the Spanish Department. As it turned out, the film was shown the very same day Franco passed away. Abe, who was used by then to present his film to college students, “put the audience in his pocket “, as we say in Spain . That first encounter with Abe led to a life-long friendship, beyond time (I stopped seeing him regularly three years later) and space (I have been back to Spain for the last twenty-four years).
Harry (my husband at the time) and I succumbed to Abe’s charm and sooner moved into the upstairs apartment in the house Abe and Susan lived on 24, Westminster Avenue, near the Venice boardwalk. Against all odds, Abe had built a children’s park near the canals zone and had become a legend in a community where everybody knew and loved him. In the white painted wood house of Westminster Abe cooked cabbage and borsch soup for the four us as we enjoyed his gift as a “raconteur” and witnessed his endless enthusiasm for life. I remember Abe getting the French fries ready for Nick, Dove and Sarah who were young kids then and used to visit his dad on Wednesdays. I remember too attending Abe’s course on the Spanish Civil war at UCLA and his strong hold among the students who were seduced by Abe’s moral stand.
In the eighties our lives diverged, but the contact never stopped. I remember him explaining his trip to Nicaragua as he wanted to show Nicaraguans there was Another America to the official one who was helping the Contra.
In the nineties, on the occasion of the Spanish Government homage to the Brigadistas, we were happy to host Abe, Gunnel, Sarah, Nina and his grandson in Barcelona. It was a wonderful occasion to strengthen ties. I remember he was moved by the diverse celebrations and the warmth people received the old fighters. Paco (my new husband), my friend Montse and myself invited him to give speeches in our shools. I could see that his energy and his power to touch young audiences had not dwindled over the years.
Three years ago, I had the occasion to return the visit. This time Abe and Gunnel welcomed a group of three Spaniards in their homy house in North Seattle. I remember Abe cooking a delicious shrimp creole, Gunnel showing us her beautiful wood craft, her garden, and all of us sharing again friends and endless conversation. The bond was still there and it always will.
I think Abe embodies Gramsci’s words : “Against the pessimism of the reason, we have to oppose the optimism of the heart”. He will always live in the minds and hearts of all the people who loved him.
Had I known Abe better, I could take time and tell all the funny stories that occurred with us. Instead all I'm left with is talking about the great man and my awe and envy of him. And others are probably doing it much better, but how could I ever keep still regarding Abe Osheroff?
Not just a hero at some specific time but a perpetual one. You get the feeling he emerged at birth as a hero. Conquering something, perhaps the darkness of the womb. But from that time on, it became Abe's white hat against the varied black hats of the world, the landlords and cops in New York, to the point of exile, the Spanish Civil War, World War II, the constant evading of the fuzz due to his Communist Party membership, the Southern experiences including the life threatening ones during the civil rights period, the gifting to Nicaragua of his talents and finally the ambulances and the education of the young in Washington. It's enough to make the piddlers, like me, weep at their lack.
A hero a genuine, bear faced – that's b-e-a-r-faced hero. You feel he knew no fear and yet all humans do so. Each confronts it differently. Abe just seems to have simply stated, "Fuck you." It was enough. I hail Osheroff.
Free Venice Beachhead Venice, California May, 2008 www.freevenice.org
ABE OSHEROFF, VENICE HERO AND SPANISH CIVIL WAR VET, DIES AT 92
By Emily Winters
I knew the Osheroff family many years ago when I lived next door to them on 28th street in Venice, late 1960s. There was a plan to refurbish the canals by assessing the property owners in the canals and on the peripheral areas.
They wanted to widen the alleys that would take away footage from the already undersized lots. and make the canals a private gated community. Many of these property owners were unable to meet the stiff assessments because they were very poor, retired and on very fixed and limited income.
Abe led us – we who were so inexperienced – in our fight against city hall using his know how and expertise. We fought long and hard and when the decisive day came, created the Venice Canal Festival to say goodbye. But lo and behold, there were no bids. Our tactic of delaying the project as much as possible worked! Not to mention that we emphasized that the canals were city property and should not be privatized!
Our Canal Festival became a celebration! We closed off 28th Ave, and the community came out with free food, drink, music and camaraderie. The Festival became a yearly event for seven years until it became way too large and out of control as well as commercial. So we had a Canal Festival Funeral using the old barge and a huge paper mache duck.
I received my “hands on” political education from Abe’s leadership. He also led the struggle to create a children’s park in an empty city lot on the canals. We had a large population of small children living in the canals with no park. Other communities were getting small vest pocket parks, but we were denied. He took old telephone poles, donated wood and created a small park including a wooden sidewalk over the crumbling sidewalks. This became a media event as he and I watched his two young sons chain themselves to the fence, and be cut away and carted off to jail. We got the park as depicted in my JAYA mural on the corner of Dell Ave. at S. Venice Blvd., and it has been moved to another lot and still serves the toddlers of today.
His lively, creative and talented family are a monument to him. I still see his three Venice children, Nick, Dovie, and Sara from time to time and his former wife, Noel Osheroff, is still my good friend today.
Photo: Abe at a Canal Festival, circa 1970, by John Hider
*More about Abe’s life can be found at www.abeosheroff.org.
Abe was the vanguard of the social movement against the Fascist regime in Europe, and especially the administration of Franco, the only fascist to rule through and after WWll. Franco was left in power because of the $200,000 million in loans owed to American businessmen Hearst, Carnegie and others, loaned in WWI. Abe was a solid humanitarian and a credit to the term Human Being, in it's finest sense. His death will be a loss to all of us that consider the battle for justice and liberty a cause worth putting your life on the line.
I spoke at the Memorial yesterday, about what I am just now articulating to myself, after 30+ years, that I've gotten from Abe, and what I heard reflected in what the numerous speakers yesterday were expressing, as follows: Abe was not someone who hid his faults, weaknesses, fears, failings, etc.; and (coming to someone, myself, who is very aware of those negative qualities in myself) the insight is, simply, that none of that (not to mention resistance and/or disapprobation from others) need or should stop a person from going forward with conduct proceeding from their own clear vision, nor, I might add, from the ability to receive that vision. What I did not say, but only realized as I was driving back to the airport, was that such conduct, in the face of all the negativity, is a lot of fun . . . really, I'm almost inclined to say, is the definition of fun. I mean, I'm open to alternate definitions, but doesn't fun always involve the liberation of the self from what we previously understood restrains us - especially in a definitional way (by which I mean that we tend to see our restraints as structural, and therefore more insurmountable, rather than the "stuff of life" that is malleable to the process (of personal and general liberation) that (it seems to me, based on hearing about his later expressions) Abe came to articulate (and that I must say I have come strongly to believe) is the point. MIKE COHEN, Berkeley, California
Gunnel, I am so glad I was able to attend the memorial for Abe. It was all I had hoped it would be, and it was wonderful to see you and the rest of Abe's family after all these years. Thanks for a wonderful afternoon. i know the effort it takes to assemble such a gathering; there are few perks at this point for you and yours, but one is that this undertaking is finished, and well done.
back home now...with a tiredness i can't explain. so happy for all the loving contact and the sweet sadness of a community of fellow travelers and crazy mother fuckers trying to figure out what it means to lose abe in our collective lives. i felt the concern of many, and had open conversations with a few about it,....about how this is going to be hard to do...such a large hole blown in the fabric of our overlapping living. i also felt a strange alienation listening to some of the great antidotes and ways others found abe. i, being his kid, have always known him... have always loved him, fought with him and learned and taught and "been" with him and i felt like he himself hardly knew a time before that was true.... that we came of age together in some very important ways despite the 47 years that seperate us and that we were father and son, but also brothers too and certainly the best of friends for the past 20 years. how much runs in the blood and how much do we learn? i will testify to the certainty for me that alot, sometimes way too much, runs in the blood. i can say this because i understood that guy from an early age and before i knew anything about the adult world and now with my own daughters i see it so clearly...they constantly outdo me at the family game as i once began to do with abe himself. my immense respect for abe lies right there. not in the exagerated stories of bravery or concern for the human race. when he sensed that my "world" would make things hard for him he didn't indulge his competitiveness or his bizarre insecurities for long, he let me go at it and together we figured out so much about ourselves and each other. back in the early 80's when i started giving him a hard time about his rusty ornate armor and told him he needed to lose some weight if he wanted to ever put that shit back on, he suppressed the urge to kill me,... tried to write me off and then choosing to love someone despite the threat they posed (he would say "needing" to love someone)...asked if i wanted to help him get a construction brigade together and head for nicaragua. i remember the smile we shared as we kicked that around... we had arrived at a level of friendship and honesty that makes haggling over petty stuff largely unneccesary. we still haggled over everything..especially the petty stuff, that's the jewish way, and there were more serious struggles too but we always found a way out of the woods after that and we became so confident in our ability to do that that we could go way down town on something and stay with it till it bore fruit. the fruit of understanding and unconditional respect and love. abe's wasn't a "hero" to me. the total time he spent in harms way or sleeping on something other than a decent bed doesn't go much beyond a year out of his 92+. it's not something to brag about. hardship and violence are sad, common and almost mundane. and there's a trail of battered people in his personal life(his life before most anyone who might read this knew him ). none of them showed up, they might have swelled that hall beyond capacity.
what he did that i love and respect him for is he learned to "see" people... to really see them and be with them and to trade in his compensatory pleasure of egoism and self importance for the real thing,... for love and respect earned the old school way, through the giving of love and respect. he had major reversals to his previous ways but would fight his way back and he keep growing to the very end. if you know what he was planning on saying at the sf brigade memorial just 2 hours before the event than you know what i mean. he was going to take a nasty shit in public but instead pulled a beautiful rose out of somewhere and threw it to the wonderful group of people gathered there. perfect and not easy thing to do. so fuck celebrity culture and the sad fucks caught up in it's second rate glories. i've had the real thing with my old man and others too and i like it... alot. and he taught me that and maybe i helped him a little bit with the same. i'm sure i'm not the only one that feels this way about the glorious freak i was so lucky to have for a dad. ....and while i've got my own torch to carry i'm picking his up in my other hand, because he's still with me in everything i am and everything i do. abie-kibble! big love to everyone, dov
You do not know me, nor indeed did Abe know me, but I feel compelled to leave you a message all the same because I have several friends who knew Abe- all students at Seattle Central College and have experienced Abe's influence from afar as a result of the strong impression and effect his message, unique spirit and example have had on the lives and direction of these wonderful young people. They spoke of him often, with great fondness and admiration- so often in fact I felt I almost knew him and certainly have been forcibly impacted by his legacy. I am especially pleased whenever my friends speak of Abe, his life, work and joy in my children's presence as I know it to be a golden opportunity for them to begin to understand the importance of reaching out, standing true to what you believe and leading a life of meaning. I know these conversations will continue in the future and I thank you also for the role you have played in making the world better and more true to our humanity's potential. Sending you love, support and gratitude, Paige O'Neill-Gunderson
I never met Abe, I am just a 30-something girl from Barcelona, Spain, who got to know his story by reading about our cruel and devastating Civil War. I found this blog created by his family and I was deeply moved. I just want to say that today Spain is a peaceful and democratic country and that have to remember those who helped achieving this with tremendous sacrifice. It is very difficult to imagine the hardships of a civil war and even more difficult to recognise how people from distant countries like the States came here to fight for something they believed in. It is a great example that we have to make sure it is not forgotten. From Spain, from somebody whose grandparents fought in the civil war and who listened to their stories a long time ago (may they also rest in peace), I want to give my condolences to Abe's family and pay tribute to those brave soldiers of freedom.
I'm trying to remember when I first met Abe. I think it was between the years of 1991 and 1996. He was a guest speaker during foreign language week at Eastern Oregon University where I was an "older than average student". My Spanish professor Elizabeth Boretz arranged for him to come and speak during that time. After listening to on of his presentations, I thought to myself, "I bet this guy was hell on wheels when he was a kid...and gave his mom plenty to worry about!" And I had a kid who was hell on wheels. So I took him out of class for the rest of the day and we went to every place where Abe was speaking. I wanted him to influence my son. I wanted my son to know you could channel your passion and energy into something meaningful.
That began my friendship with Abe. During one of his speaking times, he told the story of the prune king...who ate prunes and wiped his butt with brand new white swans and then threw them out the window for the peasants. And Gunnel, if you have that story written somewhere I would LOVE to have a copy.
My son drew him a picture of the prune king wiping is butt with a swan. And Abe and I, and on occasion my son, became pen pals. I kept in touch with Abe via letters ever since. I think I saw Abe the next time he came to town to speak for my Sociology class. I think we had dinner with friends in my front yard too.
I admired his passion, his spunk, his mischievousness. I just loved the aura that was him. I found out just today (Nov 25th, 2010 Thanksgiving day) that he died over two years ago. I had no idea. I was just going to write him a letter and send him our Christmas photo.
He is an inspiration about the depth and commitment some are willing to make to assist other souls in their struggles and oppression. Abe was larger than life. And today, on Thanksgiving, it seems appropriate to say, I am thankful to have known Abe Osheroff. I will NEVER forget him, and will remember him fondly and I have every letter he ever wrote to me.
No day goes by that I do not think of you pop! You would be proud; I got a book contract with Edwin Mellon. Without you and mom’s inspiration, beliefs and encouragement, this would never have happened. I miss you both very much. Your daughter, Eliza
Thanks for every fihgt you've been into. Even when I was too young to knwo about your struggles, I appreciate now your efforts to build up a better wolrd, a better society. From Spain and your contribution to freedom and justice. Sit tibi terra levis (may the earth rest lightly on you) dear comrade.
Hola amigos!: I met Abe for an interview in the series "Between Two Wars". It is a pleasure to address you and an honor to be reading the whole site, reminding all the glorious veterans, evidently the best generation in United States as they say... I´m Jorge Edgardo López from Argentina, I write short stories about the Second War. In my blog I wrote, consigning the links, about the Lincoln Brigade and Abe: www.lasegundaguerra.com.ar: section: "Historical theme": "How the United States could win in the war": Part 6: Lincoln Brigade- Part 7:Abe Osheroff. An affectionate greeting: Jorge
Abe survived to the sinking of City of Barcelona ship. Next year will opening in Malgrat de Mar a memorial for international brigadistas that travelled in that ship. https://solidaritypark.com/ Next January I will publish a book in catalan that to explain the history of the ship and the volunteers that traveled or died in the sinking.
Please contact with me in this mail soniagarangou@gmail.com I need ask you some question about the Abe's photos.
38 comments:
I was not close to Abe at all but several times we were on the same stage at some rally; always for peace. He and Gunnel are an inspiration to me and are of those that keep me from getting weary about this world. I'm honored to have met Abe Osheroff. I celebrate his life and hope to garner as much dignity, well-being and sense of justice that he exeplified. My deepest love and condolences to dear Gunnel and his family. Nina Laboy
It was one of the greatest honors of my life to have had Abe consider me a friend. I'm so glad I flew out to SF for the dedication. If Abe was going, I had to go too. A great lifelong moral leader, and inspiration for eternity, really. We must, and will, keep his spirit alive. That spirit will be the tomb of fascism. Salud!
Burt Cohen, New Hampshire
Prior to the Iraq War, when our city was getting mobilized to fight against it, I heard Abe speak at a rally at Garfield High School. Many of the young organizers were speaking with what I considered naivety, trying to convince the crowd that we had a chance to "stop this war before it starts". Abe, having the lifetime of experience that he did, was not so naive. He told the audience that "No we won't be able to stop this war from starting, but we still have to fight it". Abe knew we needed to look at this struggle as a long term thing to succeeded, otherwise people become disenchanted with the movement making short term pie-in-the-sky promises. Yes Franco succeeded in taking over Spain, but without people like Abe it would have been easier for the fascists, and they would have been able to consolidate their power better and been of more assistance to the Axis powers in World War II.
Chris, Seattle
I am so honored to have met Abe and to have shared his and Gunnel's company for rousing conversation, wonderful food, love, laughter and the joy of living. Abe was and will continue to be an inspiration to me and so many others. His life is a testament to standing up for what is just and doing so fearlessly. Miguel and I are grateful to have been there for the dedication of the Abe Lincoln Brigade monument in San Francisco and to hear Abe wow the crowd one more time. We will continue to share the message of Abe's life and work.
With Much Love,
Stacey and Miguel Ferguson
I never met Abe, I would have loved to have listened to his 1st hand accounts of his lifetime. I wrote my senior thesis paper for a history degree at the U of Wisconsin on the Abraham Lincoln Brigade 12 years ago. While I didn't pursue history as a career beyond rec'g my BA, the amazing plights of the ALB and the people who went and fought/died at their own expense still has a hold on me to this day. I never tire of re-telling the true stories behind the ALB to those who will listen. I wish Ken Burns would take a swing at doing a PBS special on the ALB :) .. if we don't learn the lessons history can teach, Abe knew intimately history would repeat itself. The ALB roster of individuals weren't but ought to have been amply honored for taking it upon themselves to fight fascists waaaaaaaay before WW II started, they fought the good fight before the rest of the world cared to be bothered to react. Abe's family should be extremely proud of his accomplishments. Obviously, the world needs more like Abe ... most of the people of today really have no clue the debt of gratitude we owe to reactive visionaires like Abe and the ilk of his times. May Abe rest in peace and his family be comforted that they were priveledged in knowing an amazing individual.
Doug Richardson
11501 Northpark Ave. N.
Seattle WA
What an inspiration Abe was for any of us who met him! I was fortunate to bathe in his sunshine on several occasions during the last years of his life and always came away feeling warmed and encouraged about the strength of the human spirit.
I had a "whee" of a time driving him around in his "Peacemobile". Time with Abe was always intense and it seemed to count for more than other time.
One of the messages that Abe drove home on a few of the occasions when I heard him speak publicly was that one oughtn't to be an activist unless one was having fun at it. His modeling of a passion for activism and of love of his fellow mortals was one of the reasons that I wanted young high school "peace activists in training" to sit at his feet. They would come away from those meetings inspired and wanting more time with him.
I'm grateful to Howard Gale for introducing me to Abe and Gunnel. Both of them will be held in my heart until the end of my days.
Marcia, Seattle
Truly a man who was larger than life, and a profound inspiration.
We will all have to work hard and long to try to fill the gap his passing leaves in this world.
In gratitude for knowing him--
Kjersten, Seattle
I met Abe when I was a little girl growing up in Los Angeles. He was an amazing carpenter and I often said that I thought he lived at our house over the years my parents were doing remodeling, back in the 1960s. At that time, I knew Abe as a big strong man who would let me sit on his lap while he enthralled me with his stories -some true and some entirely exaggerated. To me, he was like the God Atlas if Atlas had been Santa Claus.
When I got to college, I wanted to go to Spain but was not sure what to do. I'll never forget an afternoon I spent with him then, arranged by my mother, in which my whole dream of Spain grew so large and real and exciting that I left with no doubt about the course my life would take. I lived in Barcelona for two separate years and I am eternally grateful for the role Abe played in getting me there. Abe loved Spain, and the Spanish people, so much. When he returned to Spain much later in life and was given honorary Spanish citizenship, they showed how much they loved him too.
One of the last times I had a little time alone with Abe, a couple of years ago, I was struggling with a job at a community college in Reno, Nevada, and wondering if it was all worth it. I started out with the attitude that it was just a little unknown community college after all, off in the high sierras. I was feeling sorry for myself, and feeling like I almost didn't care any more. Both Gunnel and Abe shared with me their passion for community colleges, their respect for the teachers and administrators who work very hard to give many of the students a second chance, and their belief that it was nobel work. Suddenly, I saw my job and my life quite differently. I left that visit refreshed and renewed and went back to the college and "fought the good fight" for two more years. I finally lost the battle last summer and lost the job but it didn't matter as much as it might have before. Abe has taught me that the fight is all that matters - the good fight; it doesn't matter if you win or lose. I am proud that I fought for my students and for what I believe in and Abe is right: knowing that I did what I believed is enough. I am so grateful for the lessons he taught, his presence in my life, his love and support, and the fact that I have always known he was there, even when we didn't speak or see each other for long stretches. I have grown to love Gunnel and my heart truly goes out to her. As she said in her piece, I also feel that Abe is not really gone and he never will be. Nonetheless, I shall miss him.
For Abe
(In memory of Abe Osheroff)
“I can’t believe you’re gone”
Is trite, yet no less true.
So many times
I let the long drive, the traffic
Deter me from one more visit
Until it was too late.
You always challenged us
To be our best selves,
Demanding a full commitment.
Only fair, of course,
Since you gave all of yourself
So many times.
No-one I’ve ever known
Has ever lived his ideals
As you did.
You cared so deeply
And lived so fully
I think I thought
That you could not die.
Maybe I was right.
It is again a cliché
To say you live on in our memories
But it’s much more than that.
Your courage gave us courage.
Your passion inspired ours
And, most importantly
Many young people who knew you
Found the courage to live their ideals
And they will pass it on.
Flo Ariessohn
April 6, 2008
Hi Gunnel.....I have been thinking about you and Abe. I remember when you sang "Aby baby" at his birthday party.....it was such a wonderfull gathering of people. Such a joyous thing...that party. There is no question that Abe knew more about life....and loved life....at the same time..yes...than anyone I have ever known...and that is rare...most folks ...the more they learn about life...the more bitter they seem to get about things they feel helpless to try and change...I think there is the key......Abe.....never gave up....and he loved people. He loved you....I think most of all. Abrazos Jack in Chicago
Our paths first crossed in the sixties in Venice, and we spent many hours together over a period of time – me mostly listening to the wonderful voluminous stories and admonitions. The well was never empty for this man who so loved story telling. Once after one such saga finished, I asked him if it was true, and his response was, “What the f… do you mean, is it 'true'? If I can think it up, then it’s capable of being created by a human being. So it doesn’t matter if the story is 'true' - what matters is the story."
It was a time of transition of my own life and much of what I heard and absorbed from him remained with me these many long years hence. Many will write and speak of him on this occasion, for he is all of what everyone will utter and remember, enveloped in that physical body that carried his fierce and stalwart soul through his remarkable 92 year journey. Yup, and even though he notes that monuments provide a place for birds to shit, they remind us of those who did the right things, and made the choices that matter – he did all that and left us a rare treasure: he lived, loved, and fought loudly and largely. And for that I thank him.
My heart sends love to Gunnel and rest of his family in this time of quiet.
Priscilla Forance
Marblehead, MA
The best memorial to Abe is to keep up the struggle and keep "fighting the bastards " as Abe often said. Abe has always been an inspiration, through his writings, his films, his history, but to be in his presence and feel his energy was the best. He always gave you the stimulus to continue the fight.
During our respective work in Nicaragua during the 1980's we often met, visited each other's building brigade sites and later, Abe continued the work by fund raising for the projects. He is and will always be there, a celebration of life, a joy to know.
Steve Kerpen
I am so sad to learn about Abe's death. My father and he were friends and I think I always saw him as a model of what you should do if you were going to put your values into action. Even though I have not spoken with Abe in probably 20 years I thought about him often. I feel like the world is a little bit poorer for not having him around. My condolences to his family and Gunnel
Ben Peck
Gunnel,
Sally and I were saddened to learn of your loss of Abe. Our thoughts are with you.
With deepest sympathy,
Keith
Dear moster Gunnel!
I was so sad to hear that Abe past away! Abe was truly the coolest man I have ever met and I find it a privilege to have had the opportunity to get to know him. He was a legend and such a warm and loving person. I will never forget the weeks we spent in Seattle with you, Gunnel, and Abe in 1992. It was fantastic!
Great Love
//Ina Roman and family (Lund/Sweden)
It was wonderful being Abe's friend and an honor to narrate his fine documentary, "Dreams and Nightmares."
I will remember him always.
Sally
We are happy that we got to know Abe. To talk with him and to listen to all his fabulous stories from a long and rich life was always fantastic. They were told with warmth, humour and with that special twinkle in his eyes. We are really glad that we were able to go to Seattle last September to see you both.
Thank you Gunnel for bringing him into the family.
Bo and Bodil in Lund
Abe is dead, but the Legend is alive. I'm so grateful that I got to know this extraordinary generous man. And that he let me use his speedy Toyota in W Lebanon during the summer of -86. See you in Herring Heaven.
Love Johan and Family, Dalby, Sweden
Just this past week, in the little town of Heiloo, Netherlands, I sat with dear friends talking about the family that brought us together. Of course, the conversation turned to Abe. We did not know at that the time of Abe's passing but his life was being celebrated by people whose lives he had touched. I will forever remember the twinkle in his eye when he would needle me for a reaction. The world will be less interesting with the loss of this wonderful man. My deepest sympathy to Gunnel, Sara, Nick and Dov.
Mary Beth Shust
So, who will tell me 'not to hope' now, Abe?...because all I can think of is "I hope another Abe was born the second 'our' Abe left us!" Now we are on our own to continue the good fight, but you have given us inspiration for a life time, so we should not feel orphaned. You left a piece of your heart big like your hands in all of us, and we are all the better for that. Some of your friends have been blessed with seeing you one last time in San Francisco, and see you at your best. I was blessed with having you as my teacher, and my loving, annoying, scolding, part-time sanctimonious, most precious friend. I always feared not to live up to your expectations... until I realize that that 'fear' really did not leave up to your expectations. Your tough love was of the tenderest sort and I will never forget the bliss and gift of that combination.
Bella Ciao Abe
Your devoted friend, Claudio
Before i present my brief utterances, let me say this one thing. Words are simply not enough. The limitations of their use become quite evident at times like this. With any luck all who read this will get a glimpse of the feeling hidden within the words. That is where you will find Abe.
With that said…
It’s been over two weeks since Abe took his megaphone to another front line. Haven’t heard how he is doing in his new setting, whether it is on the warm side…or on the cool side. I do know we have had that unseasonal rumbling in the skies above Seattle…and the Midwest had that unseasonal quaking in the fault lines below New Madrid. I don’t believe in coincidences, so the fact that it occurred at New Madrid is no surprise to me. It has to be Abe’s doing. Anyway, we still have no clear direction which way he went. From my experiences with Abe i would say his battles are on both fronts.
And just like with the Republican vs Democrat mis-labels, i suspect he sees all too clearly that there is also no difference between the gods and the evil-doers. In fact he may very well be inclined to side with the evil-doers, since they are often the active ones, the ones who stand on consistent principles, even if by unconventional means. Unconventional probably suits Abe as well.
Seriously, i doubt that any of us know with absolute certainty where Abe is. But i do know that if there is the remotest possibility of taking an active role in his new setting, Abe will find it. He will go right to the front of the line, even if alone. And he will loudly partake in a good meal along the way. He might even check to see if there is a hidden clause in the Judaeo processing books, something about virgins and horses. And no doubt others will soon join in his goings, so he won’t be alone for long.
I have only known Abe for the past 5 years or so. He himself said we were from different worlds and he would be the first to say that in his earlier days he would not have stopped to even acknowledge my handshake. My capitalistic leanings and my openness to various aristocratic power structures were not where he wanted to be. But then he also enjoyed a challenge. He too wanted to know what makes people tick. So we spent countless hours exchanging worlds. I think he was surprised at the similarities. And i was amazed at how much he had figured out about Life, meaning in line with my own understandings. It wasn’t the typical aesthetically pleasing patchwork remedies that merely placate that he devoted his full Life to. But rather he sought to address the very core structural weaknesses. And that meant creating a considerable amount of unrest, where injustices thrived or where a strong hierarchy existed, even when those injustices were from what we would call our very own comfort zones. Comfort as defined by societal norms did not exist in the world of Abe.
I only wish it could have been more of a two-way exchange between us. It is rare to find someone in Life with whom we can be truly authentic, with whom we can do away with the edit marker. I felt that with Abe. He welcomed authenticity and lived it himself, even if it meant lost opportunities, lost relationships. Of course, the stubborn streak was strong in Abe, but it was also the source of his determination, the source of his rebelliousness. It was easy to see how that attribute served him – he had a hundred lives nested in one.
The more we got to know each other the more he recognized we were both freaks, his words. Now that may strike a chord of discomfort. But what i clearly learned from Abe is that being a freak is a good thing. Not only is it a good thing, but there is really no need to spend any of our Life trying to conform, trying to brush aside our freakish ways. Embrace them and move on. Therein lies our strength. Frak those who can’t deal with it.
We still had our disagreements and i really wanted to take him to task. But my objective was always to learn as much as i could about this rebellious freak. I was always concerned that the pauses he too often took to reach for the oxygen or to pop that ever so tiny glycerin pill would not be enough, that i would miss an untold story. It is sad that a society can find value in pieces of paper, nuggets of rock, facets of hardened coal, strips of land, positions on the ladder, or even unborn fetuses, but completely ignores history personified. We say we need to learn from history, but quickly close the book when that very same history reaches out and speaks to us in a loving and embraceable human form. Abe had become an old man. His body could no longer keep pace with his mind and it troubled him. But his mouth kept going (and going and going) as did his mind. So i had no choice but to jump at the chance to grab hold of some of that Life-experienced knowledge. Abe had reached true Elder status in many areas. That is value. And i will pursue it, even covet it wherever it is. For the sake of the 7th Generation and my own benefit, i can also say that that valued knowledge will not lay dormant in some back room of my mind.
So rather than reiterate those stories, some of which rest in the popular realm, stories that he had mastered to a tee, i have briefly attempted to describe a bit of what it meant to interact with Abe. The interactions were experiences of the heart. And now there is a hole in mine.
It’s the ride, the experiences we have along the way, the scenes in which we partake, the relationships we make, the fests we share in, the dialogues we exchange, the sheer enjoyments of it all…the hugs, the passions. So maybe it’s not about which way he went.
It’s the ride.
Thanks Abe.
Tim Gerth - Seattle
I never had the privilege of knowing Abe personally. He was a member of our Seattle Yiddish Club and would come to a meeting from time to time. At one such meeting he told us a story about one of his experiences in Spain.
The ALB volunteers camew tyo Spain where they were enlisted in fighting groups though arms were sparse and they trained with broomsticks. There were no two-way radios available and the Lincolns had to use their ingenuity to communicate with other battallions. Abe became a runner delivering messages to the various other nationality battallions from all over the world including Italy and Germany. How was he to deliver these messages to groups who did not speak English. When he came to these different battallions he had a problem which Abe solved very easily. He'd ask whethher there was any one who spoke Yiddish, and invariably he found Yiddish-speaking volunteers from around the world. He Asked if there was anyone who spoke Yiddish. Invariably he always found someone. A large propoortion of all the volunteers were Jewish and spoke Yiddish.
Max Applebaum.
Seattle Yiddish Group
My friendship with Abe goes back to the mid-seventies. As I was visiting London in the summer of 1975, I had the chance to see “Dreams and Nightmares” and found out that Abe and I were both living in the same place, in Venice, California. Back there, I contacted him to ask him to show the film at USC, where I was, at the time, teaching- assistant at the Spanish Department. As it turned out, the film was shown the very same day Franco passed away. Abe, who was used by then to present his film to college students, “put the audience in his pocket “, as we say in Spain
.
That first encounter with Abe led to a life-long friendship, beyond time (I stopped seeing him regularly three years later) and space (I have been back to Spain for the last twenty-four years).
Harry (my husband at the time) and I succumbed to Abe’s charm and sooner moved into the upstairs apartment in the house Abe and Susan lived on 24, Westminster Avenue, near the Venice boardwalk. Against all odds, Abe had built a children’s park near the canals zone and had become a legend in a community where everybody knew and loved him. In the white painted wood house of Westminster Abe cooked cabbage and borsch soup for the four us as we enjoyed his gift as a “raconteur” and witnessed his endless enthusiasm for life. I remember Abe getting the French fries ready for Nick, Dove and Sarah who were young kids then and used to visit his dad on Wednesdays. I remember too attending Abe’s course on the Spanish Civil war at UCLA and his strong hold among the students who were seduced by Abe’s moral stand.
In the eighties our lives diverged, but the contact never stopped. I remember him explaining his trip to Nicaragua as he wanted to show Nicaraguans there was Another America to the official one who was helping the Contra.
In the nineties, on the occasion of the Spanish Government homage to the Brigadistas, we were happy to host Abe, Gunnel, Sarah, Nina and his grandson in Barcelona. It was a wonderful occasion to strengthen ties. I remember he was moved by the diverse celebrations and the warmth people received the old fighters. Paco (my new husband), my friend Montse and myself invited him to give speeches in our shools. I could see that his energy and his power to touch young audiences had not dwindled over the years.
Three years ago, I had the occasion to return the visit. This time Abe and Gunnel welcomed a group of three Spaniards in their homy house in North Seattle. I remember Abe cooking a delicious shrimp creole, Gunnel showing us her beautiful wood craft, her garden, and all of us sharing again friends and endless conversation. The bond was still there and it always will.
I think Abe embodies Gramsci’s words : “Against the pessimism of the reason, we have to oppose the optimism of the heart”. He will always live in the minds and hearts of all the people who loved him.
Maria Rosa Obiols (Spain)
Had I known Abe better, I could take time and tell all the funny stories that occurred with us. Instead all I'm left with is talking about the great man and my awe and envy of him. And others are probably doing it much better, but how could I ever keep still regarding Abe Osheroff?
Not just a hero at some specific time but a perpetual one. You get the feeling he emerged at birth as a hero. Conquering something, perhaps the darkness of the womb. But from that time on, it became Abe's white hat against the varied black hats of the world, the landlords and cops in New York, to the point of exile, the Spanish Civil War, World War II, the constant evading of the fuzz due to his Communist Party membership, the Southern experiences including the life threatening ones during the civil rights period, the gifting to Nicaragua of his talents and finally the ambulances and the education of the young in Washington. It's enough to make the piddlers, like me, weep at their lack.
A hero a genuine, bear faced – that's b-e-a-r-faced hero. You feel he knew no fear and yet all humans do so. Each confronts it differently. Abe just seems to have simply stated, "Fuck you." It was enough. I hail Osheroff.
Edward Asner
Free Venice Beachhead
Venice, California
May, 2008
www.freevenice.org
ABE OSHEROFF, VENICE HERO AND SPANISH CIVIL WAR VET, DIES AT 92
By Emily Winters
I knew the Osheroff family many years ago when I lived next door to them on 28th street in Venice, late 1960s. There was a plan to refurbish the canals by assessing the property owners in the canals and on the peripheral areas.
They wanted to widen the alleys that would take away footage from the already undersized lots. and make the canals a private gated community. Many of these property owners were unable to meet the stiff assessments because they were very poor, retired and on very fixed and limited income.
Abe led us – we who were so inexperienced – in our fight against city hall using his know how and expertise. We fought long and hard and when the decisive day came, created the Venice Canal Festival to say goodbye. But lo and behold, there were no bids. Our tactic of delaying the project as much as possible worked! Not to mention that we emphasized that the canals were city property and should not be privatized!
Our Canal Festival became a celebration! We closed off 28th Ave, and the community came out with free food, drink, music and camaraderie. The Festival became a yearly event for seven years until it became way too large and out of control as well as commercial. So we had a Canal Festival Funeral using the old barge and a huge paper mache duck.
I received my “hands on” political education from Abe’s leadership. He also led the struggle to create a children’s park in an empty city lot on the canals. We had a large population of small children living in the canals with no park. Other communities were getting small vest pocket parks, but we were denied. He took old telephone poles, donated wood and created a small park including a wooden sidewalk over the crumbling sidewalks. This became a media event as he and I watched his two young sons chain themselves to the fence, and be cut away and carted off to jail. We got the park as depicted in my JAYA mural on the corner of Dell Ave. at S. Venice Blvd., and it has been moved to another lot and still serves the toddlers of today.
His lively, creative and talented family are a monument to him. I still see his three Venice children, Nick, Dovie, and Sara from time to time and his former wife, Noel Osheroff, is still my good friend today.
Photo: Abe at a Canal Festival, circa 1970, by John Hider
*More about Abe’s life can be found at www.abeosheroff.org.
Abe was the vanguard of the social movement against the Fascist regime in Europe, and especially the administration of Franco, the only fascist to rule through and after WWll. Franco was left in power because of the $200,000 million in loans owed to American businessmen Hearst, Carnegie and others, loaned in WWI.
Abe was a solid humanitarian and a credit to the term Human Being, in it's finest sense. His death will be a loss to all of us that consider the battle for justice and liberty a cause worth putting your life on the line.
I spoke at the Memorial yesterday, about what I am just now articulating to myself, after 30+ years, that I've gotten from Abe, and what I heard reflected in what the numerous speakers yesterday were expressing, as follows:
Abe was not someone who hid his faults, weaknesses, fears, failings, etc.; and (coming to someone, myself, who is very aware of those negative qualities in myself) the insight is, simply, that none of that (not to mention resistance and/or disapprobation from others) need or should stop a person from going forward with conduct proceeding from their own clear vision, nor, I might add, from the ability to receive that vision.
What I did not say, but only realized as I was driving back to the airport, was that such conduct, in the face of all the negativity, is a lot of fun . . . really, I'm almost inclined to say, is the definition of fun. I mean, I'm open to alternate definitions, but doesn't fun always involve the liberation of the self from what we previously understood restrains us - especially in a definitional way (by which I mean that we tend to see our restraints as structural, and therefore more insurmountable, rather than the "stuff of life" that is malleable to the process (of personal and general liberation) that (it seems to me, based on hearing about his later expressions) Abe came to articulate (and that I must say I have come strongly to believe) is the point.
MIKE COHEN, Berkeley, California
Gunnel, I am so glad I was able to attend the memorial for Abe. It was all I had hoped it would be, and it was wonderful to see you and the rest of Abe's family after all these years. Thanks for a wonderful afternoon. i know the effort it takes to assemble such a gathering; there are few perks at this point for you and yours, but one is that this undertaking is finished, and well done.
Love, Jim and Alexa
back home now...with a tiredness i can't explain. so happy for all the loving contact and the sweet sadness of a community of fellow travelers and crazy mother fuckers trying to figure out what it means to lose abe in our collective lives. i felt the concern of many, and had open conversations with a few about it,....about how this is going to be hard to do...such a large hole blown in the fabric of our overlapping living. i also felt a strange alienation listening to some of the great antidotes and ways others found abe. i, being his kid, have always known him... have always loved him, fought with him and learned and taught and "been" with him and i felt like he himself hardly knew a time before that was true.... that we came of age together in some very important ways despite the 47 years that seperate us and that we were father and son, but also brothers too and certainly the best of friends for the past 20 years.
how much runs in the blood and how much do we learn?
i will testify to the certainty for me that alot, sometimes way too much, runs in the blood. i can say this because i understood that guy from an early age and before i knew anything about the adult world and now with my own daughters i see it so clearly...they constantly outdo me at the family game as i once began to do with abe himself.
my immense respect for abe lies right there. not in the exagerated stories of bravery or concern for the human race.
when he sensed that my "world" would make things hard for him he didn't indulge his competitiveness or his bizarre insecurities for long, he let me go at it and together we figured out so much about ourselves and each other. back in the early 80's when i started giving him a hard time about his rusty ornate armor and told him he needed to lose some weight if he wanted to ever put that shit back on, he suppressed the urge to kill me,... tried to write me off and then choosing to love someone despite the threat they posed (he would say "needing" to love someone)...asked if i wanted to help him get a construction brigade together and head for nicaragua. i remember the smile we shared as we kicked that around... we had arrived at a level of friendship and honesty that makes haggling over petty stuff largely unneccesary. we still haggled over everything..especially the petty stuff, that's the jewish way, and there were more serious struggles too but we always found a way out of the woods after that and we became so confident in our ability to do that that we could go way down town on something and stay with it till it bore fruit. the fruit of understanding and unconditional respect and love.
abe's wasn't a "hero" to me. the total time he spent in harms way or sleeping on something other than a decent bed doesn't go much beyond a year out of his 92+. it's not something to brag about. hardship and violence are sad, common and almost mundane.
and there's a trail of battered people in his personal life(his life before most anyone who might read this knew him ). none of them showed up, they might have swelled that hall beyond capacity.
what he did that i love and respect him for is he learned to "see" people... to really see them and be with them and to trade in his compensatory pleasure of egoism and self importance for the real thing,... for love and respect earned the old school way, through the giving of love and respect. he had major reversals to his previous ways but would fight his way back and he keep growing to the very end. if you know what he was planning on saying at the sf brigade memorial just 2 hours before the event than you know what i mean. he was going to take a nasty shit in public but instead pulled a beautiful rose out of somewhere and threw it to the wonderful group of people gathered there. perfect and not easy thing to do.
so fuck celebrity culture and the sad fucks caught up in it's second rate glories. i've had the real thing with my old man and others too and i like it... alot. and he taught me that and maybe i helped him a little bit with the same.
i'm sure i'm not the only one that feels this way about the glorious freak i was so lucky to have for a dad. ....and while i've got my own torch to carry i'm picking his up in my other hand, because he's still with me in everything i am and everything i do. abie-kibble!
big love to everyone, dov
Dear Gunnel-
You do not know me, nor indeed did Abe know me, but I feel compelled to leave you a message all the same because I have several friends who knew Abe- all students at Seattle Central College and have experienced Abe's influence from afar as a result of the strong impression and effect his message, unique spirit and example have had on the lives and direction of these wonderful young people. They spoke of him often, with great fondness and admiration- so often in fact I felt I almost knew him and certainly have been forcibly impacted by his legacy.
I am especially pleased whenever my friends speak of Abe, his life, work and joy in my children's presence as I know it to be a golden opportunity for them to begin to understand the importance of reaching out, standing true to what you believe and leading a life of meaning. I know these conversations will continue in the future and I thank you also for the role you have played in making the world better and more true to our humanity's potential.
Sending you love, support and gratitude,
Paige O'Neill-Gunderson
Abe
Abe, where the hell you been, man?
We’ve been waiting for you to catch up.
It’s been a rough trek along these mountain paths.
We needed your guidance, your guts
To get us through.
You know how it is.
We figured that any man who could take on Hemingway
Could take us through the pass.
There’s a job ahead with your name on it.
Tough job, just your kind.
Somebody’s hurting.
Somebody’s been wronged.
There’s a tyrant loose.
Your kind of fight.
Now, tie one hand behind your back.
Give them a fighting chance.
But first,
Tell us a story.
David Kannas
May, 2008
I never met Abe, I am just a 30-something girl from Barcelona, Spain, who got to know his story by reading about our cruel and devastating Civil War. I found this blog created by his family and I was deeply moved.
I just want to say that today Spain is a peaceful and democratic country and that have to remember those who helped achieving this with tremendous sacrifice.
It is very difficult to imagine the hardships of a civil war and even more difficult to recognise how people from distant countries like the States came here to fight for something they believed in. It is a great example that we have to make sure it is not forgotten.
From Spain, from somebody whose grandparents fought in the civil war and who listened to their stories a long time ago (may they also rest in peace), I want to give my condolences to Abe's family and pay tribute to those brave soldiers of freedom.
Marta Montoliu
I'm trying to remember when I first met Abe. I think it was between the years of 1991 and 1996. He was a guest speaker during foreign language week at Eastern Oregon University where I was an "older than average student". My Spanish professor Elizabeth Boretz arranged for him to come and speak during that time. After listening to on of his presentations, I thought to myself, "I bet this guy was hell on wheels when he was a kid...and gave his mom plenty to worry about!" And I had a kid who was hell on wheels. So I took him out of class for the rest of the day and we went to every place where Abe was speaking. I wanted him to influence my son. I wanted my son to know you could channel your passion and energy into something meaningful.
That began my friendship with Abe. During one of his speaking times, he told the story of the prune king...who ate prunes and wiped his butt with brand new white swans and then threw them out the window for the peasants. And Gunnel, if you have that story written somewhere I would LOVE to have a copy.
My son drew him a picture of the prune king wiping is butt with a swan. And Abe and I, and on occasion my son, became pen pals. I kept in touch with Abe via letters ever since. I think I saw Abe the next time he came to town to speak for my Sociology class. I think we had dinner with friends in my front yard too.
I admired his passion, his spunk, his mischievousness. I just loved the aura that was him. I found out just today (Nov 25th, 2010 Thanksgiving day) that he died over two years ago. I had no idea. I was just going to write him a letter and send him our Christmas photo.
He is an inspiration about the depth and commitment some are willing to make to assist other souls in their struggles and oppression. Abe was larger than life. And today, on Thanksgiving, it seems appropriate to say, I am thankful to have known Abe Osheroff. I will NEVER forget him, and will remember him fondly and I have every letter he ever wrote to me.
Cherrie Ward, La Grande Oregon
wardc@eoni.com
No day goes by that I do not think of you pop! You would be proud; I got a book contract with Edwin Mellon. Without you and mom’s inspiration, beliefs and encouragement, this would never have happened. I miss you both very much.
Your daughter,
Eliza
Thanks for every fihgt you've been into. Even when I was too young to knwo about your struggles, I appreciate now your efforts to build up a better wolrd, a better society. From Spain and your contribution to freedom and justice.
Sit tibi terra levis (may the earth rest lightly on you) dear comrade.
long life anarchy!!
I have photos of Abe.
I would like to send them to you.
Are you interested?
Please reply to francescoGullino@mail.com
Hola amigos!: I met Abe for an interview in the series "Between Two Wars". It is a pleasure to address you and an honor to be reading the whole site, reminding all the glorious veterans, evidently the best generation in United States as they say... I´m Jorge Edgardo López from Argentina, I write short stories about the Second War. In my blog I wrote, consigning the links, about the Lincoln Brigade and Abe: www.lasegundaguerra.com.ar: section: "Historical theme": "How the United States could win in the war": Part 6: Lincoln Brigade- Part 7:Abe Osheroff. An affectionate greeting: Jorge
email: jelop2013@gmail.com celular: 54-9-0221-6127314
Abe survived to the sinking of City of Barcelona ship. Next year will opening in Malgrat de Mar a memorial for international brigadistas that travelled in that ship.
https://solidaritypark.com/
Next January I will publish a book in catalan that to explain the history of the ship and the volunteers that traveled or died in the sinking.
Please contact with me in this mail soniagarangou@gmail.com I need ask you some question about the Abe's photos.
Thank you
Sònia
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