Browse Items (228 total)

The American Friends Service Committee sent representatives to Civil War-ridden Spain to evaluate the situation. One such representative was Patrick Murphy Malin. His report illustrates Spain, especially rural Spain, as claustrophobic, dirty, and…

The victims of the Spanish Civil War were mainly civilians, as both sides engaged in total war against one another. Sylvester Jones was a Quaker sent to Spain by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) from late 1936 through early 1937. He was…

This quote, attributed to T. Edmund Harvey, alludes to the idea that society will reap what it sows, and that violence will never lead to peace, but only to more violence. Read on another register, images of Spanish peasants and workers forming…

1. Spain refugees crossing French border at Le Perthus. Image © Reserved, from the collection of Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain
2. Spain Children at Train Station
3. Spain Quaker Relief Work Marseille
4. Spain Quaker Relief Work…

The topic of the poster refers to the relentless bombing of Madrid by Franco's forces, which began in November 1936, targeting civilians. The journalist Louis Delaprée writes of the bombardments, “But night falls. The great butchery, the horror, the…

Pacifists often find solidarity in helping children. In his remarks, William Allen White addresses a tea of presumably wealthy New Yorkers to convince them to provide some form of contribution to his relief organization, The Spanish Child Welfare…

John F. Rich, a Haverford graduate (class of 1924) and a prominent Quaker, was an influential figure during the Quaker relief efforts of the Spanish Civil War. In his capacity as Public Relations Director and Relief Administrator for the American…

On this pamphlet the suffering of the Spanish population is reflected in the expressions of their children. As propaganda both directly, for monetary support of Quaker relief work in Spain, and indirectly, against the war which necessitates such…

During the Spanish Civil War, Quakers from Britain and United States sent reports back to the Friends Service Council and the American Friends Service Committee from Spain exploring the conditions of the people and the gruesome effects of war. This…

Can peace ever be stable when injustice exists, and is just violence even possible? This poster, created by the London Quaker Friends in 1938, propels us to the heart of such questions by instantly equating peace and justice. Yet the Quakers were not…

This letter is a part of series between Herman F. Ressig, the executive secretary of the Spanish Refugee Relief Campaign, and Daniel & Elizabeth Jensen, American Friends who worked to assist Spanish Civil War refugees in Mexico. These letters are…

According to Religious Society of Friends literature, we should live in a way that reflects the conviction that “love is at the heart of existence and all human beings are equal in the eyes of God.” The challenge arises in the process of transforming…

This photograph, taken by the Spanish Civil War photographer, Robert Capa, in August 1948, shows the artist Pablo Picasso at the beach with Françoise Gilot, one woman in a long series of lovers. Picasso looked to the women in his life for artistic…

Quakers from the United States and Britain assisted the relief work for children during the Spanish Civil War. This pamphlet, published in London in 1938 by the Friends Service Council, is one of the fund-raising propaganda leaflets sent to British…

The Nationalist aerial bombings during the Spanish Civil War displaced thousands of innocent civilians, creating a massive influx of refugees into the cities, resulting in severe food shortages for residents and refugees. This pamphlet, Winter in…

Both the Friendship Project pamphlet and The American Friend article, “Out of the Mouths of Babes,” explore the role of children as peacebuilders during the Spanish Civil War. In these two artifacts, young people are recognized as uniquely powerful…

While its authenticity has been debated since it was shot in September 1936, Robert Capa’s photograph, famously known as “Falling Soldier,” among other titles, is nonetheless an iconic pacifist image. Allegations that this photograph was staged far…

Quaker peace testimonies resounded throughout Britain in reaction to the devastating violence and atrocities of the Spanish Civil War, in contrast to those who wanted to take up arms against the fascists responsible for those atrocities. Though the…

Sponsored by Eleanor Roosevelt, Dorothy Parker, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Helen Keller, and other prominent figures of the time, The American Rescue Ship Mission letter circulated in 1940 makes an appeal for donations to help Spanish Republican…

In an effort to provide aid to the war torn countryside of Spain, the Friends Service Council (FSC) made and distributed pamphlets about the war to Friends in England to collect funds and donations to help bring a measure of peace to Spain. To the…

This pamphlet, titled Give for Spain’s Refugees, is one of a series that were distributed by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) to ask for help for the children refugees who were victims of the Spanish Civil War. This pamphlet shows that…

“They Still Draw Pictures” is a collection of 60 original drawings created by the children who had first-hand experience with the violence of the Spanish Civil War. Its significance stems from the fact that the drawings allowed a child--whose…

During the Spanish Civil War and well into Francisco Franco’s regime the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) played an active role supporting peace efforts. With the fall of the Republic in 1939, attention turned to refugees leaving Spain. The…