Spanish Civil War American Communist Pin

Here is a small piece of a seldom addressed and little known part of history. This is a Friend of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade pin. Likely worn by someone who donated to the brigade to support their fight in Spain. Good condition.


The Abraham Lincoln Brigade was a group of around 3,000 American volunteers that went to Spain to fight on behalf of the communists and the action was coordinated by the communist international lead by Soviet Russia. The names of many of these Volunteer units were chosen to try to conceal the communist origins of their support for Nationalist Spain and work to frame it as a fight for democracy (anti-Fascism) so that it would be more palatable to their home countries and help them raise money and support. Many of these American volunteers would later be ill treated back home for their connections to communism, with many being prevented from serving as officers in WWII and then again in civilian life in the post war McCarthy era as members of a subversive organization. Being connected to the Abraham Lincoln brigade was not something people wanted and there were very few volunteers to begin with, so there are not a lot of items left over from them.