Hans Maslowski, a German-American, was the keeper of the fan that 31 volunteers of the International Brigades signed in Spain as they awaited repatriation to their countries in the fall of 1938. He did not sign the fan himself. We speculate that the fan may have been a parting gift from the men he served with in the anti-tank battery of the 129th Brigade.
Life in Germany
Hans (Johann) Maslowski was born in 1899 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. As a boy, he lived through World War I. After Germany lost the war in 1918, the country entered years of tumultuous politics, including street violence between German communists and radical nationalists. The latter eventually formed the base of the Nazi Party. Maslowski worked as a miner in the Ruhr region and joined the German Communist Party in 1923. Four years later, he emigrated to the United States where he arrived in early May of 1927. Maslowski’s final destination was Milwaukee (Wisconsin), where he had an uncle, but he later moved to New York. It was from there that he sailed back to Europe in 1937 to support the anti-fascist cause in the Spanish Civil War. He boarded the S.S. Paris on February 6; by February 17, he was already a member of the International Brigades.
The Thälmann Battalion
Courtesy of Bernd Häber
Maslowski was assigned to an artillery battery in the 12th International Brigade. The various units of the International Brigades were often organized by nationality and language for the practical purpose of communication. Maslowski was therefore attached to the Thälmann Battalion, which was named after the leader of the German Communist Party, Ernst Thälmann, and consisted of German-speaking volunteers. This battalion was known for its bravery. Many of its volunteers had already experienced Nazi rule. Though Maslowski had left Germany before Hitler came to power, he arrived in Spain with a determination to stop fascism there.
For six months, from February to August 1937, Maslowski served at the front in Aragon, Huesca, and Madrid. By March 8, he had been promoted to corporal. In July, the Thälmann battery joined the Karl Liebknecht and Antonio Gramsci batteries to form the Skoda II artillery group. In August of 1937, after fighting at Brunete, the artillery group was sent to the town of Villena for rest and further training.
Courtesy of Bernd Häber
On September 4, 1937, Maslowski probably attended a festival in Villena in honor of the artillery group and the International Brigades. A photograph taken in the studio of Villena photographer Luis Garcia, shows Maslowski in military uniform posing with other comrades and a group of local men.
Among the Men Who Signed the Fan
In December of 1937, Maslowski was assigned to the 35th Anglo-American Battery, 4th Artillery Group—the unit that included the men who signed the fan. By February 1938, Maslowski, now a sergeant, was back on the frontlines. He fought at Teruel from February to May 1938 when Franco’s Nationalist forces attacked the Republican-held town. The Republicans were defeated, forcing the 35th Battery to retreat as part of what became known as the Great Retreats. Maslowski’s battery, supplied with new dual-purpose anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, was now assigned to the 129th International Brigade, which engaged in heavy fighting on the Levante front. By April of 1938, they were cut off from the rest of the Republican forces to the north. They held this position until Spanish Prime Minister Juan Negrín announced in September that the international volunteers were to return to their home countries.
Maslowski’s unit was ordered to Valencia to await repatriation, then moved to Villanueva de Castellón where party officials assessed the character and politics of all volunteers for their repatriation files. Maslowski was described as a “buen militante,” a good rank-and-file party member who was “very reserved,” “disciplined,” and “serious.” The file also stated that his “sectarianism” made him “politically weak.” Still, as trusted party member, Maslowski—together with Michael Sidorovich, another signatory of the fan—signed repatriation forms for many of the men who had left their names on the fan. These included Dean, Hawkins, Kilas, Lewis, Madigan, Palu, Reed, Stuivenberg, and Yonules.
How the Fan got to Berlin
Like other European immigrants in the group—Palu, Pedrero, and Stuivenberg—Maslowski had been among the first to leave for Spain. But because he was not yet a citizen of the United States, his return was delayed. After crossing the border into France, he was initially detained in the French camp of St. Cyprien, where Stuivenberg was also held. Maslowski did not get back to the United States until March 24, 1939.
In 1942, Maslowski registered for the United States draft for World War II. He listed Anna Häber as his contact. Anna, like Hans, had been born in Germany and was a member of the German Communist Party. She came to the United States because she was engaged to Fritz Boettcher whom she had married in 1928. In America, Anna continued her political activity in the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). Boettcher and Anna separated in 1939 due to domestic abuse. In 1944, she married Maslowski. A year later, he petitioned for naturalization and became a U.S. citizen in December of 1945.
the volunteers of the International Brigades.
Courtesy of Bernd Häber
In 1969, thirty years after the end of the Spanish Civil War, Hans and Anna Maslowski returned to Europe to visit relatives in East Berlin, which was then still under communist rule. At this occasion, they gave to Bernd Häber’s family the Spanish fan with the signatures and the photograph from Villena.
Courtesy of Bernd Häber
Decades after Maslowski’s death in 1970, his grandnephew, Bernd Häber, who grew up in East Germany, rediscovered these artifacts. As a current resident of Phoenix in Arizona, Häber is now the caretaker of these precious memory capsules from the Spanish Civil War.
FURTHER READINGS
Arnold Krammer. 2004. “The Cult of the Spanish Civil War in East Germany.” Journal of Contemporary History 39/4, 531–60.
Josie McLellan. 2004. Antifascism and Memory in East Germany, Remembering the International Brigades, 1945-1989. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
SOURCES
“Hans Maslowsky.” Personal File. RGASPI. Fond 545, Opis 6, File 945.
“Johann Maslowski.” Carnet Militar de las Brigadas Internacionales.
“Report of the Commissioner of the Demobilization Center No. 2 (15th International Brigade) in Ripoll. RGASPI. Fond 545, Opis 3, File 772.
César López Hurtado. 2010. Villena Roja 1936-1939. Represión de guerra y posguerra. Villena.