Morris Stamm (1904-2000) and Eleanor Stamm (1912-1989) were both active in Cleveland's labor and peace movements. Morris Stamm was born in Czarist Russia but left there as a child, arriving in the United States in 1916. He settled in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1920 and took a job as a production worker, a position he held for 61 years. Stamm joined the Communist Party in 1928, and became involved in the labor movement through his membership in the Party. During the Depression he was active as an organizer for the Communist Party in Ohio and also worked with the Unemployed Councils in obtaining government welfare benefits for unemployed workers. Also during this period Stamm was a shopfloor organizer for the United Electrical Workers in the Cleveland area, taking part in the drive by the Congress of Industrial Organizations (C.I.O.) to unionize workers in the basic industries.
From May 1937 to December 1938 he fought as a foot soldier with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. He was wounded in action and returned home. Stamm married Eleanor Ginsberg in 1940.
In 1949 he was involved in a union jurisdictional dispute at Fawick-Airflex Company in Brooklyn, Ohio, which led to a bitter strike. From 1951 to 1971 he worked as a welder at Ohio Tube while at the same time circulating petitions against the Vietnam War, and acting as an officer of the Northeast Ohio Labor for Peace Committee.
After his retirement in 1971, Morris and Eleanor led the Cleveland Committee for a Democratic Spain, attempting to bring public attention to the cause of democracy in Spain. After the death of General Francisco Franco, Morris and Eleanor joined a group of veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade for a trip to Spain.
Eleanor Ginsberg Stamm was politically active for most of her life. In the 1930s she held membership in many organizations including the American Youth Congress, the Young Communist League and the youth committee of the American League Against War and Fascism. In the 1950s and 1960s, Eleanor Stamm was active in the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and Women Speak Out for Peace and Justice. In addition to her political activities she worked as a secretary for The Visiting Nurse Association of Cleveland and The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland.
After retirement from the work force Eleanor Stamm remained active in many groups, including the District 54 International Association of Machinists Retirement Club where she served as legislation chairman, and as an associate member of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, acting as its representative at the World Congress for the International Women's Year in 1975. In the 1970s Eleanor Stamm also became involved in the move to strengthen Cleveland's inner ring suburban neighborhoods by contributing her efforts to the East Yorkshire Road Neighborhood Association of Cleveland Heights.
The Morris and Eleanor Stamm Papers, 1936-1986 and undated, consist of Spanish and English language calendars and propaganda, correspondence, fliers, newsletters, posters, administrative reports, minutes, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, programs, research papers, and personal writings.
This collection reflects the participation of a Cleveland couple in the intense labor, peace and civil rights movements of the years from 1936 to 1986.
Particularly emphasized in the collection are the activities of Morris Stamm in his roles in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and in various Socialist and Communist activities.
The collection will be especially valuable for those scholars researching the Spanish Civil War, the United States ties to that war through the individuals fighting there, and the struggles in the United States by labor unions, socialist groups, protesters of the Vietnam War, and individuals concerned about the establishment of democracy in post war Spain.
The Fawick-Airflex Company strike of 1949 is also covered in depth in this collection, providing a clear picture of this strike's significance during the post World War II period of labor unrest and fears of communism.
Researchers will gain a personal insight into the efforts of two individuals in these areas, material not likely to be found in broader ranging historical discussions
The collection is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Processed by Kathleen Duda and Anne Scott in 1990
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4505 Morris and Eleanor Stamm Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Morris and Eleanor Stamm, 1974-1986.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.