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Panelists: Janette Higgins, Dov Osheroff
Moderator: Willy Maley
Description: Three descendants of Spanish Civil War veterans sit down to talk about their fathers, their working class backgrounds their growing political consciousness and how they literally went off to fight fascism in the international brigades of the Spanish Civil War.
Janette Higgins is the daughter of Spanish Civil War veteran Jim Higgins. She resides in Toronto and is the editor of her father’s memoir Fighting for Democracy, the true story of Jim Higgins (1907-1982) published in 2020.
Dov Osheroff is a carpenter, son of Spanish Civil War veteran Abe Osheroff and lives in the San Francisco Bay area.
Willy Maley is the son of James Maley, veteran of the Spanish Civil War. Willy is a professor of English Literature at the University of Glasgow, Scotland as well as a playwright, poet and co-author of the book Our Fathers Fought Franco.
The conversation is organized in two parts.
Part I begins with a short clip of Christian Parenti and Max Blumenthal talking about today’s left and pointing out how it is no longer made up of working class people.
This sets the stage for our three panelists whose fathers represent a left that couldn’t have been more different than that of today – totally rooted in the working class.
The discussion begins with an introduction to their fathers, their childhoods and how they became politicized and eventually volunteered to fight fascism in the international brigades of the Spanish Civil War. They talk about their careers after the war and how they were affected by their experiences in the war.
Part II is a conversation about how their fathers might view today’s political and social climate of rising censorship, identity politics and today’ forms of activism that bear no resemblance to their own struggles to create a more just world.
*Note: Participation by any panelist does not indicate their agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of any other conference participant. The presence of any panelist does not mean Plebity endorses or shares their opinions.
