Stalin and Spain

To the Editors:

Bernard Knox in his reply to my letter [NYR, April 16] merely raises more questions, questions that can only be answered by a reading of the at least one thousand books already written about the Spanish Civil War. I must agree, however, when he says there were many volunteers who came to Spain before the Comintern began its organization of the International Brigades. It is my belief that they and those who came later, and Republican Spain as well, would have fared much better if Stalin had kept his cruddy nose and pistoleros out of it.

Yes, there is one thing Mr. Knox and I “can agree on fully,” and that is an appeal to the readers of the Review to support Spanish Refugee Aid, Inc., 80 E. 11 St., New York, NY 10003, the only organization which from the very beginning helped Spanish refugees in France without first asking them their political affiliation.

William Herrick

Old Chatham, New York