Researcher: Maxim Peker, Stuyvesant '26

May Levine Hartzman was born in 1914 in New York City into an immigrant family. Both of May’s parents were Jewish and had moved to America to escape political persecution and poverty in Czarist Russia. Her mother fled Russia after the failed Revolution in 1905, whereas her father was a tailor who arrived in the United States. The Levine family lived in the Bronx, where they owned newsstands and candy stores that enabled them to make ends meet during hard times. Growing up in a working-class immigrant family, May often heard conversations about labor rights, politics, and social justice.

Yet another political force that helped shape the political beliefs of May was the International Workers’ Order (IWO), an activist group that championed various causes, including worker’s rights, anti-racism campaigns, education, and social welfare for immigrants. It is through its educational program and cultural events that May became imbued with a sense of responsibility towards fighting oppression and championing democracy.

The political ideas of May are heavily influenced by the teachings she received through the International Workers' Order (IWO). This was an organization that advocated for progressive measures such as defending the rights of workers, anti-racism, providing education, and social services to immigrants. The organization also encouraged the youth to participate in matters that promoted social change. It is in this environment that May developed a desire to advocate for democratic practices.

Having completed high school and graduated from the Lebanon Hospital School of Nursing in the Bronx in 1935, May joined the workforce. This happened at the height of the depression years and thus jobs were scarce for everyone, including nurses. May would later recall that she saw nurses faint due to starvation since they did not have enough money to buy food.

At the same time, things started to heat up in Europe. Specifically, the Spanish Civil War began in 1936, when the Spanish military rebelled against their democratically elected Republican government under the leadership of Francisco Franco. The military support for Franco came from fascist dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Spain was seen as the battle against fascism for politically motivated Americans at that time. Following the news about the conflict, May understood that the best thing she could do for democracy was to help Spain.

In 1937, May joined the American Medical Bureau and went to Spain as part of an international team of doctors who supported the Republicans. According to her mother's advice, May was ready to remain there until all of her duties were fulfilled. After arriving in Spain, May was located in Benicasim, where luxurious vacation homes were used as temporary hospitals. Medical people from different countries gathered there for one common goal.

The conditions for May at the time were very hard since there was a lack of medical supplies, which made nurses and doctors use their imagination when it came to providing treatment and even making certain equipment necessary for patients' treatment. For example, once May had to change sterilizing equipment in order not to allow blankets come into contact with the patient's leg which had a terrible burn.

However, life outside the hospital was also rather hard since there were not enough food products and volunteers had to consume lentils and bad quality meat. To cheer herself up, her relatives from the Bronx sent May many parcels with some delicacies, like her mother's chocolate strudel and peanut butter. Notwithstanding the danger, such as air raids and bombing threat, she made friends among other volunteers. Among them she found her future husband Jack Hartzman who accompanied her when transferring patients from one hospital to another.

With the withdrawal and repatriation of the International Brigades in 1938, May traveled back to New York on board the Normandie, recounting her tales of the conflict in Spain to family members and friends. As was the case with other veterans of the conflict, her experience was seen not only as one of fighting fascism but also as the defense of democracy.

Through May Levine Hartzman's experience, it is possible to see that the difficulties faced by immigrant families, the impact of the Great Depression, and the threat of fascism made average citizens take extraordinary steps. The work done by May as a nurse in Spain demonstrated her dedication to both her profession and her political beliefs. Through her actions, she is now an inspiring example of efforts to fight against fascism in Spain.

Sources

The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives. “Levine, May | The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives,” December 10, 2019. https://alba-valb.org/volunteers/may-levine/.
BronxCare Health System. “History of BronxCare Health System.” Accessed June 11, 2026. https://www.bronxcare.org/about-us/history/.
Village Preservation. “The International Workers' Order's Fight to Protect All Americans,” May 6, 2020. https://www.villagepreservation.org/2020/05/06/the-international-workers-orders-fight-to-protect-all-americans-from-80-fifth-avenue/.
New York University Tamiment Library. “International Workers Order Records.” Accessed June 11, 2026. https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/tamwag/tam_001/all/.
Carroll, Peter N. The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Americans in the Spanish Civil War. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1994.