Researcher: Daniel Wang, Stuyvesant '26

Norman Perlman was born on July 20th, 1909, to his parents, Paul Perlman and Flora Perlman, and had two brothers – Max Perlman and Newton Goldstein. Growing up in Brooklyn, he was born to a socialist mother who worked as a dentist, and would go on to be affiliated with the Communist Party. Before leaving for the war, his 1937 passport (Passport #362716) listed his residence as 1941 84th Street, Brooklyn, New York. Perlman worked as a clerk, but decided to join the war out of boredom and in search of adventure. His decision is reflective of the reality many Americans faced at the time in the midst of the Great Depression, with many becoming disillusioned, and is a likely reason why Perlman joined the Communist Party.

At 29 years old, Perlman set sail for Spain on January 15, 1938, on the Ile de France and arrived in Spain on January 25, 1938. Perlman served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln-Washington Battalion, Company 3, and would later go on to briefly serve with the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, which was a group of Canadians part of the XV International Brigade.

By 1938, the Republic was finding itself in a precarious situation. In a final attempt to stop the advance of the nationalist forces, the Republic launched the Ebro Offensive in July 1938. The Ebro Offensive was the largest and one of the most significant battles of the Spanish Civil War. Launched by Republican forces, it was intended to halt the Nationalist advance and relieve pressure on Republican-held territory. Both sides endured enormous casualties, and although the Republicans used the element of surprise to their advantage and gained territory, Nationalist forces eventually regained control with superior artillery and air power, being aided by Germany and Italy. The battle marked a turning point in the war, exhausting the Republic's resources and hastening its defeat. It was during the Ebro Offensive that Perlman was wounded in the leg by shrapnel, being one of tens of thousands who were left either dead or wounded. Perlman was taken back across the river and moved to Mataró Hospital to recover, but, unfortunately, as described in a letter he would go on to write after he returned, he wasn’t able to save his leg. The Mataró Hospital was a hospital on the Republican side staffed by international volunteers and existed mainly to serve members of the international brigade.

Perlman returned to the United States on December 31, 1938, aboard the President Harding. After his return, he moved to California, where he settled down and married Polly Norman on October 5, 1943. Together, they raised their children, Rick Perlman and Dan Perlman. There, he was the secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles post of the brigade’s veterans. In Los Angeles, he resided at 13082 Mindanao Way, Apt. 48, Marina del Rey, CA. He still maintained contact with other veterans of the war and even alludes to others near him, mentioning Milton Wolff, their commander of the Lincoln Battalion. Having experienced firsthand the grim realities of war, Perlman became a fundraiser for medical relief to the war-torn regions of Central America before he passed on March 21, 1996.

Sources

“Norman Perlman.” Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives https://alba-valb.org/volunteers/norman-perlman/

“Perlman, Norman.” Norman Perlman - Sidbrint (Abraham Lincoln Brigade / University of Barcelona et al.), https://sidbrint.puntzero.cat/brigadista/perlman-norman

“The Lincoln Brigade: A Picture History.” William Loren Katz and Marc Crawford. Dokumen.pub. https://dokumen.pub/the-lincoln-brigade-a-picture-history-2nbsped-1620329018-9781620329016.html

“Norman Perlman; Fought Fascists in Spanish Civil War.” 1996. Los Angeles Times. March 27, 1996. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-27-mn-51782-story.html.

“Jews in the Spanish Civil War.” 2026. Jewish Virtual Library. 2026. https://jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-who-served-in-the-international-brigade-in-the-spanish-civil-war.

Christopher Brooks Research Files. African Americans in the Spanish Civil War. 1993. ALBA.027, Box 2, Folder 56. NYU Special Collections, Bobst Library, New York University.