the desperation to help

stowaways on the s.s. normandie: mcmanus, jerome

It is clear that most of the volunteers of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade felt a desire to help Spain. The tales of those who stowed away on the S.S. Normandie, a passenger ship that arrived at the New York Harbor from France, demonstrate the valiant efforts of some of these volunteers.

It is not known specifically what drove Jerome Mcmanus to stowaway on the S.S. Normandie in a desperate attempt to become part of the war. It can be assumed that, like the other nine stowaways with him, he was denied a passport for some reason or another and thus could not serve traditionally alongside the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.

The documents of his detainment after being caught include correspondence from his mother, brother, and sister, to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State initially appealed to his family, stating McManus' circumstances of being caught in Le Havre, France, and advising them that they may want to send money to aid McManus in his journey home. I suspect the struggle of the McManus family that is outlined in the letters from his mother, brother, and sister, was the struggle of many other families at this time: they did not have the resources to help, because there were other children to be taken care of, because the father of the household was unemployed.

McManus, like the other stowaways, was tried and was sentenced to 58 days in prison before he could return home to the United States. His brother, Lawrence McManus, was eventually able to send $5 to assist - the recommended aid was $125 for expenses on the trip home. Still, it is more money than some of the other stowaways received from their families.

In addition to the struggles of the McManus family, the mother of the household was ill. She wrote sparingly to the Secretary of State, only to say that she was unfortunately unable to send any money to help, but appealed that Jerome was indeed a United States Citizen and had his birth certificate with him.

Jerome's sister, Mrs. Catherine McManus, was less reserved in her correspondence with the Secretary of State. She sent many letters to the SoS, appealing that Jerome should be released earlier than his 58 day sentence because he had a position available for him in the states in September, and because his assistance was needed at home in order to help the household to sustain. She included in her letters anecdotes of how hard Lawrence worked to keep the family together, often having to come home to see her crying because they were unable to make ends meet. She even appealed to the Holy Jesus Christ and God and Democracy, stating that if the government had any decency they would not be questioning Jerome's upbringing (the culprit of his decision to stowaway on the S.S. Normandie, rooted in his desire to fight for a cause he believed in), and if they cared for their reputation, they would release Jerome because the McManus name was a very prominent one in Orange, New Jersey.

Upon further investigation of Jerome McManus I have found that he was Jewish, a fact which may help to understand his desire to fight in the Spanish Civil War. The anti-Semitic nature of the fascist leaders probably compelled Jerome by his own struggle with anti-Semitism in the states, or perhaps his relief that he was not subjected to it in the way the European Jews were at the time.

In any case, Jerome McManus was eventually sent back to the United States at the end of his 58 day sentence. There is no record of him having ever served in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade after this, but his determination to try, at risk of detection and imprisonment, says much about his character.