Contextualizing the Archive
Because Frances Patai focused almost entirely on the female members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, it was surprising to discover how few women actually participated. By looking at a separate online archive of photos from the Spanish Civil War, we were able to discover a more accurate idea of who participated in the war. In fact, it was difficult to find any women in the photos from the other archive, unless they were simply local residents. Despite there being little information on the Brigade outside of the archives, it appears that perhaps the American Medical Bureau, of which the doctors and nurses in Patai’s photos would have been a part of, was entirely separate from, yet still associated with, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. The photos from the online archive are especially useful because they allow us to understand how special Frances Patai's collection is. The online archive could be compared to a wide-frame photo of the Brigade, and Patai's collection zooms in on one often-unnoticed feature. While Patai’s archives show an interesting and refreshing perspective that we appreciated seeing, it certainly doesn’t accurately represent the Brigade as a whole. To someone simply viewing the archive without outside context, like we did, the archive suggests a story that is far from the truth. However, by gaining context through the online archive, we understand that Patai's collection gives us something that isn't found in the typical record of the Spanish Civil War. She tells a story that too often goes untold, reminding us that women played an essential role in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and they should not be forgotten.
