Avrich, Paul
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Paul Avrich (August 4, 1931 – February 16, 2006) was an American
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
specializing in the 19th and early 20th-century anarchist movement in Russia and the United States. He taught at
Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...
,
City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...
, for his entire career, from 1961 to his retirement as distinguished professor of history in 1999. He wrote ten books, mostly about anarchism, including topics such as the 1886
Haymarket Riot The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886 at Haymarket Square i ...
, the 1921
Sacco and Vanzetti Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrants and anarchists who were controversially convicted of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parm ...
case, the 1921 Kronstadt naval base rebellion, and an
oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...
of the movement in the United States. As an ally of the movement's major figures, he sought to challenge the portrayal of anarchists as amoral and violent, and collected papers from these figures that he donated as a 20,000-item collection to the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
.


Early and personal life

Paul Avrich was born August 4, 1931, in Brooklyn to parents of Jewish and Ukrainian heritage from
Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
. His parents – Rose (née Zapol) Avrich and Murray Avrich – were a
Yiddish theater Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revues; melodrama; na ...
actress and a dress manufacturer, respectively. In the early 1950s, he served in the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
with the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
. Avrich completed his undergraduate studies at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
in 1952, and his graduate studies at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in 1961. His doctoral dissertation addressed the
labor movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
in the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
. Avrich was among the first American
exchange student A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or higher education study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, bu ...
s to study in the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
when it opened during the
Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw (, or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s when Political repression in the Soviet Union, repression and Censorship in ...
. Anarchists he met through his research into the anarchist
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
newspaper ''
Freie Arbeiter Stimme ''Freie Arbeiter Stimme'' ( Daytshmerish spelling of romanized: ''Fraye arbeṭer shṭime'', ''lit.'' 'Free Voice of Labor' also spelled with an extra '' mem'' ) was a Yiddish-language anarchist newspaper published from New York City's Lower ...
'' sparked his interest in the movement. He later named his cats after
Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin. Sometimes anglicized to Michael Bakunin. ( ; – 1 July 1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, s ...
and Piotr Kropotkin. Avrich was married and had two daughters and a sister.


Career

As a teacher and historian of the anarchist movement, Avrich had sympathy and affection for the cause and became a trusted colleague of its major figures. Accordingly, he sought to communicate to his students an affection and
solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
for anarchists "as people, rather than as militants" and challenged the perception of anarchists as amoral and violent. He wanted his work to resurrect the thought of marginalized anarchists, whom he saw as "pioneers of social justice" worth revisiting in the revival of
libertarianism Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according t ...
following the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
and
second-wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades, ending with the feminist sex wars in the early 1980s and being replaced by third-wave feminism in the early 1990s. It occurred ...
. Avrich joined
Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...
as a Russian history instructor in 1961, where he remained for the duration of his career, though he also was a member of the
City University of New York Graduate Center The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public university, public research institution and post-graduate university, postgraduate university in New York City. Formed in 1961 as Divi ...
faculty. He received a
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
for Russian history in 1967 and a
National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
Fellowship in 1972. When named a distinguished professor of history in 1982, his announcement quoted him: "Every good person deep down is an anarchist." He retired in 1999. Avrich collected books, photos, and papers from key anarchists and donated a 20,000-item collection to the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
. He died on February 16, 2006, in Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital from complications due to
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
. His Soviet research and documents on the suppressed Kronstadt insurrection led to several books on anarchists in the Russian revolution, including ''
Kronstadt, 1921 ''Kronstadt, 1921'', is a history book by Paul Avrich about the 1921 Kronstadt rebellion against the Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic La ...
''. He interviewed Soviet exiles in New York, where he first met members of the ''Freie Arbeiter Stimme''. Avrich then moved to major figures in American anarchism and published a book in 1980 on the
Ferrer School The Ferrer Center and Stelton Colony were an anarchist social center and colony, respectively, organized to honor the memory of anarchist Pedagogy, pedagogue Francisco Ferrer and to build a school based on his model, Escuela Moderna, in the Unit ...
s inspired by
Francisco Ferrer Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia (; January 14, 1859 – October 13, 1909), widely known as Francisco Ferrer (), was a Spanish radical freethinker, anarchist, and educationist behind a network of secular, private, libertarian schools in and aroun ...
. His 1984 book on the Haymarket Riot won the
Philip Taft Labor History Book Award The Philip Taft Labor History Book Award is sponsored by the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations in cooperation with the Labor and Working-Class History Association for books relating to labor history of the United States ...
, and his 1991 book on Sacco and Vanzetti presented the pair as
revolutionaries A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...
rather than philosophical anarchists. Avrich's last book, in 1995, compiled 30 years of interviews across the anarchist movement. Several of his works were nominated for
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
s.


Works

* ''
The Russian Anarchists ''The Russian Anarchists'' is a history book by Paul Avrich about the Russian anarchist movement from the 19th century to the Bolshevik revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Sovi ...
'' (1967) * ''
Kronstadt, 1921 ''Kronstadt, 1921'', is a history book by Paul Avrich about the 1921 Kronstadt rebellion against the Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic La ...
'' (1970) * '' Russian Rebels, 1600–1800'' (1972) * ''
The Anarchists in the Russian Revolution ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'' (1973) * '' An American Anarchist: The Life of Voltairine de Cleyre'' (1978) * '' The Modern School Movement: Anarchism and Education in the United States'' (1980) * ''
The Haymarket Tragedy ''The Haymarket Tragedy'' is a 1984 history book by Paul Avrich about the Haymarket affair and the resulting trial. Among other books about the Haymarket affair, ''The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American ...
'' (1984) * ''
Anarchist Portraits ''Anarchist Portraits'' is a 1988 history book by Paul Avrich about the lives and personalities of multiple prominent and inconspicuous anarchists. Summary and publication ''Anarchist Portraits'' is a series of biographical studies about th ...
'' (1988) * '' Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background'' (1991) * '' Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America'' (1995) * '' Sasha and Emma: The Anarchist Odyssey of Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman'' (2012) o-authored with his daughter, Karen Avrich


References


Further reading

* * * * *


External links


Bibliography
at R.A. Forum

at the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Paul Avrich 1931–2006: a historian who listened to anarchist voices
in memoriam, by the
Kate Sharpley Library The Kate Sharpley Library (KSL) is a library dedicated to anarchist texts and history. Started in 1979 and reorganized in 1991, it currently holds around ten thousand English language volumes, pamphlets and periodicals in its archive. __NOTOC__ N ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avrich, Paul 1931 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American historians 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century anarchists 21st-century American historians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century anarchists American anarchist writers American male non-fiction writers American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Cornell University alumni CUNY Graduate Center faculty Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in New York (state) Deaths from dementia in New York (state) Historians of anarchism Historians of Russia Jewish American historians Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish anarchists Queens College, City University of New York faculty Revolution theorists United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War