In August, Dr. Coro Rubio Pobes, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of the Basque Country (Spain), visited the UW–Green Bay Archives to study the letters of John W. Cookson, a Wisconsin volunteer who fought in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Cookson’s correspondence with his family provides unique insights not only into the ideological debates preceding World War II but also into the ways Spanish society, culture, and people were perceived at the time by American volunteers who fought on the side of the Republic.
During her visit, Professor Rubio Pobes also examined Baedeker’s travel guides (dating from the 1800s), seeking depictions of Spain contained in those volumes. Her research underscores the significance of UW–Green Bay’s archival collections in preserving local and global history.