Hi Bryan Thierfelder,

I do not have a photograph of Otto Damm and you are the first person to positively identify him. Otto Damm signed Sam Walters' Songbook but the (German) Association of Combatants and Friends
of the Spanish Republic 1936 - 1939) was not able to identify him with that name. What they told me was:

The signature of Otto Damm could be one of the brigadist, Hugo Kraus,but I'm not certain about it. He had the name "Otto Dames" in Spain.

That is all that I have managed to get so far - but if your great grandfather was actually called Otto Damm and you know that he fought in Spain then it is likely to be his signature. I can send you a photo of the page with the signature if you want it. I would not advise you to put your email address up on this thread for security reasons but if you sign up as a Mudcat member you can send me a Private Message (PM) and then I can let you have my email address and then you can give me your email address so that I can send the photo (jpeg) Complicated but safe!

If you don't want the photo please post any information that you are happy to share up on this thread as I would like to include it in the information to be put in the International Brigades Archive in London ( where the Songbook has now been placed)


Regards, Geoff Lawes