Letters from Peter Bloch to Alfonso Ramirez.

Abstract

Collection of 151 letters written by Peter Bloch in New York to his colleague and friend Alfonso Ramirez in Venezuela. The letters, written in English, touch primarily on socialist ideological interpretations of world events, triggering commentaries about politics in North America, Europe (Germany) and Asia (mostly China). Also discussed are various aspects of the Caribbean islands and Latin America. Alfonso Ramirez' replies in Spanish are not included.Alfonso Ramirez and Peter Bloch maintained an epistolary friendship for almost five decades, after they had been introduced to each other by Ernest Mandel, the secretary of the IV. International. Peter Bloch had worked with Ernest Mandel in Belgium until the 1960's, when he was an active member of the Socialist Workers Party and wrote for the SWP newspapers under the pseudonyms "Trent Hutter" and "James Parker" . He broke away from the SWP over the party's evaluation of the revolution in Cuba.The historian and writer Peter Rafael Bloch was born on Oct. 19th, 1921 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In 1939 he escaped to England and later that year moved to Belgium to get reunited with his family. In 1942 he escaped to Switzerland where he stayed until 1949 when he immigrated to the United States. Peter Bloch studied Hispanic culture and history since his youth and became an authority on Puerto Rican culture. Peter Bloch died in New York on July 31st, 2008.digitize