Philip Grosser Explained

Philip Grosser (1890 in Slavuta – October 3, 1933 in Boston) was an anarchist and anti-militarist, hailed by fellow anarchist, Alexander Berkman, as "one of [my] finest comrades".^[1]

He was imprisoned at the Federal Military Prison on Alcatraz Island, having refused the draft during the first World War. By the end of 1920, two years after the war ended, he was the only remaining conscientious objector at Alcatraz,^[2] and in poor health.^[3]

Grosser is notable for writing one of the first exposés of Alcatraz Prison, the 32-page pamphlet Uncle Sam's Devil's Island, which told of his experience in the prison.

He died by suicide in Boston, Massachusetts in October 1933 and was buried on October 20, 1933.

Work

• Book: Grosser, Philip . Alcatraz - Uncle Sam's Devil's Island: Experiences of a Conscientious Objector in America during the First World War . Kate Sharpley Library . London . 2007 . 978-1-873605-24-0 .

Further reading

• Web site: Kate Sharpley Library. www.katesharpleylibrary.net. 2018-04-26.
• Book: Kohn, Stephen Martin. American Political Prisoners: Prosecutions Under the Espionage and Sedition Acts. 1994. Greenwood Publishing Group. 9780275944155. en.
• Book: Reedy's Mirror. 1920. en.
• Book: Zimmer, Kenyon. Immigrants against the State: Yiddish and Italian Anarchism in America. 2015-06-30. University of Illinois Press. 9780252097430. en.

Notes and References

1. Web site: GROSSER, Philip. 'Alcatraz' Uncle Sam's Devil's Island : Experiences of a (...) - R.A. Forum. 2016-03-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170105/http://raforum.info/article.php3?id_article=4207. 2016-03-03. live. 2018-04-23.
2. News: Philip Grosser Held Example of Baker Spite. 1920-11-05. The Minneapolis Star. 2018-04-23. Federated Press. Minneapolis, Minnesota. en. .
3. News: Socialist Delegation Calls on Secretary. 1920-05-20. The San Bernardino County Sun. 2018-04-23. Associated Press. San Bernardino, California. en. .