Victor Grossman (born March 11, 1928) is an American publicist and author who defected to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1952. He studied journalism in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

and remained there working as a journalist and writer. He now lives in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Early life

Born Stephen Wechsler in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, he reluctantly changed his name to Victor Grossman after defection to East Germany in order to shield his family members in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. As a youth, his family often summered in

Free Acres, New Jersey Free Acres is an Local government in New Jersey#Unincorporated communities, unincorporated community located along the border of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, Berkeley Heights in Union County, New Jersey, Union County and Watchung, New Jersey, Wat ...

, a community using economic philosopher

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...

's concept of single taxation. While studying at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

as a member of the class of 1949, Grossman joined the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

, whose platform claimed unequivocal opposition to racism, exploitation, and most importantly — Nazi Germany. After receiving his degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

, he worked in a factory. However, in 1950, Grossman was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and stationed in Germany.

Defection

In 1952, while serving in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, Grossman swam across the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

into the Soviet-occupied zone of Austria, and became one of a handful of soldiers from the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

nations who

defected In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

to the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

. Grossman later stated he defected because he feared prosecution by U.S. authorities for not declaring his membership in left-wing political organizations prior to his entering the army. Following assessment by Soviet authorities, Grossman was sent to

, where he continued his studies in journalism at Karl Marx University. While in East Germany, Grossman was a good friend of his fellow US exile, the singer and actor Dean Reed. He earned his living as a journalist and as a translator. In 1954, Grossman was recruited as an informant by the East German Ministry of State Security (MfS, or "Stasi"), codename TAUCHER ("Diver"). In 1994, the U.S. Army dropped charges of desertion against him. He reclaimed his U.S.

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

and traveled to America several times, including a book tour to promote his memoir ''Crossing the River: A Memoir of the American Left, the Cold War, and Life in East Germany'', published in 2003. Grossman is a frequent contributor to the Marxist magazine ''

Monthly Review The ''Monthly Review'', established in 1949, is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. The publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment Following ...

''.

Selected works

* ''Nilpferd und Storch''. Kinderbuchverlag Berlin, Berlin, 1965 * ''Von Manhattan bis Kalifornien. Aus der Geschichte der USA.'' Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1974 * ''Per Anhalter durch die USA.'' Berlin 1976 * ''Der Weg über die Grenze.'' Verlag Neues Leben, Berlin, 1985 * ''If I Had a Song – Lieder und Sänger der USA.'' Lied der Zeit, Berlin, 1988, * ''Crossing the River: A Memoir of the American Left, the Cold War, and Life in East Germany.'' University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, Boston, 2003, * ''Madrid, du Wunderbare. Ein Amerikaner blättert in der Geschichte des Spanienkrieges.'' GNN-Verlag, Schkeuditz, 2006, * ''Ein Ami blickt auf die DDR zurück'', Spotless, Berlin, 2011, * ''Rebel Girls: 34 amerikanische Frauen im Porträt'', Papyrossa, 2012, * ''A Socialist Defector: From Harvard to Karl-Marx-Allee'', Monthly Review Press, 2019,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossman, Victor 1928 births American defectors People of the Cold War Living people United States Army soldiers Writers from New York (state) American expatriates in East Germany Defectors to East Germany Harvard University alumni American male writers Leipzig University alumni American emigrants to East Germany People of the Stasi