Biography
Philip Grosser Born in Slavuta, Ukraine 1890; established anarchist activist in Boston by 1917; among the first to refuse the draft on political — rather than religious — grounds. Court-martialed and sent to Alcatraz; refused the uniform, refused to stand in formation, and refused "hard labor"; retaliated against with extended solitary, beatings, being dragged on a rope, denial of toilet facilities, and confinement in Alcatraz's "iron maidens" (upright iron cages). After release wrote one of the earliest published exposés of conditions at Alcatraz, the 32-page pamphlet "Alcatraz – Uncle Sam's Devil's Island" (1933). Took his own life in Boston Oct 1933.
Philip B. Grosser was a conscientious objector from Massachusetts imprisoned during World War I. Court-martialed for refusing military service, he was held at Fort Leavenworth; Alcatraz Island. Sentenced to 30 years in prison on Aug. (Documented in the Swarthmore College Peace Collection's World War I Conscientious Objectors database.) Archival note: registered for draft on June 5, 1917, as a C.O.; arrested in Boston in Dec. 1917 for failing to report for military duty; interviewed by Bd. in Feb. ___ at Leavenworth; …
