European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 10, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Living in limbo continued from a  1 i Harvard University class reunion but the govern ment reception committee whisked him thu nigh Cus Toms and passport control straight to fort Dix no. The world had changed drastically since Grossman last saw the United states or the Western world. That was 1952, when he deserted from the . Army in Augsburg West Germany and went into communist East Germany to live. Grossman was not the Only deserter from the . Army but he was one of the most visible and per haps one of the most profitable for the communist regime for propaganda purposes. He knew much of Europe at an earlier age and had travelled and worked across the United states. I Lis father was the pm manager in Karlsruhe Ger Many for three years. At the time of his desertion Grossman whose real name was Stephen Wechsler was a private stationed with the 169th inf regt in Furth near Nurnberg. Sitting in the living room of his apartment on Karl Marx Alice in Eastern Berlin Grossman said recently you have to recall the atmosphere of the 1950s to have some understanding of my  born  York Grossman was raised in the tradition of the american left. He worked and de bated in socialist and communist circles which. Meant a lot of Union work,.civil rights do Monstras Lions and propaganda for the socialist vote. Our heroes were the men and women doing grass roots work for worker s rights he said. And people like Paul Robson and Agnes so Cilcy who did All she could for Mao s Victory in China. In Short we were for the so called progressives against the reactionary and the  Grossman joined the american communist party while a student at Harvard. It was a time when the cold War was Frickland sen Joseph Mccarthy was at the height of his Witch Hunt ferreting out communists real or not from All sectors of society. While stationed in West Germany a government questionnaire drastically changed Grossman s life. When inducted into the army in 1951, he failed to reveal the names of the organizations lie belonged to which were on a list of subversive groups Given to. Him. " a f i was upset because the. Groups i belonged to. Were considered subversive and two things went through my mind maybe i would t be checked arid the other was if they do and turn me Down for serv ice for being a communist i might As Well forget Ever getting a decent Job despite my Harvard degree in  in the summer of 1952,  a registered letter from Washington . It was from the judge advocate general s office. In Washington. It contained charges that i had lied about my communist connections at induction and. That i was to report to the army court in  Grossman said he was frightened to death and decided he had nothing to lose by  ran for it. ". -.-.-, i hoped to find Asylum in Czechoslovakia. I had been there before when i attended the world youth festival in Prague in 1947.1 did t want to go to East Germany because i had read in the stars and stripes that american deserters were kept in a concentration  Grossman swam across the Danube near the aus Trian town of Linz full of trepidation that he might get picked up by the americans who were stationed nearby. The soviets who finally picked him up questioned him thoroughly there and in Potsdam and finally he landed in the International Solidarity club a Halfway House in the East German town of Baut zen the town called the City of missing Ameri cans in a stripes report of the time. Grossman said the soviets gave him his new name dances were held in the International Solidarity club in Bautzen East Germany where american deserters spent much of their time. Is . Stephen Wechsler changed his named to Victor Grossman and became a journalist after deserting the . Army in 1952. 1. Because he did t want to make trouble for his Fame t by in the United Stales they told me to pick one., but when i could t come up with one quickly they suggested Victor Grossman and nodded of v East Germany was having a difficult time cock nominally but i Felt Good living in a socialist anti fascist society i fell was building for the future Grossman was allowed to study journalism in Leipzig and wrote and lectured on the United. States  he probably the Only person Ever to. Graduate from Harvard and the Karl Marx univer " Sipics. A v Grossman married a woman he met while living in Bautzen and they now have two grown children. I think i must have travelled All Over the Cdr lecturing in factories bookstores and Community centers. It was an exciting period watching the coun try develop. But i was t naive he said -. Grossman said he began to notice the imperfections of the system Back when he studied at the uni varsity of Leipzig but he did t elaborate on. The sub acct.  "  although most deserters prefer red to keep a Low profile Grossman became highly visible. He interpreted for Jane Fonda when she visited a documentary film festival in Leipzig in 1974. Grossman said he applied for membership in the East German communist party but was turned Down. The main reason they did t want me was that told them i would always  own Independent opinion on All subjects although i would respect alls sed Rosavis Arthur Boyd shown with son Tony and wife Sabine left the army and crossed Over to East Berlin in 1954. Decisions by the East German party. V a they did t care for that and told me they could t accept me on those terms. An american. Journalist claimed i was t allowed into the party be cause of my jewish background. That s ridiculous there Wercza number of jews in the party in  when the Berlin Wall came Down in 1989, Grossman said he knew it was the end of the Experiment to  on German soil. He also _ said to kept out of the Western part of Berlin for fear the army might want to grab him. R. Through friends and Legal counsel Grossman found out that the american government was t after him. Lie decided to visit family and friends in the United states i expected to spend a couple of Days in jail Grossman said but i was out in a couple of hours with a passport.". Grossman has since visited friends and family around the United states and is working on the continuation  autobiography Der wig uber die Gran pc the Way across the Borde which appeared Only in German in 1985. On his future plans Grossman said i m not sure if we will move to the United states or not but what i will miss Here is this decidedly anti fascist  Arthur Boyd a private stationed in West Berlin with i co 3rd in 6th inf regt was t concerned with any ideological ideas when he crossed Over to East Berlin in 1954. I wanted to live with the woman pregnant with Page 4 sunday. September 10. 1995