Alexander Marcowich
Other name:
Place of birth: Gorbals, Glasgow, Scotland
Year of birth: 3rd May 1914
Political organisation: CP '33 & YCL '29 & TGU
Occupation: Tailors' Cutter
Date of arrival: 2nd October 1937
Brigade ID: 1348
Date of departure: 14th February 1939
Date of death: 4th January 1984 • Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Where killed:
Comments: Address given as; 415, Eglington Street, Glasgow. Enlisted into the IB at Tarazona on 2/10/1937 along with Bob Cooney. Was described as one a future leader, and made a big impression with the CP. Although he had been recently re- admitted in to the party again after anti-Soviet comments and raising the case against Stalin's anti-Semitism. Trained as a rifleman and machine-gun feeder. Arrested and sent to correction camp for criticising the brigade leaders, released in May 1938 after imprisonment by the Republicans as an undesirable. Member of No 1 Company in June '38. Sent to Disciplinary Company 26/6/1938 until 6/7/1938 returned to British batt by Brigade orders. After 36 hours arrested again and sent under Guard to Brigade Jail. On August 17 1938 declared by the commissariat to be 'a provocateur, a Trotskyist, and a generally pessimistic element.' Expelled from the CPGB and the YCL. held for six weeks in Casteldefels. Note by AM: 'I have spent 7 weeks in Disciplinary company and now have spent 20 days in jail'. A.Marcovitch. 3/9/1938.
Marcovitch was rel/Rept from Prison 14/2/1939 'Provocador, desorganizador, trotskista. Elemento pesimo.' Assessment: 'Very bad. Disrupter. Trotskyist. Dangerous.' Repatriated.
He was always aggrieved at his treatment, having never been formally charged with any offence. He was not slow in complaining about the treament of his fellow infantry or the conduct of the leadership, and this almost certainly fed into the paranoia of the time with regards to trotskyists etc, leading to unpleasant/unreasonable repurcussions. Apart from prison this also meant a spell in a "corrective" battalion which he was fortunate to survive. After his release he was then held at the Argelers internment camp in France and teamed up with 8 other Brigaders, where he was rescued by a British Consul official who got him out, and homeward bound.
WW2 served in the RASC.
Source: IBA Box D-7 File A/1, RGASPI 545/3/451/127 & 545/6/91/131 & 545/6/97/21,22 & 545/6/99/11 & 545/6/168/5-15 & 545/6/537/29 & 545/947/51-53,55. NA FO371/24122/114.
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