George Sossenko

George Sossenko
Born	(1918-12-20)December 20, 1918
Died	March 14, 2013(2013-03-14) (aged 94) Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
Allegiance	Spanish Republic  Free France  United States of America
Service / branch	Confederal militias International Brigades United States Fifth Army
Unit	Durruti Column The "Abraham Lincoln" XV International Brigade
Battles / wars	Spanish Civil War
Website	http://www.sossenko.com/

George Sossenko (sometimes Georges Sossenko; December 20, 1918 – March 14, 2013) was a Russian-born American lecturer and activist. At age 17, he left his parents' home in Paris, France, to join those fighting against Francisco Franco's nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War.^[1] He initially went to the offices of the French Communist Party, but was turned away, and then denied by the Socialists as well. They suggested he contact the anarchists, who sent him across the Spanish border in a caravan. He was sent to Barcelona, then received one week's worth of military training before being sent to the front.^[2] During the Civil War, Sossenko changed his name to Georges Jorat to avoid being found by his parents, and fought as part of the Sébastien Faure Century,^[3] the French-speaking contingent of the Durruti Column. He later joined the International Brigades.^[4] After the Civil War, Sossenko later fought in World War II with the Free French.^[2] and with in United States Fifth Army in Italy.^[5]

Later on, Sossenko went to work for Michelin Tire as a mechanical engineer. He first worked in Texas, but was transferred to Atlanta, Georgia. In 1984, Sossenko sued Michelin (Sossenko v. Michelin Corp., 172 Ga. App. 71 (1984)) after being threatened with losing his job.^[6] He lived in Atlanta with his wife Bernice for the remainder of his life.^[2] In 2004, Sossenko published a Spanish-language book titled Aventurero Idealista.

References

1. Colin Moynihan (2007-04-16). "Book Fair Unites Anarchists. In Spirit, Anyway". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
2. Dan Kaufman (2006-05-21). "Soldiers". New York Observer. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
3. George Sossenko. "Brigadistas Internacionales en la Guerra Civil de España". Retrieved 2008-01-11.
4. Sossenko, George (2004). Aventurero idealista (in Spanish). Univ de Castilla La Mancha. p. 132. ISBN 978-84-8427-350-9.
5. "Home". sossenko.com.
6. Ferraro, Eugene F. (2000). Undercover Investigations for the Workplace, Elsevier, ISBN 0-7506-7048-7. p.218

External links

• Video of George Sossenko speaking about World War II
• George Sossenko's obituary