Straus, Mark.

Biography

Straus, Mark. b. May 1, 1909, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Jewish; AMB; Father Herman Straus; Completed medical school at Faculte de Medicine de l'Universite de Paris in 1936; No prior military service; Married; Doctor; French CP March 1934 (France), CPUSA February 1936; Spanish CP; Received Passport# 389521 on April 13, 1937 which listed his address as 1791 Walton Avenue, NYC; Paid his own way to Spain; Arrived in Spain on May 1, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Washington Battalion, Battalion Doctor and Lincoln-Washington Battalion Doctor; Later Chief of XV BDE Medical services; Rank Captain; Served at Brunete, Quinto, Belchite, Fuentes de Ebro, Teruel, Retreats; Returned to the US on July 12, 1938 aboard the Aquitania; d. October 1993.
Sources: Scope of Soviet Activity; Cadre (under Straus), RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 996, ll. 6-9; ALBA 277 Mark Strauss Papers and Photographs.
Photograph: Dr. Mark Straus, Chief of Sanidad, XV Brigade, May 1938. The 15th International Brigade Photographic Unit Photograph Collection; ALBA Photo 11; ALBA Photo number 11-0020. Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.