Fabio Grobart

Fabio Grobart (also Antonio Blanco) was born in Bialystok, Poland August 30, 1905; his birth name was Abraham Grobart aka Abraham Simjovitch. Apparently following orders of the Comintern, during the early 1920s he became a founding member of the Cuban Communist Party. After in 1922 entering the Young Communist League of Poland, and additional Communist activities he may have been sentenced to death and this may have obliged him to leave Poland to settle in Cuba.

He played an important, though generally undocumented, role in guiding the political leadership of Cuba's 1959 Revolution along a socialist path. Fabio Grobart was one of the founders of the Communist Party in Cuba in 1925, "and for decades served as a party ideologue and the man who introduced Castro at party meetings" (Goering, 2001). Grobart was both a member of the Cuban Communist Party Central Committee and a member of Parliament. According to Boris Kozolchyk [http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_memoranda/RM4994/] Grobart’s blunders were at least partially responsible for the outlawing of the Cuban Communist Party in 1948, and resulted in his deportation. In the 1960s, he directed Cuba Socialista and was top planner guiding orthodox ideologogy. As he grew older he was considered the Party's historian. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E0D8173FF937A15753C1A962958260] . He died in Cuba on 22 October 1994.

Abraham was a major éminence grise of Cuban history and is most commonly known as Fabio Grobart, Fabio being a reference to the Roman Consul and guerrilla tactician Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus called "Cunctator (the delayer)", and thus to Fabian socialism [http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/schools/fabian.htm] .

Grobart’s actual background is not clearly known and subject to controversy [http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_memoranda/RM4994/] . For instance during the foiled so-called microfaction plot (circa 1966, Barron, 1974 pp. 147-151) [http://sshl.ucsd.edu/collections/las/cuba/1960.html] , in which the “old” communists allegedly tried to oust or at least control Castro, Grobart was necessarily involved. But this same source provides no mention of Grobart's actions for or against this very significant plot. Raffy (2004 pp. 383-385) is more specific specifying a somewhat earlier date; this author states that Anibal Escalante, the son of a senior Cuban independence fighter who fought under the command of Calixto Garcia, was blamed for the plot. Raffe credits Grobart with saving Castro. Escalante was exiled to Prague and the USSR ambassador Kondriatsev was sent home from Cuba. Apparently this effort to save Castro was supported by Castro’s feared security chief “Barba Roja” Manuel Piñeiro [http://www.lanuevacuba.com/nuevacuba/notic-05-10-3010.htm] . Those accused of being co-conspirators were imprisoned [http://www.cidh.org/countryrep/Cuba83eng/chap.2.htm] .

Fabio Grobart was long considered “… maybe the highest ranking representative of the Third International in Cuba in that moment” [http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/us-cuba/diaz-balart.htm] . However, Grobart’s importance in founding the Cuban communist party was recognized by Fidel Castro [http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/castro/1965/19651004] , the Rand thinktank [http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_memoranda/2006/RM4994.pdf] , and Jewish history experts such as Moisés Asís, who states “By 1925, there were 8,000 Jews in Cuba (some 2,700 sephardic, 5,200 ashkenazic, and 100 Americans). Four ashkenazic Jews were in the small group that founded the first Communist Party of Cuba in 1925: Grimberg, Vasserman, Simjovich aka Grobart, and Gurbich. They opposed the religious and community life of the other Jews.”

It has been claimed that Grobart recruited Fidel Castro as an agent in 1948 [http://www.cartadecuba.org/castro_el_infiel.htm] [http://www.perspectives.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=88905&forum_id=40] .

Although the party Grobart helped found was not the first Cuban communist party, it is considered as such by the present Cuban government. The first well known Cuban communist was Pablo Lafargue, born in Santiago de Cuba in 1847. Lafargue went to Europe, became a disciple of Karl Marx, married one of Marx’s daughters, became a very important member of the Socialist Internationals, and helped found the French Workers Party in 1882. Lafargue and his wife committed suicide. The original Cuban Communist Party seems to have arisen early in the 20th Century in the eastern town of Manzanillo.

Family and personality

Fabio Grobart had a son (still living and not an only child) Fabio Grobart Sunshine born August 31, PhD in International Economics & MS Chemical Engineering [http://www.nodo50.org/cubasigloXXI/congreso04/grobart_200304.pdf] .

Fabio Grobart was ethnically “Jewish,” and may not have been a practicing Jew. He apparently never objected to the Cuban government's "attitude toward religion, Zionism and Israel… " [http://www.sunspot.net/bal-pe.cuba05aug05.story] .

Official History

Official Cuban government histories state that Grobert left Poland after joining the Communist Youth League, and for this reason was condemned to death [http://www.trabajadores.co.cu/SUPLEMENTO-HISTORIA/revolucion/fabio.htm] . His first job in Cuba was as a tailors’ assistant and rapidly became active in Cuban Unions. Directed to do so by the Cuban communist party he funded the corresponding communist youth league. Although it is public record that Gerard Machado often turned to the communist party for support, officially Grobart was arrested by Machado officials and did not return until this President, turned dictator, fell from power. Some time before 1943 Grobart resumed union activities during Fulgencio Batista’s first period of power. According to this official history, since his lungs were weak and his life was again threatened in the 1950s when he left for Eastern Europe to spend time between Budapest, Prague and Vienna. In 1952, under the name Albert Blanco he was co-delegate with Carlos Palacio a Spaniard for Latin America in the very leftist labor union World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). After 1959 Ernesto Che Guevara and Raúl Castro met “Alberto Blanco” in Prague and brought him back to Cuba. In 2005 Raúl Castro’s words led Cuban communist authorities in honors and praise to ”maestro” Grobart, giving his status as such as well as the official imprimatur of “marxist sainthood” [http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2005/08/31/nacional/articulo01.html] ,

Outline of Major Events in Fabio Grobart's life

Born Poland August 30, 1905

Fled Poland (circa 1922)

Arrival in Cuba (circa 1922)

Founding of the Cuban Communist Party (1925) in collaboration with Julio Antonio Mella, Ruben Martinez Villena and 14 others

Assassation of Julio Antonio Mella 10 January 1929

Expelled from Cuba by Gerardo Machado Government (trial dated circa 1926, expelled from Cuba 1930 and or 1932)

Returned to Cuba with false passport March 1933 Alliance with Machado government August 1933 (see Grobart 1975)

Alliance with Fulgencio Batista Government (circa 1939-1940)

Expulsion by Carlos Prio Government (1948-1950)

Return to Cuba to support Fidel Castro Government (1959)

Supported Castro in internal struggle of microfaction (middle and late 1960s)

Died Cuba October 22, 1994

Character in film

Since Grobart excelled in intelligence activities and at one time owned a tailor shop in Havana [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E0D8173FF937A15753C1A962958260] he is readily identifiable with the ultimate skilled spy, the character Garak, in the Star Trek TV series Deep Space Nine e.g. [http://www.twiztv.com/scripts/ds9/season4/ds9-410.txt] .

Published Works

This list is very incomplete please add any other citations that you might have.

Grobart, Fabio 1985 Un Forjador Eternamente Joven, Havana, Editorial Gente

Grobart, Fabio 1981 (accessed 5-10-07) De la vida del partido. El proceso de formación del Partido Comunista de Cuba, condensed by communist party from an article in: Cuba Socialista 1981 (1 diciembre). http://www.cubasocialista.cu/texto/cs0176.htm

Grobart, Fabio 1979 in MARINELLO, Juan) VARIOS; Juan Marinello: recopilación de textos sobre... - (Raúl Castro, Fabio Grobart, Vicentina Antuña, Imeldo Alvarez, Eduardo E. López Morales, Cintio Vitier, Samuel Feijóo, Jorge Mañach, y otros) - La Habana,1979

Grobart, F, 1974 Prólogo, In: Mella, JA, Escritos Revolucionarios, Mexico D.F., Siglo Veintiuno, 1978, pp. 23-. The Agrupación Comunista de La Habana had been founded in 1923

Grobart, Fabio 1975 The Cuban working class movement from 1925-1933. Science and Society 29 (Spring 75), 73-102

Grobart, F, 1974 Prólogo, In: Nuñez Machin, Ana.- 1974 Rubén Martínez Villena. Incluye en apéndice amplia antología en prosa y verso. Editorial Ciencias Sociales, La Habana. 2ªed.

References

Asís, Moisés 2000 Judaism in Cuba 1959-1999 ICCAS Occasional Paper Series, [http://www6.miami.edu/iccas/AsisJUDAISMCUBA-New.pdf]

Barron, John 1974 KGB: The Secret Work of Soviet Secret Agents. Readers Digests Press, New York ISBN 0883490099 pp. 147-151

Burgos, Elizabeth Castro, (accessed 1-13-07) Review of Serge Raffy’s Castro, el infiel Carta de Cuba, la escritura de la libertad [http://www.cartadecuba.org/castro_el_infiel.htm]

Castro, F. 1965 Speech Pursc Central Committ Presentation, Havana's Chaplin Theater Havana Domestic Radio, Speech Report_1965-10-04 [http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/castro/1965/19651004] ,

Diaz Balart Rafael Lincoln 1960 (accessed 5-27-06) Testimony, Communist Threat to the United States Through the Caribbean U.S. Senate Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws, of the Committee on the Judiciary. Tuesday, May 3, 1960 [http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/us-cuba/diaz-balart.htm]

Figueroa Enríquez, Walkiria 2005 (accessed 1-14-06) Rinden homenaje a Fabio Grobart. Granma (official organ of the Central comité) La Habana, miércoles 31 de agosto de 2005. Año 9 / Número 243 [http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2005/08/31/nacional/articulo01.html]

Goering, Laurie 2001 (accessed 1-13-07) Cuba's Jews Fight Isolation. The Baltimore Sun, August 5, 2001 [http://www.sunspot.net/bal-pe.cuba05aug05.story] *available from archives [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/advancedsearch.html]

Hudson, Rex A. 1988 and José F. Sánchez 2005 (accessed 1-14-07) Castro's America Department. Coordinating Cuba's support for Marxist-Leninist violence in the Americas. La Nueva Cuba Octubre 30, 2005 [http://www.lanuevacuba.com/nuevacuba/notic-05-10-3010.htm] “After taking control of the DGI, the KGB compelled Castro to replace its chief, Manuel Piñeiro, with José Méndez Cominches in 1969. (26) One theory posited that the Soviets had not forgiven Piñeiro, a Castro loyalist, for thwarting a KGB plot -in collusion with a pro-Soviet "microfaction" of the PCC/CC- to oust Castro in early 1968 and replace him with a party member more amenable to Moscow's orders. (27) Nevertheless, Castro kept Piñeiro in his other position as MININT vice minister, and also gave him supervisory control over the 400-member DL staff.

Gerardo Peraza, a former DGI official who defected in 1971, affirmed that the Soviets had "allowed Castro to take Manuel Piñeiro away and name him head of the Department of Liberation, and the intelligence service remained under the orders of Colonel Simonov." (28) Peraza added that the Soviets tried to "bolster Fidel Castro's ego" by giving him "the power or the freedom to work against the Latin American countries, such as Nicaragua, El Salvador."”Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Organization of American States)1983 (accessed 1-14-06) The situation of human rights in Cuba seventh report OEA/Ser.L/V/II.61 Doc. 29 rev. 1 4 October 1983 [http://www.cidh.org/countryrep/Cuba83eng/chap.2.htm] “Since the defeat and imprisonment in 1968 of the so-called “microfaction” within the Cuban Communist Party, led by Anibal Escalante, there has been no effective opposition to political power in Cuba.”

Kozolchyk, Boris 1966 (last accessed 1-14-07) The political biographies of three Castro officials. Memorandum RM-4994-RC [http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_memoranda/RM4994/]

Latin American Election Statistics: A Guide to Sources, (accessed 1-14-07) Social Sciences Library. University of California, San Diego. [http://sshl.ucsd.edu/collections/las/cuba/1960.html]

New York Times Staff(accessed 1-13-07) 1994. Fabio Grobart, Veteran Cuban Communist, 89. Obit New York Times Archives October 24, 1994 [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E0D8173FF937A15753C1A962958260]

Raffy, Serge 2004 Castro, el desleal (Castro the Deceitful) Aguilar Mexico D. F. ISBN-10 1598205846, ISBN-13 978-1598205848

Suarez Ramos, Felipa (accessed 1-13-07) Fabio Grobart en el movimiento sindical cubano, Suplemento Trabajadores 29 de agosto [http://www.trabajadores.co.cu/SUPLEMENTO-HISTORIA/revolucion/fabio.htm]

Zayas-Bazán, Eduardo 2006 (accessed 5-27-06) El Perfil Psicológico de Fidel Castro [http://www.perspectives.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=88905&forum_id=40]