Alfred Rosmer (born Alfred Griot, 23 August 1877 – 6 May 1964) was an American-born French communist political activist and historian who was a leading member of the Comintern. Rosmer is best remembered as a political associate of Leon Trotsky and a memoirist.
Early life
Alfred Griot was born in 1877 in Paterson, New Jersey. His father worked as a barber in the United States, returning with the family to France in 1884. Having learned English as a child, Rosmer remained fluent in the language for the rest of his life.
Rosmer was a syndicalist leader before World War I, active in the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), the French general federation of unions. Together with Pierre Monatte, he issued a journal called (), which was terminated as a result of French entry into World War I.
The antiwar French syndicalists had been represented at the Zimmerwald Conference in 1915 and then organised as the Committee for the Resumption of International Relations in which Rosmer participated. After the end of the war, a strike wave swept France in which the syndicalists played an active role. was resurrected by Rosmer and Monatte in March 1919. The group remained isolated and without significant influence, however, largely removed from active communication with Moscow.
A friendship with Leon Trotsky dated from that period, when the latter was briefly living in France.
Communist Party leader
After the war, he became a leading figure in the Communist Party of France (PCF). He was sent to Moscow in 1920 as a representative of the French left, being assigned there to positions in the Communist International (Comintern) and the Red International of Labor Unions (RILU).
Later life
Unable to return to France because of the outbreak of World War II, Rosmer, an American by birth, lived in the United States after his Mexican interlude.