Bloom, Maurice.

Biography

Bloom, Maurice (Changed his name to Maurice Winters on his return to the US); b. May 5, 1912, New Rochelle, New York; father Louis (Judah Lev) Blook (1874-1961), mother Ida Scherr (Saer, Sher), (1885-1921); Single; Actor; CP 1937; Received Passport# 480449 in October 1937, which listed his address as 34 Van Gesser Avenue, New Rochelle, New York; Sailed October 20, 1937 aboard the Queen Mary; Arrived in Spain via Massanet on October 31, 1937; Enrolled in the IB on November 5, 1937; Graduated from OTS January 1938; Served with the XV BDE, Lincoln-Washington BN; Rank Soldado; Lincoln-Washington BN; Reported Missing in action on March 13, 1938, Albalate or Alcaniz, during the Retreats; Believing the war was lost he left Spain on his own and sought help returning to the US from the American Consulate in Marseille, France; Remained in France after finding a job as a tutor for the Von Lobkowicz family in Biarritz; Returned to the US on January 9, 1939 as a workaway aboard the Cardonia joined the crew in Havre, France; Changed his name to Maurice Winters after his return; After his return he attended the Art Students League and worked as a sculptor and toy designer, his most popular toy was the Ideal Toy Fixit truck; Married Ethel Glen Hazlehurst (1926-2007) on October 1, 1943, NYC, children Christopher Winters (1944-?), Nicholas Winters (1945-?), Andrew Winters; d. August 1987, Port Jefferson, Suffolk County, New York, cremated.
Siblings: David Bloom (1896-?), Hyman Bloom (1897-?), Fannie Bloom (1899-?), Jacob Bloom (1901-?), Sarah Bloom (1902-2005), Michael Bloom (1904-2005), Isidor Bloom (1908-?), Jerome Bloom (1910-?), Joseph Bloom (1915-?), and Sidney Bloom (1919-?).
Source: Scope of Soviet Activity; Cadre (under Blum, Maurice); Figueras List; Inventory North Americans; BN 58 Retreats; RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 865, ll. 42; “Yanks Stranded in Spain War,” Schenectady Gazette, April 20, 1938, p. 5; “Score of Americans Stranded in Spain,” AP, Daily News (NYC), April 20, 1938, p. 287. Code A Code A
Photograph: Maurice Bloom, Soldiers, relaxing/reading newspapers (figure in the background tentative identification), Randall Collection, E0236, March 1938.
Ideal Toy Fixit Trucks.