Established between 1912 and 1915, the Workmen's Circle, also known as Branch 495 of the Arbeter Ring, provided an arts venue, political body, social meeting place and school, or shul, for Chattanooga's Jewish residents.
Located at 1124 College Street (initially part of Cameron Hill, demolished in the 1960s), Workmen's Circle was a "Yiddish speaking fraternal organization with socialist overtones." Most of its families came from Eastern Europe and were of tradesmen or working classes. Members spoke Yiddish, and the school offered classes in Yiddish, art, folk songs and dances. The Circle donated to international relief agencies and supported political causes and candidates of a socialist nature. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt became U.S. president, members moved away from socialism in their support of Roosevelt's policies and the New Deal.
The Circle worked as a mutual aid society, offering insurance, aid, unemployment relief, burial insurance, health care, education and social interaction in creating a Jewish community. The Workmen's Circle shared Shari Zion Cemetery, which exists today at 313 Rowe Road.
Workmen's Circle supported labor causes and equality. In 1913, the organization hosted the Rev. L.R. Robinson, who spoke in support of the relief fund for children of striking workers. The association in 1917 gave a donation to Jewish relief in "honor of the Russian revolution." In 1918, the Circle sent a resolution to California Gov. William Stephens and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson urging that a new trial be given to Thomas J. Mooney, a political activist and labor leader who was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1916 San Francisco Preparedness Day bombing. Mooney had been tried under false testimony, and the Circle with other labor groups demanded he get a new trial. The resolution of Chattanooga's Branch 495 with other petitions worked to secure Mooney a new sentence. He was pardoned in 1939.
The political leanings of the Circle were at times questioned. It often hosted events that others believed departed from the American way. In 1932, the Circle was host to the Chattanooga Socialist Party, in which many Circle members held positions. One member was Simon Kaset, organizer of the local Socialist Party and active in the Young Men's Hebrew Association and Youth Circle.
In April 1925, David Pavlow and four others applied locally for U.S. citizenship. Their petitions were delayed until November due to their membership in the Workmen's Circle, which was under investigation for "unAmerican" activities and beliefs. One issue involved the Circle conducting its proceedings and having a constitution worded in a foreign language (Yiddish). After an investigation, officials determined that the group espoused American ideals and strove to provide for and improve workers' conditions. At the citizenship hearing, the judge proclaimed that the group's "teachings contain nothing to prevent you [the applicants] from becoming good American citizens." In January 1951, the group reiterated its dedication to America in a statement published by Louis Shavin: "It [Workmen's Circle] has always aligned itself with the forces of freedom and democracy ... ."
As seen in several notices in the Chattanooga Times, the Circle sponsored Yiddish lectures and performances. These included kosher barbeques and picnics, skating parties, basketball games, Valentine's Day dances, movies and scholarly lectures. In 1951, Jewish artists of the stage Dvora Rosenbaum, Nachum Meinick and Pola Kadison promised a night of "Jewish humor, songs, drama, and music." In 1963, the movie "The Singing Blacksmith" starring Yiddish actor Moishe Oysher was shown at the Jewish Community Center.
In the 1930s and 1940s, many of the Circle's programs highlighted the conditions of European Jews. Gerhart Seger, a former member of the German Reichstag and a leader in the German Social Democratic Party, spoke in October 1935 at a meeting sponsored by the Workmen's Circle. Seger had escaped from the Oranienburg concentration camp. The Gestapo had arrested his wife and young daughter, who were later released due to protests from abroad. Afterward, the family emigrated to the U.S. In January 1938, four local speakers, Ben Margolin, D. Press, I. Shapiro and Noah Steinberg, spoke at the Workmen's Circle on the "problems of war."
In 1947, the Circle conducted a commodity campaign for the Vladeck Home for Displaced Jewish Children. This center in France offered a home for children waiting to see if their families survived World War II. The Circle hoped to supply the Vladeck Home with clothing, typewriters, X-ray machines and toys.
Suzette Raney is an archivist at the Chattanooga Public Library. To learn more about Chattanooga's past, visit its Local History and Genealogy Department. For additional information, visit Chattahistoricalassoc.org.