| | Abstract: | The Workmen's Circle of Cleveland (f. 1904) is a secular Jewish fraternal organization formed in the United States to perpetuate Yiddish language and culture, support and promote a liberal political agenda, offer both health and death benefits, and provide a meeting place for fellowship. Its Yiddish cultural programming includes lectures, readings, concerts, third Passover Seders, and the I.L. Peretz Workmen's Circle School, a supplementary program for children. Following World War II and the Holocaust and the continuing acculturation into American life of the descendants of its Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrant founders, the Workmen's Circle, in Cleveland, Ohio, and nationwide, has been experiencing significant and continuous loss of membership. The Workmen's Circle's group health plan and death benefits, both of which are available on a non-sectarian basis, are the major source of membership. The collection consists of approximately 850 images of the activities of the Workmen's Circle of Cleveland, Ohio, particularly Branch 671E and the I.L. Peretz School. | |
