Forty years in the struggle : the memoirs of a Jewish anarchist

229 Pages·2008·1.71 MB·English

by  Weinberg

Forty Years in the Struggle

The Memoirs of a Jewish Anarchist

Forty Years in the Struggle

The Memoirs of a Jewish Anarchist

By Chaim Leib Weinberg

Translated by Naomi Cohen

Edited and annotated
by Robert P. Helms

Litwin Books, LLC
Duluth, Minnesota
Published in 2008 by Litwin Books, LLC
P.O. Box 3320
Duluth, MN 55803

Translation copyright Wooden Shoe Books, 2001.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Weinberg, Chaim Leib, 1861-1939.
[Fertsik yor in kamf far sotsyaler bafrayung. English]
Forty years in the struggle : the memoirs of a Jewish anarchist / by Chaim Leib
Weinberg ; translated by Naomi Cohen ; edited and annotated by Robert P.
Helms.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: "Memoir of Chaim Leib Weinberg, prominent member of the late 19th
and early 20th century Philadelphia Jewish anarchist community, translated from
the original Yiddish"--Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-9802004-3-0 (alk. paper)
1. Anarchism--United States--History. 2. Jewish labor unions--United States--
History. 3. Weinberg, Chaim Leib, 1861-1939. 4. Jewish anarchists--United
States--History--19th century. 5. Jewish anarchists--United States--History--20th
century. 6. Jewish anarchists--United States--Biography. I. Helms, Robert P. II.
Title.
HX843.W413 2008
335'.83092--dc22
2008045354

Contents

Introduction & Acknowledgments ix

Original Introduction xix
Chapter 1 1

Chapter 2 11

Chapter 3 19

Chapter 4 27

Chapter 5 31

Chapter 6 45

Chapter 7 55
Chapter 8 65

Chapter 9 71

Chapter 10 79

Chapter 11 87

Chapter 12 91

Chapter 13 97

Chapter 14 101
Chapter 15 107

Chapter 16 115

Chapter 17 119

Chapter 18 123

Chapter 19 125

Appendix A—Cohen 129

Appendix B—Frumkin 133
Appendix C—Polinow 143

Appendix D—Malamut 147

Appendix E—Kobrin 151

Endnotes 161

Index 197

Weinberg’s World: An Introduction

By Robert P. Helms

This story, told by one colorful figure among the anarchists
of Philadelphia does not tell the entire story of the city’s
movement, nor does one man’s experience with anarchism
present the long and dramatic saga of the idea and its
believers. The memoirs of Chaim Leib Weinberg offer an
interesting sliver of a larger picture, holding to an exclusively
working class, folkloric niche. The author was an incredible
orator and story teller: these were the talents that set him
apart from most of his contemporaries. Because he devoted half
a century to practicing his oral craft, he left a clear mark on the
radical culture he lived within.
The Jewish anarchists were but one of several ethnic
anarchist groups that flourished in the US during Weinberg’s
career. Some of the other groups were the Germans, the
Italians, the Spaniards, the Bohemians, Russians, and the
French. English-speaking anarchists, both American and
immigrant, were there in great number as well. Philadelphia
had its share of each. During Weinberg’s heyday, Jews
accounted for the majority of Philadelphia’s anarchists.
In addition to the cases Weinberg will tell you about, many
anarchists of Philadelphia were leading intellectuals of the
city. To cite a few examples, Voltairine de Cleyre, Weinberg’s
comrade, debated publicly on women’s issues with the famous
paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in an anarchist club in
1893. The anarchists conveyed their ideas so well that they
convinced Daniel Garrison Brinton, the pre-eminent
ethnologist who explored the religions and languages of
American Indians. A group of anarchist physicians, all friends
of Weinberg’s, founded Mount Sinai Dispensary (later Hospital)
in 1899.1 Thus not only was the caricature of the drunken,
terroristic anarchist that often appeared in the mainstream
press not accurate, but the true picture was often the polar
opposite.2