“The Fertile Soil of Growth, Life and Ideas”: Jewish Anarchist Solidarity in Winnipeg

Abstract

This article focuses on the political and identity dynamics of early twentieth century Jewish anarchism in Winnipeg, a local movement situated at the intersection of two gravitational poles. One of these poles was the Jewish left and, in particular, its socialist (Marxist) current, represented by the Arbeiter Ring (“Workmen’s Circle”). The other was the Jewish anarchist mutual aid network of North America, centred on the East Coast of the United States but extending its activity throughout the continent. Using a prosopographical (“collective biography”) approach to highlight the relational patterns of the radical Jewish community of Winnipeg, this article assesses the movement’s unique effort to balance between the two larger ideological frameworks from which its members drew. The article identifies the factors which determined this midway stance—namely, the close connection that the local activists maintained with the Yiddish language and culture—demonstrating how the latter contributed to compromising the movement’s viability in the long term.