Brin, Fanny Fligelman (1884–1961)

Fanny Fligelman Brin devoted her life to the causes of world peace, democracy, social justice, and Jewish welfare. Her long career as a peace activist included involvement with the National Council of Jewish Women, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and the National Committee on the Cause and Cure of War, among others.

Fanny Xeriffa Fligelman was born in Berlad, Romania, on October 20, 1884, to John and Antonette (Friedman) Fligelman. The family soon immigrated to the United States and settled in Minneapolis. Fanny attended South High School and graduated with honors from the University of Minnesota. In 1913, she married glass merchant Arthur Brin, who shared her passion for justice and the world peace movement.

Brin began her peace activism as Director of the Minneapolis Women's Committee for World Disarmament in 1921. In 1923, she was appointed National Chairman of the Subcommittee on Peace and Arbitration for the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW). She worked tirelessly to promote the Kellogg–Briand Pact and was a strong supporter of U.S. involvement in the League of Nations. The next year, she was elected President of the Minneapolis Section of the NCJW. She also served as State Chairman for Membership in the Minnesota Section of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).

It wasn't long before Brin’s work caught the attention of Carrie Chapman Catt, founder of the National Committee on the Cause and Cure of War. Catt invited her to chair the Minnesota campaign in support of the Kellogg–Briand Pact. The campaign was a success. The pact was ratified by Congress on January 15, 1929.

Brin was elected to her first term as national president of the NCJW in April of 1932. As president, she was the council’s official representative to Catt's National Committee on the Cause and Cure of War. She was chosen by Eleanor Roosevelt the following year to serve on a national committee to study humanitarian needs during the Great Depression.

In the early spring of 1933, just months after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor, the NCJW became concerned about the harsh treatment of Jews in Germany. The council stepped up its efforts to assist Jews overseas and immigrants fleeing the tensions in Europe. Brin collected clothing to benefit a family in Poland as well as immigrants arriving at Ellis Island.

Both Fanny and Arthur Brin were actively involved in the German Jewish Children's Aid program. Beginning in 1934, children were brought to America and placed with Jewish families. The goal was to provide them with a good education. The program benefited many more than the original quota of 250 children. The Brins took one boy into their own home and later helped to reunite him with his family.

In March of 1935, Brin was reelected national president of the NCJW. When she stepped down after her second term in 1938, a luncheon was held in her honor with five hundred women in attendance.

The Brins traveled to Europe in the summer of 1938 as part of a two-month tour led by peace activist Sherwood Eddy. The group met with peace leaders in several countries and attended the European Seminar Conference held at the Carnegie Foundation in Paris.

Brin was inspired by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, held in the fall of 1944 in Washington, DC. In response, she organized the “Dumbarton Oaks – Road to Lasting Peace” rally in Minneapolis in February of 1945, bringing together women from thirty-six local organizations.

The highlight of Brin’s career as a peace activist came in 1945. She was chosen to represent the NCJW at the United Nations Charter Conference in San Francisco. She also served as an alternate for the Women’s Action Committee for Lasting Peace (formerly the National Committee on the Cause and Cure of War). At the conference, she witnessed delegates from fifty nations draw up the charter for the United Nations.

Her final appointment occurred in 1950, when she became a member of the Committee on Education for the International Council of Jewish Women and briefly served on its Committee on World Affairs.

After a long career in the trenches of the peace movement, Fanny Fligelman Brin passed away on September 4, 1961.