International Workers Order
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Iwo_logo.jpg
The International Workers Order (IWO), was a Communist-affiliated insurance and fraternal order founded in 1930 following a split from the The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring, a still-extant Jewish fraternal organization.[1] (http://dlib.nyu.edu:8083/tamwagead/servlet/SaxonServlet?source=/iwo.xml&style=/saxon01t2002.xsl&part=body)
At its height, after World War II, the IWO had almost 200,000 members and provided low-cost health and life insurance, medical and dental clinics, and supported foreign-language newspapers, cultural and educational activities.
The United States Attorney General placed the IWO on its list of subversive organizations in 1947. Though financially solvent and conservatively managed, the New York State Insurance Department contended that, since it was alleged to have engaged in political activity, which is prohibited to insurance organizations, it placed its members' interests in jeopardy, leading ultimately to its liquidation in 1954. [2] (http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/sabin.htm)