DETROIT
Detroit Secret Red Squad Files
Are Filled With Jewish Names
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Assistant Editor
ifty-eight green file
cabinets in an
unassuming downtown
office record the secrets and
private activities of more
than 1 million Detroit
residents and organizations.
The files were kept by an
elite Detroit police team,
called the Red Squad, from
the 1920s through 1974. The
How To Obtain
A Red Squad File
Detroit-area residents
wishing information about
their Red Squad files may
write the Red Squad
Notification and Distribu-
tion Compliance Program,
800 Palms Building, 2111
Woodward Ave., Detroit,
48220, or call 961-7010.
Interested persons must
first complete an applica-
tion. Processing may require
up to six months. All infor-
mation is confidential.
Red Squad recorded the ac-
tivities of groups and
citizens it considered
subversive, which meant
anyone from the leader of a
black power organization to
an elderly woman who once
attended the performance of
a music company whose
members were suspected
communists.
As the result of a court set-
tlement, the Red Squad files
have been opened to in-
dividuals once under sur-
veillance. And according to
Program Director Dorian
Paster, much of what is con-
tained in the files should be
of interest to the Jewish
community.
"A large number of the
names on the files are Jew-
ish," Paster said, explaining
that Jews had the reputation
of being supportive of left-
wing causes, the Red
Squad's favorite target.
"The Red Squad also
surveyed many syn-
agogues," collecting con-
gregational bulletins and
newsletters.
Jews also were involved in
helping collect information
for the files, by serving as
spies on "subversive" in-
dividuals and organizations,
Paster said. "And I think the
Jewish community would be
real unhappy with those
names, some of whom are of
people in extremely high
places."
Informants usually were
hired for one of two reasons,
Paster said. Either they
were being blackmailed
themselves or they wanted
the money. And a few
"probably believed it was
the right thing to do."
Typical of the files on Jew-
ish organizations is a report
about the now-defunct Jew-
ish Folk Chorus. Informa-
tion gathered on the group
includes its members'
names, the number of per-
sons who attended their per-
formances and newspaper
articles about the chorus.
Much of the material in
the files is as innocuous as
the report on the Jewish
Folk Chorus, Paster said.
111
Dorian Paster (right) and staff members amid the Red Squad files.
The Red Squad, comprised of
6-10 Detroit police in-
vestigators, apparently
spent a great deal of time
clipping newspaper articles
and listing the number of
guests at any questionable
gathering.
But the squad also sent
men to infiltrate groups,
take photographs of demon-
strators and listen in on
telephone calls.
In the 1960s, squad mem-
bers often attended rallies
and political demonstra-
tions, from which they took
Grosse Pointe Council
Unites East Side Jews
KIMBERLY LIFTON
Staff Writer
ust before the Detroit
Jewish community
started its massive
migration from Detroit to
the northwest suburbs 40
years ago, Dr. Sidney and
Gloria Meyers of Chicago
were searching for a place to
live in the area.
Dr. Meyers was preparing
to join a group of doctors on
Mack Avenue in Grosse
Pointe, so the far east side
seemed like a viable option.
The Meyerses purchased a
home on the east side in the
early 1950s. By the late 50s,
the Meyerses were well
situated in a new home in
Grosse Pointe Shores —just
a half mile away from Lake
St. Clair.
There, they raised their
three children, now grown,
who attended Temple Beth
El Sunday school, then on
Woodward Avenue. During
the summers, they went to
Jewish day camps.
"I always felt like I had to
defend myself to the west
side Jewish people," Gloria
Meyers said. "You shouldn't
make assumptions. In one
sense, my children grew up
j
with more well-rounded per-
sonalities.
"My husband's practice
was not an excuse for living
here," she said. "We like it.
We like living near the
water and we like the
casual, small town at-
mosphere."
Dr. Meyers worked with a
group of Jewish doctors,
making it easier for the
Meyerses to maintain Jew-
ish contacts on the east and
west sides of town.
"There were always some
Jewish people out here,"
Gloria Meyers said. "But
there was something miss-
ing."
Largely through the
efforts of Janet and Dr. Jef-
frey Weingarten, more than
90 east side Jewish families
have joined the recently
formed Grosse Pointe Jewish
Council, which aims to fill
that void and create a sense
of community awareness.
"We should have done this
a long time ago," Gloria
Meyers said."It's a great
thing."
To date, the group has
drafted bylaws, named a
board of directors, printed its
first newsletter and planned
social and religious ac-
From left to right: Grosse Pointe Jewish Council members Laura
Schwartz, Larry Lombard and Dr. Howard Kaplan discuss plans for their
newly formed group.
tivities. The Weingartens
are co-presidents.
In April, the group hosted
a Passover seder for 150, us-
ing a Hagaddah compiled by
GPJC member Marilyn
Poland.
Poland moved to the
Pointes two years ago after
living in Oak Park and
Detroit.
"I sampled all three areas
and I liked it here," she said.
Dr. Howard Kaplan also
preferred Grosse Pointe.
"Religion is what goes on
in the home," Dr. Kaplan
said. "It doesn't matter
where you live."
Although Dr. Kaplan,
Poland, Gloria Meyers and
the Weingartens said they
moved to the far east side
simply because they liked
the area, they and other
members agree the new Jew-
ish connection has made it a
nicer place for them. Most
said they didn't know there
were so many Jews living on
the east side.
"We have great parks and
recreation facilities, great
schools," Janet Weingarten
said. "And now with 1-696
completed, we also have
access to the west side
within 25 minutes."
With a banner in hand,
several east side Jews par-
ticipated in last month's
souvenir buttons. Today,
those buttons are pinned to a
large board in the room with
the Red Squad files. They in-
clude a button for the
Woodstock music festival, a
black-and-white pin bearing
the likeness of black leader
Malcolm X, a badge reading
"Let's Keep Detroit Beau-
tiful" and a white button
with "Freedom Now with
Chairman Mao."
Some information the Red
Squad gathered was given to
the State Department or to
employers seeking informa-
march for Jewish solidarity
in West Bloomfield. Also,
the Weingartens, Henry
Scharg and Stuart Schafer
discussed the council on
camera for the Channel 4
broadcast which aired May
20.
The group has a children's
committee, which recently
planned a day trip to Camp
Maas in Ortonville. Also
planned is a trip to the
Detroit Zoo, a Tiger baseball
game and a family picnic.
GPJC also formed a
cultural committee, which
provides book discussion
groups. Plans are under way
for a guided visit to the
Detroit Institute of Arts as
well.
Next on the schedule is a
party for members in July
aboard a 100-foot yacht.
"It feels like history is in
the making," Janet We-
ingarten said. "The Grosse
Pointe Jewish Council has
become an organization
beyond belief. Where once
lacking, we have created a
Jewish community on
Detroit's East Side.
"There is now a group in
existence to allow our chil-
dren to reap the benefits of
their heritage and all mem-
bers to enjoy their Jewish
community," she said. "We
will no longer have to ex-
plain our east side homes to
our west side friends." ❑
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
15