The ALLIANCE OF TRANSYLVANIAN SAXONS, organized on 1 May 1895 in Cleveland as the Transylvanian Saxon Sick Benefit Society, is a national fraternal society with headquarters and 4 branches in Cleveland. Created by 27 men, George Sift, a machinist, served as the first president. The Cleveland group brought together representatives of other Saxon groups in Erie, PA, on 5 July 1902 to form the Central-Verband der Siebenburger Sachsen, which in 1965 changed its name to the English translation, the Alliance of Transylvanian Saxons. The first national convention, held in Cleveland on 31 Aug. 1902, established the branch system. The original Cleveland group became Branch 1, and 2 other Cleveland branches were recognized, branches 3 and 4. In 1907 Branch 1 purchased a site for its meeting hall at 7001 Denison. The building was known as the West Side Sachsenheim. It was still in use in the 1990s. In 1911 another local group, Branch 33 of the alliance, which formed in Sept. 1910 with George Schneider as president, established its headquarters, known as the East Side Sachsenheim, at 1300 E. 55th St., in use until ca. 1963. Branch 1 formed other local Saxon organizations, established a youth branch (1926, which lasted until 1967), and helped form the Saxon Veterans Assn. (1946), a bowling league (1954), an auxiliary committee (1963), and the German Music School (1967). The cooperation among various Cleveland-area Saxon groups to raise funds and support the war effort during World War II later led to the formation of the United Saxon Committee of Cleveland. In 1974 the national Alliance of Transylvanian Saxons bought a 2-story building at 5393 Pearl Rd. in PARMA as an investment and to serve as the group's national headquarters. By 1994 alliance activities included a Saxon orphan fund, scholarship programs, relief programs for Romanian citizens, and a fraternal insurance benefit fund with more than $19 million worth of insurance in force. The society's total assets exceeded $34 million, with over $24 million in annuity value. ATS celebrated its centennial in 1995.
Souvenir Book, 75th Anniversary of Alliance of Transylvanian Saxons (1970).