The Yiddish Book Center's

Wexler Oral History Project

A growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.

Yiddish Became Language of Currency: Studying Yiddish in Lithuania

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Debra Caplan, Ph.D. candidate in Yiddish, describes the complete immersion she underwent while studying Yiddish at the Vilnius Yiddish Institute.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Debra Caplan.

This excerpt is in English.

Debra Caplan was born in North Wales, Pennsylvania in 1985.

This interview is part of the Yiddish in the Academy: scholars, language instructors, and students Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists series.

Other video highlights from this oral history

Ruptured Transmission: Why I Speak Yiddish With My Son

2 min 27 sec

The Importance of Academics

1 min 55 sec

Advice for Yiddish Learners

1 min 1 sec

My Parents Created The Jewish Home They'd Wished They'd Had

1 min 39 sec

On The Spot, He Decided to Marry Her Six Children and All

1 min 54 sec

"He Tried to Pass As A Recent Immigrant": How My Dad Learned Yiddish

2 min 43 sec

Being a Repository

1 min 9 sec

Community of Like-minded People: The Role of Yiddish Language Programs In Transmitting the Culture

1 min 25 sec

He Really Wanted His Cream Cheese and Lox

1 min 15 sec

Birobidzhan: A Bizarre Meshing of Worlds

1 min 53 sec

Yiddish as a Foreign Language

2 min 13 sec

The Vilna Troupe and Transnational Yiddish Art Theatre

2 min 25 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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