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.

Mishugas and Mentch: Yiddish Expressions in American Movies

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Mark Gerstein, z"l - former high school history teacher and Wexler Oral History Project volunteer - explains how Yiddish words often worked themselves into mainstream American movies.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Mark Gerstein.

This excerpt is in English.

Mark Gerstein was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1949. Mark died in 2013.

Other video highlights from this oral history