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.

The Meaning of Secular Jewishness to Me

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Henry Slucki, child survivor of the Holocaust, describes the first time he heard the word "secular" in English and what secular Jewishness means to him.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Henry Slucki.

This excerpt is in English and Yiddish.

Henry Slucki was born in Paris, France in 1934.

Other video highlights from this oral history

Escaping Europe As A Child During WWII, Thanks To Eleanor Roosevelt

2 min 44 sec

France, 1942: Hearing the Purim Story for the First Time

2 min 47 sec

1942: A Jewish Child Refugee's First Impressions of the United States

2 min 33 sec

October 1943: Our Ship Changed Direction to Avoid a Battle

2 min 37 sec

The Family Restaurant was a Gathering Place for Leftists

2 min 6 sec

Many of the Yiddish Words Sounded Familiar: Remembering My Parents' Yiddishized French

1 min 19 sec

Pete Seeger, Politics, and Yiddish Culture at Camp Kinderland

2 min 59 sec

The Year We Cancelled Color War at Camp Kinderland

3 min 34 sec

"It Doesn't Feel Traumatic to Me": Reflecting on the Impact of the Holocaust on My Life

3 min 55 sec

It Seems Yiddish and Hebrew Are Switching Places: Reflecting on the Future of Yiddish

3 min 37 sec

Yiddish Kinder Theater in Los Angeles

3 min 24 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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