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.

Zishe the Jewish Strongman Idolized by Germans

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Gary Bart, Great-nephew of Jewish strongman Zishe (Sigmund) Breitbart, desribes Zishe's non-Jewish, Nordic appearance (blue eyes and hair dyed blonde) and tells of the Germans idolizing him.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Gary Bart.

This excerpt is in English.

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This interview is part of the Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists series.

Other video highlights from this oral history

Zishe Breitbart vs. Marta Fara: The Fraud of Hypnotist Hanussen

3 min 42 sec

Zishe Idolized by Jews, Blessed by Rabbi

1 min 28 sec

Zishe Breitbart and Jabotinsky: A Zionist Partnership Cut Short

1 min 59 sec

Zishe Fed Lunch to Entire Village During Economic Crisis

2 min 5 sec

Filming Invincible, A Film about Jewish Folk Hero Zishe Breitbart

3 min 7 sec

A Haunting Encounter of Trauma, Language, and Shadows of the Holocaust in Berlin

1 min 18 sec

Zishe Breitbart Spoke to Audiences about Antisemitism

1 min 38 sec

How Zishe Breitbart Joined the Circus

2 min 9 sec

Zishe Breitbart's Performance Schtick

2 min 38 sec

Strongman Zishe Breitbart's Feats of Strength

1 min 47 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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