Anna Gonshor's Oral History

Anna Fishman Gonshor, Faculty Lecturer of Yiddish Studies at McGill University and Montreal-based Yiddish activist, was interviewed by Sara Israel on December 13, 2011 at the Montreal Jewish Public Library in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Anna begins the interview discussing her family background. She was born in 1949 in Paris, France, and in 1950 her family immigrated to Montreal, where she grew up. She talks at length about her mother, a Yiddish teacher, and her father, a factory worker, who were both deeply committed to Yiddish culture and identity, and actively involved in building Montreal's Jewish cultural institutions. She goes on to describe growing up in a charmed environment of Yiddish-speaking culture-makers, where her first language was Yiddish, her heroes were the heroes of modern Jewish history, and she met many great Yiddish actors and writers. Anna talks about her parents' secular Judaism, and her father's insistence on knowing one's roots and traditions before choosing to reject them. Despite her family's lack of religious feeling, they were deeply committed to Jewish cultural existence, and she describes their Friday night table as "the most shabesdik [Shabbos-y] place" she has ever seen. Anna talks about how she ended up teaching Yiddish despite her training as a librarian and describes her passion for educating young people about their culture and history. She discusses the challenge of transmitting historical context to her students, and the pleasure of teaching them to think critically and differently about their world. She talks about what her students connect to when they learn Yiddish, and what they discover besides language. Anna also discusses her active role in Montreal's Jewish community: from past work as President of the Jewish Public Library and chair of the Montreal Committee for Soviet Jewry, to present work with Montreal's Federation Combined Jewish Appeal. She describes how her upbringing engendered a sense of love for and commitment to the Jewish community. She talks about her long connection to the Jewish Public Library, and the institution's central role in Montreal's Jewish community. She describes the uniquely organic nature of Jewish life in Montreal, where people who live diverse Jewish lives remain connected to the same community. Near the end of her interview, Anna talks optimistically about the future of Yiddish. She is enthusiastic about the ways young people unearth and reclaim Yiddish in song and poetry. She reflects on the ability of language to enrich one's life and reminds present generations that their history is a rich, valuable, and relevant inheritance.