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.

Landing on the Beaches of Normandy

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Leonard Strear was awarded two purple hearts for his service in World War II. After being asked about a time when his Judaism helped him through a difficult moment, he remembers landing in Normandy and crawling up the beaches, praying to God for his survival.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Leonard Strear and Albert Dinner.

This excerpt is in English.

Leonard Strear was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1924. Leonard died in 2021.

Albert Dinner was born in Greeley, Colorado.

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Other video highlights from this oral history

Liberating a Concentration Camp in Czechoslovakia During World War II

1 min 57 sec

Our Favorite Yiddish Phrases

1 min 51 sec

How My Judaism Has Changed Over the Years: Reflections on Relationship to Shul

1 min 52 sec

Kiddush at the Distillery

2 min 55 sec

Our Advice

1 min 53 sec

Sharing Our Family Pictures

2 min 43 sec

Describing the Rodeo

2 min 20 sec

Driving Around Town in a Jack Benny Maxwell with Friend

2 min 8 sec

Experiences of Antisemitism While Serving in the War

1 min 59 sec

"Bubbe Maytse"

2 min 5 sec

"I Could Do Everything a Cowboy Could Do"

2 min 17 sec

Growing up in Greeley, Colorado

2 min 21 sec

My First Time Eating Shellfish

1 min 2 sec

The Last Patrol

1 min 50 sec

A Time I Felt Aware of My Jewishness: Serving in World War II

3 min 25 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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