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.

From the Polish Army to Cuba

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Eugene Orenstein tells how his father deserted the Polish army and went into hiding as Eugene's mother's brother. Eugene's father then illegally left Poland and immigrated to Cuba, where he was reunited with Eugene's mother.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Eugene Orenstein.

This excerpt is in English.

Eugene Orenstein was born in Bronx, New York in 1945.

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This interview is part of the Yiddish in the Academy: scholars, language instructors, and students series.

Other video highlights from this oral history

How my Father Lost his Faith

2 min 20 sec

His Mother's Story

4 min 7 sec

"A De-Judaized Yiddish"

2 min 31 sec

"Shul Number Eins": Memories From The First Yiddish School in New York

2 min 17 sec

Camp Kinderland

3 min 29 sec

Jewish Students' Changing Relationship to Yiddish

2 min 13 sec

A Unique Jewish Community

2 min 15 sec

A Coop in the Bronx

1 min 35 sec

the importance of learning languages

3 min 24 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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