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.
A Family History of High European Culture
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David Mazower - BBC journalist and great-grandson of Yiddish writer Sholem Asch - describes his family's history and its connection to high European culture. He focuses on his great-grandfather, the Yiddish writer Sholem Asch, who was friends with prominent people of his time.
This is an excerpt from an oral history with David Mazower.
This excerpt is in English.
David Mazower was born in London, England, United KIngdom in 1959.
This interview is part of the Beyond the Books: Yiddish writers and their descendants series.
Other video highlights from this oral history

A Family History of High European Culture
2 minutes 27 seconds
"He Was a Hugely Dramatic Personality"
2 minutes 53 seconds
"Let Me Shake the Hand of History"
2 minutes 35 seconds
Controversies Around Sholem Asch's Work
1 minute 16 seconds
Visiting Sholem Asch's Birthplace in Kutno, Poland
2 minutes 13 seconds
Sholem Asch's Work and View of Women
1 minute 56 secondsMore information about this oral history excerpt
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About the Wexler Oral History Project

Since 2010, the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project has recorded more than 500 in-depth video interviews that provide a deeper understanding of the Jewish experience and the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture.
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