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.

"I've gotta rebuild the house!": Drawing inspiration from Bertolt Brecht

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Hankus Netsky recounts how, in his youth, a Bertolt Brecht play inspired him to actively recover missing parts of Jewish culture. The specific line that inspired him was "man who brings a brick along to show what his house was like."

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Hankus Netsky.

This excerpt is in English.

Hankus Netsky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1955.

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

Other video highlights from this oral history

"I felt like I couldn't trust the rabbi anymore": When Hebrew Pronunciation Changed

1 min 54 sec

"Our tradition is an oral tradition": The Yiddish Book Center and ethnographic projects

2 min 32 sec

"He then took me upstairs and started playing me records!": On Hankus Netsky's Early Interest in Jewish Music

2 min 35 sec

Jewish education in Philadelphia

3 min 33 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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