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.

My Father and World War One

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Sara Kruzansky, teacher of Jewish history, recounts how her father, although already in the U.S., had the option to fight in the Russian Army during World War I. Father refused saying "I don't fight for the Tsar."

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Sara Kruzansky.

This excerpt is in English.

Sara Kruzansky was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1921. Sara died in 2013.

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

Other video highlights from this oral history

Religious Compromises

41 sec

Childhood Shabbos Memories

45 sec

Parents' political views

1 min 14 sec

Values passed on by her parents

1 min 7 sec

"I'm Going to Tell You A Really Good Story About That!": The Role of Yiddish in My Higher Education

2 min 37 sec

Personal Meaning of Yiddish

1 min 5 sec

Father Says a Brukhe

1 min 3 sec

"I felt nothing... It's a cemetery": Visiting My Mother's Home Town in Poland

5 min 7 sec

"A Language That Was Murdered": Reflections On Yiddish

51 sec

A Jewish Religious Education

1 min 50 sec

Generational Changes Through a Family Photo

2 min 51 sec

Feelings About Yiddish

1 min 28 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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