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.

Germany to Canada: My Jewish Family's Immigration Story

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Aron Gonshor - actor in the Montreal Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre and surgeon - recounts his family's history surviving World War II, and the problems they faced trying to immigrate to Montreal.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Aron Gonshor.

This excerpt is in English.

Aron Gonshor was born in Poland in 1947.

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

Other video highlights from this oral history

Performing "The Dybbuk" in Vienna

4 min 5 sec

Advice to Jewish Performers

2 min 34 sec

"It Was As Simple As Breathing the Air": The Yiddish Community in Montreal

1 min 57 sec

Important Jewish Writers and Performers Always Passed Through Montreal

2 min 7 sec

A Brief History of the Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theater

4 min 24 sec

"With That Gift Comes Responsibility": Reflections on the Importance of Yiddish

3 min 34 sec

Yiddish and the Question of Lingua Franca

3 min 17 sec

"Zing Shtil" (Sing Softly)

1 min 13 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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