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.

It Was the Most Important Decision of my Life: Signing Myself Up for Yiddish Shule

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Leo Summergrad - Yiddish speaker, educator, and WWII veteran - describes the politics and missions of organizations like the IWO shule he attended as a child. Leo then explains how signing himself up for shule impacted his life.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Leo Summergrad.

This excerpt is in English.

Leo Summergrad was born in Bronx, New York in 1923. Leo died in 2021.