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.
"The Henry Kissinger of Panama:" Dr. Herschel Klepfisz
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Anna Sheldon, born to survivors of a prominent Warsaw Jewish family, talks about her uncle Dr. Herschel Klepfisz and his life, including his narrow escape from the Nazis and his role as an advisor to the leader of Panama.
This is an excerpt from an oral history with Helena Lipstadt.
This excerpt is in English.
Helena Lipstadt was born in Berlin, Germany in 1947.
This interview is part of the Beyond the Books: Yiddish writers and their descendants series.
Other video highlights from this oral history
"The Henry Kissinger of Panama:" Dr. Herschel Klepfisz
3 minutes 11 seconds
Working From Place of Minority: Reflections on Queers in the Klezmer Revival
1 minute 57 seconds
The Chicken Farm: An Original Yiddish Song
1 minute 26 seconds
"I Built A House!": Remembering A Feminist Collective
4 minutes 16 seconds
Longing for Gan-Eydn (Paradise): Reflections on Identity, Yiddish, and Poland
3 minutes 8 seconds
American Jews Didn't Quite Seem Jewish: A "European" Jewish Household
2 minutes 9 seconds
A Very Small Basket: Limited Knowledge of My Jewish Family Background
1 minute 57 seconds
A Better World: A Feeling of Empowerment of a Generation in the 1960s
4 minutes 32 seconds
"Making That Bridge (to Poland) Through Life Rather Than Death": Working on the Gwozdzdiec Synagogue Replica Project
5 minutes 32 seconds
My Mother Had Golden Hands: Jewish-Polish Dishes at Home
1 minute 35 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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Do you (or someone you know) have stories to share about the importance of Yiddish language and culture in your life?