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.

Alter Esselin, Zalman Shazar, and the Jewish Community of Milwaukee

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Joe Esselin, z"l, playwright and son of Yiddish writer Alter Esselin, discusses the origins of the Jewish community in his hometown of Milwaukee and his father's status within the community.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Joe (Yosl) Esselin.

This excerpt is in English.

Joe (Yosl) Esselin was born in Los Angeles, California in 1923. Joe (Yosl) died in 2016.