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.
Zishe Breitbart vs. Marta Fara: The Fraud of Hypnotist Hanussen
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Gary Bart, Great-nephew of Jewish strongman Zishe (Sigmund) Breitbart, tells the story of the hypnotist Hanussen trying to humiliate Zishe by pretending to hypnotize a woman to give her the same strength as Zishe.
This is an excerpt from an oral history with Gary Bart.
This excerpt is in English.
This interview is part of the Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists series.
Other video highlights from this oral history
Zishe Breitbart vs. Marta Fara: The Fraud of Hypnotist Hanussen
3 minutes 42 seconds
How Zishe Breitbart Joined the Circus
2 minutes 9 seconds
Zishe Breitbart's Performance Schtick
2 minutes 38 seconds
Strongman Zishe Breitbart's Feats of Strength
1 minute 47 seconds
Zishe the Jewish Strongman Idolized by Germans
1 minute 5 seconds
Zishe Idolized by Jews, Blessed by Rabbi
1 minute 28 seconds
Zishe Breitbart and Jabotinsky: A Zionist Partnership Cut Short
1 minute 59 seconds
Zishe Fed Lunch to Entire Village During Economic Crisis
2 minutes 5 seconds
Filming Invincible, A Film about Jewish Folk Hero Zishe Breitbart
3 minutes 7 seconds
A Haunting Encounter of Trauma, Language, and Shadows of the Holocaust in Berlin
1 minute 18 seconds
Zishe Breitbart Spoke to Audiences about Anti-Semitism
1 minute 38 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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