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.

With My Grandmother on My Shoulder: Studying Yiddish in Vilna

Watch now:

Sara Klompus, singer and Yiddish enthusiast, recalls her trips to Lithuania to study at the Vilnius Yiddish Institute. She explains her love of the architecture, the natural elements, and how the country feels so special, and familiar.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Sara Klompus.

This excerpt is in English.

Sara Klompus was born in Washington, D.C. in 1949.

Jump to map

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

Other video highlights from this oral history

Saturday Night Bagels: My Family's Shabbos Routine

1 min 36 sec

A Second Home: Finding My Voice in the Synagogue

3 min 37 sec

My Singing Career: From Entertaining Soldiers with the USO to Performing Yiddish Songs

3 min 17 sec

The Bridge to the Next Generation: The Transcendent Power of Yiddish Music

2 min 32 sec

Sara Klompus Sings a Connie Francis Favorite

1 min 23 sec

A Sukkah on the Shore

1 min 34 sec

Learning Yiddish to Sing It

4 min 22 sec

Trips to Eastern Europe and Jewish Identity

4 min 1 sec

The Girl From Pinsk: Roots Trips to Belarus

5 min 13 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

Themes: