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.

Elementary Knowledge of Yiddish from Grandmother’s “German” Vocabulary

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Gabriela von Seltmann, Polish artist who explores issues of memory and identity, describes her elementary understanding of Yiddish, and discusses the fact that she did not know that some of the words that her grandmother used were Yiddish.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Gabriela von Seltmann.

This excerpt is in English and Yiddish.

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

Other video highlights from this oral history

Growing Up in Communist Poland in the 1970s and 1980s

3 min 10 sec

Communist Education in Poland and Beginning to Ask Questions About Jewish Roots

4 min 33 sec

The Healing Power of Welcoming Jews Into Their Families' Former Homes

3 min 10 sec

Positive Effects of Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow on Jewish-Polish Relations

1 min 56 sec

Visiting Auschwitz and Using It As a Lesson for the Future

3 min 13 sec

The Future of Yiddish in Poland

2 min 41 sec

Advice to Younger Generations and Yiddish as the Language of Love

1 min 38 sec

Meeting Husband Uwe and Beginning to Uncover Her Past

4 min 25 sec

The First Hints of My Family's Jewish Background

5 min 25 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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