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.

First Grade in Uzbekistan

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Polish-born mathematician and Yiddish speaker Irwin Kra shares stories of his time at school in Uzbekistan during WWII, including the death of Franklin Roosevelt.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Irwin Kra.

This excerpt is in English.

Irwin Kra was born in Poland in 1937.

Other video highlights from this oral history

Awareness of Holocaust During and After World War Two

1 min 47 sec

They Were Carried Away by the Masses: Germans Rationalizations During and After WWII

2 min 32 sec

Jewish Life in a DP Camp

3 min 44 sec

U.S. Immigration Protocols and Arrival of Jewish refugees in the United States

3 min 27 sec

It's Totally Incomprehensible: Attempting to Comprehend the Holocaust

4 min 44 sec

First, To Be a Mensch: Advice for My Grandchildren and Beyond

2 min 43 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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