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.

Exorcisms and Warding Off the Evil Eye: Grandmother's Eastern European Superstitions

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Molly Fogarty, Springfield librarian who was born in Munich, talks about her grandmother's various superstitions, including the fear of attracting the evil eye if one gave a compliment, and making Molly tie a string to avoid having trouble conceiving later in life.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Molly Fogarty.

This excerpt is in English.

Molly Fogarty was born in Munich, Germany in 1951.

Other video highlights from this oral history

Father's Childhood in Poland and Exile to Siberia

3 min 55 sec

Early Childhood Memories of Munich

2 min 32 sec

Assimilation and Maintaining a Jewish Identity

3 min 30 sec

Gefilte Fish, Kishka, and Chicken Fat Smeared on Rye Bread: Family's Culinary Traditions

4 min 13 sec

Family's Traditions for Sitting Shiva

1 min 13 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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