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.

The Early Life of Maurice "Moishe" Schwartz

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Melanie Lewis, great-niece of Yiddish actor and founder of the NYC Yiddish Art Theatre Maurice Schwartz, describes the early life of Maurice Schwartz in London and in New York City.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Melanie Lewis.

This excerpt is in English.

Melanie Lewis was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1949.

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

Other video highlights from this oral history

The Life of an Actor: Family and Personality

4 min 1 sec

Marinating in Jewish Culture: Life in Brooklyn

1 min 21 sec

The Hollywood Blacklist: Animosity and Censorship During the McCarthy Era

3 min 28 sec

Medicating Away Creativity: A Retrospective on the Life of the Artist

2 min 39 sec

Answers to the Present from Lessons of the Past

2 min 26 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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