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 History of Jews of England Revealed through Yiddish Poetry

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Vivi Lachs, social and cultural historian, performer, and Yiddishist, explains how learning and singing Yiddish songs about London connected with and activated her interest in history.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Vivi Lachs.

This excerpt is in Yiddish.

This interview is part of the Yiddish in the Academy: scholars, language instructors, and students series.

Other video highlights from this oral history

"Dray Shvester (Three Sisters)": A Yiddish Song Reveals Something about the History of Jewish London

3 min 34 sec

Losing Religious Faith—and Encountering Shakespeare

6 min

Approaching Yiddish Song and Story as an Historian

1 min 35 sec

Vivi Lachs Sings "London bay nakht (London at Night)"

3 min 16 sec

Vivi Lachs Sings "Freg nit keyn katshanes (Don't Ask Silly Questions)"

7 min 49 sec

Differences of Language and Class Between the German and Polish Sides of My Jewish Family

1 min 7 sec

Mixing Melodies at the Shabbos Tish: Enjoying Different Tunes for the Same Song

3 min 26 sec

What's Everyone Laughing At? A Curiosity About Yiddish

2 min 17 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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