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.
Helena Lipstadt's Oral History
Helena Lipstadt, poet and garden designer, was interviewed by Agnieszka Ilwicka on February 19, 2013 in Hollywood, California.
This interview was conducted in English.
Helena Lipstadt was born in Berlin, Germany in 1947.
Video highlights from this oral history
Working From Place of Minority: Reflections on Queers in the Klezmer Revival
1 minute 57 seconds
"Making That Bridge (to Poland) Through Life Rather Than Death": Working on the Gwozdzdiec Synagogue Replica Project
5 minutes 32 seconds
Longing for Gan-Eydn (Paradise): Reflections on Identity, Yiddish, and Poland
3 minutes 8 seconds
My Mother Had Golden Hands: Jewish-Polish Dishes at Home
1 minute 35 seconds
American Jews Didn't Quite Seem Jewish: A "European" Jewish Household
2 minutes 9 seconds
A Very Small Basket: Limited Knowledge of My Jewish Family Background
1 minute 57 seconds
The Chicken Farm: An Original Yiddish Song
1 minute 26 seconds
"I Built A House!": Remembering A Feminist Collective
4 minutes 16 seconds
A Better World: A Feeling of Empowerment of a Generation in the 1960s
4 minutes 32 seconds
"The Henry Kissinger of Panama:" Dr. Herschel Klepfisz
3 minutes 11 secondsMore information about this oral history
Series:
Listen later:
For other download options:
About the Wexler Oral History Project
Since 2010, the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project has recorded more than 500 in-depth video interviews that provide a deeper understanding of the Jewish experience and the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture.
Tell Us Your Story
Do you (or someone you know) have stories to share about the importance of Yiddish language and culture in your life?