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.

Sue Ehrlich's Oral History

Sue Ehrlich - New York native, Yiddish activist, and artist - was interviewed by Emma Morgenstern on February 24, 2015 in Queens Village, New York.

This interview was conducted in Yiddish and English.

Sue Ehrlich was born in New York, New York in 1928.

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Video highlights from this oral history

A Shock That Was Too Much for Some: Immigration from Kamenets, Ukraine to New York City

43 sec

"When the labor inspector came, they had a little ditty that they sang as a warning": Children working illegally in the Garment Factories of New York City

1 min 13 sec

"My brother was a character": Jews protecting Jews in Ethnically Mixed New York City Neighborhood

1 min 22 sec

"Nobody Would Hire You If You Were Jewish": Boy's Clubs' "connections" in New York City during the 1940s

1 min 28 sec

"They served a wonderful function": Landsmanshaft in New York City

1 min 20 sec

"It was very, very tragic": Yiddish play about Tsarist Army Conscription

1 min 10 sec

"They would maim the child sufficiently": 'Fixers' Helping Children to Avoid Tsarist Army Conscription

2 min 10 sec

"I Didn't Mind Being Deprived of the English Stations": WEVD Yiddish Radio Station

2 min 34 sec

"Women Were the Transmitters of this Language": Yiddish transmission in the 18th Century

1 min 20 sec

"I'm grateful to the Yiddish Book Center": The Future of Yiddish

1 min 19 sec

"Tsi Hot Ir Lib Gehat Lokshn? (Do You Like Noodles?)": A Yiddish Folktale

2 min 26 sec

"Yoma Yoma": A Live Performance of a Yiddish Folksong

2 min 58 sec

"Hop! Mayne Hamentashen": A Live Performance of a Yiddish Folksong

1 min 33 sec

Artifacts related to this oral history

Sue Ehrlich, Berman Gallery JCC, Staten Island, NY, Silk Road and Beyond Exhibit January 2014

Sue Ehrlich, Berman Gallery JCC, Staten Island, NY, Silk Road and Beyond Exhibit

Jewish Boxer with Fists Up in Star of David Shorts

Sue Ehrlich outside with two boys Robert and David at Tanglewood, MA in 1958

International Ladies Garment Workers Union book cover 1917AR691_3258-International Ladies Garment Workers Union book cover 1917

International Ladies Garment Workers Union book inside cover 1917

Constitution and Receipt Book for Members - International Ladies Garment Workers Union

Constitution and Membership Book for Members - Amalgamated Workers Union cover

Constitution and Membership Book for Members - Amalgamated Workers Union membership page

Portrait of two women

Old Family Portrait

Summer Group Portrait of Young Women - Posing as a Group, 1943

Portrait of Couple

Sue Ehrlich Speaking at Berman Gallery JCC, Staten Island, NY, Silk Road and Beyond Exhibit January 2014

Sue Ehrlich with artwork at Berman Gallery JCC, Staten Island, NY, Silk Road and Beyond Exhibit January 2014 2

Sue Ehrlich with artwork at Berman Gallery JCC, Staten Island, NY, Silk Road and Beyond Exhibit January 2014

More information about this oral history

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