Delve into some of Melbourne’s rich Yiddish cultural heritage. This film features subtitled highlights of interviews with a selection of prominent Melbourne Yiddish speakers, many no longer with us, recorded by the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project Director Christa Whitney.
Hear excerpts from Danielle Charak, Louis Waller, Sam Lipski, Chana Mrocki, Helen Jacobs, Alex Dafner, Helen Light Sr, Rachel Kalman, David & Ben Burstin, Michael Zylberman, Mendl Szmerling, Floris Kalman, Paula Boltman, Moshe Fiszman, John Zeleznikow, Hinde Ena Burstin and more, as they recount their experiences arriving into and growing up in Melbourne’s Yiddish speaking community.
As part of the Yiddish Book Center’s 2023 Yiddish Around the World project, the Wexler Oral History Project team spotlights one city each month, publishing excerpts from their fieldwork online. So far this year, cities have included Mexico City, Montreal, Helsinki, Tel Aviv, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia.
Melbourne has been chosen as the city for August.
This film forms part of the Kadimah’s regular Goldene Kayt (golden chain) series, and was part of the Tales of Yiddish Melbourne live event on Sunday 20th August, 2023.