Monday, December 7, 2009

The Sounds of Yiddish Culture

The Library of Congress has just released a new webcast about Yiddish - American Radio giving viewers a tour of the sounds of Yiddish culture from 1925 - 1955.

"While all other aspects of Yiddish culture existed wherever Ashkenazic Jews lived, it was only in America that radio realized its greatest and most fulfilling use by and for Jews. Yiddish scholar Henry Sapoznik discusses and shares some of the most memorable and powerful moments in this nearly lost world of ethnic American broadcasting."

Broad categories of Yiddish radio shows are explored - from rabbinical advice programs to live Yiddish theater acts, from man-on-the-street interviews to the news of the day in verse.

Watch the Webcast which includes not only Henry Sapoznik's lecture but also images from the timeframe from the Library of Congress collection.

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