Yiddish at Yale University’s New Exhibition
On September 26, 2024, the opening reception of the exhibition In the First Person was held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University, marking the 45th anniversary of the The Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies. Yiddish dominates prominently among several other languages that appear in the displayed books, pamphlets, manuscripts, documents and other items. It is probably the largest exhibition in the history of this Ivy League institution devoted to such a great extent to Yiddish and Yiddish culture.
The exhibition’s opening featured performances by Zisl Slepovich and Sasha Lurje, renowned performers and researchers of Jewish music who have collected at least three series of Yiddish songs from the Fortunoff Video Archive. Created in 1979, its collection contains over 4,400 videotaped interviews with witnesses and survivors of the Holocaust. Much of this material was recorded in Yiddish. It’s worth a note that Yale University, among its diverse academic programs, also offers Yiddish courses.
