Eugene Orenstein

Item Information

Title:
Eugene Orenstein
Description:
Eugene Orenstein, Associate Professor Yiddish and Modern Jewish History at McGill University in Montreal, was interviewed by Pauline Katz at KlezKanada on August 26, 2011. Eugene Orenstein begins his interview with an extremely detailed account of his parents’ life in Poland. The third son of Jewish immigrants, Eugene’s memory has captured many of the stories his parents told him growing up. Eugene carefully details the stories behind both his mother and father’s life, how they were sweethearts in Poland, how his father deserted from the Polish army, how his father ended up in Cuba with his soon to be brother-in-law, and how his parents eventually married and settled in New York City. While retelling these stories, Eugene explains that having been born 14 years after his second oldest brother, his parents had adjusted their storytelling given the events of the Holocaust. It became quite important to them that their children know of life in Eastern Europe since that life had been destroyed. When Eugene finishes this reflection, he goes on to describe life in the “Coops,” a Jewish cooperative housing settlement in the Bronx. Eugene spends quite some time describing his life growing up in the Jewish, Yiddish speaking world of the Bronx. In retrospect, however, Eugene offers new opinions about his upbringing—thoughts, he explains, that he hadn’t really considered during his younger years. After detailing the largely Yiddish and Jewish aspects of his childhood, Eugene describes how he went to public school in the Bronx before going to City College for his B.A. He then went on to do his graduate work in modern Jewish studies at Columbia University where he also worked with Yiddish. The latter half of the interview focuses on Eugene’s move to Montreal upon accepting a position at McGill University. Having met his wife, another native Yiddish speaker, Eugene decided to stay in Montreal. He describes the differences between Montreal and the Bronx, and how the differences have begun to dissolve as Yiddish becomes less used in the vernacular sense. The interview ends with Eugene adamantly advising those going into Jewish or Yiddish studies to master the necessary languages. To learn more about the Wexler Oral History Project, visit: http://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/tell-your-story To cite this interview: Eugene Oresntein Oral History Interview, interviewed by Pauline Katz, Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project, KlezKanada, August 26, 2011. Video recording, http://archive.org/details/EugeneOrenstein26august2011YiddishBookCenter ( [date accessed] )
Creator:
Yiddish Book Center (Allie)
Date:
August 26, 2011
Format:
Film/Video
Location:
Yiddish Book Center
Collection (local):
Oral Histories
Subjects:
Yiddish language
Jewish education
Yiddish around the world
Old Country
Eastern Europe
Kheder
Yeshiva
Warsaw
Poland
Roots/heritage
Social-Zionists
Poverty
Pogroms Immigration
Migration
World War I
New York City
Bund
United States
Anti-Semitism
Polish army
Soviet Russia
Communism
Bolsheviks
Cuba
Quota system
Marxist
Cooperative housing
Immigrants
Bronx
New York
Jewish religion
Scholem Aleichem schools
Arbeter Ring schools
Shul Nummer Eins
Summer camp
Yiddish scene (U.S.)
Camp Kinderland
History
Childhood
Books
Literature
Yiddish teaching
Yiddish revival and activism
Yiddish learning
Career and Professional Life
Education
Family traditions
Canada
Assimilation
Jewish community
Transmission
Yiddish personalities
Yiddish culture: other
McGill University
Montreal
Montreal Public Library
Yiddish revival
Activist
Jewish studies
Advice
Scholarship
Academia
Yiddish Book Center
National Yiddish Book Center
Wexler Oral History Project
Nybc
Ybc
Link to Item:
https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/oral-histories/interviews/woh-fi-0000150
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
Language:
English