Michael Katz

Item Information

Title:
Michael Katz
Description:
Michael Katz was interviewed by Emma Morgenstern on July 24, 2011 at the Yiddish Book Center. He is the father of former fellow, Pauline Katz. Michael Katz’s interview begins with a detailed account of his family’s long standing Jewish progressive cultural identification. Michael explains that he is (at least) a third generation Jew who was deeply invested in Yiddish culture and language—what he calls Yiddishkeit. His grandfather was a Marxist Yiddish journalist who was published in the Freiheit, and growing up his parents knew Yiddish as well. The first half of the interview goes into great detail about Michael’s childhood and education. Michael details his life growing up in the Bronx with family deeply engaged with the IWO (International Worker’s Organization). Michael describes both his school life, and its counterpart—camp at Kinderland. Michael’s mom, a social worker, ran both his schools and his camp, and so he never once doubted his family’s values and how they related to his Yiddishkeit upbringing. Michael also describes the political activist lifestyle he was raised in, detailing his experience listing to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech” in Washington, and times when he went on marches without his parents. The latter half of the interview begins with Michael’s time spent at Carnegie Mellon to pursue a degree in theatre work. Michael’s work at Carnegie Mellon landed him an internship at the Harvard Radcliffe Summer Theatre. In Boston, Michael eventually settled down with his wife, Linda, and they began getting involved with the Workmen’s Circle. Michael provides an incredibly detailed understanding of the leftist Jewish organizations, both their similarities and their dissonances, as he describes his own involvement in the Boston Workmen’s Circle. Weaving in and out of his work as a Jewish progressive in Boston, his decision to raise his kids with Yiddish language and culture at the forefront, and his memories of his childhood, Michael’s interview ends discussing his identity as an atheist Jew. To learn more about the Wexler Oral History Project, visit: http://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/tell-your-story To cite this interview: Michael Katz Oral History Interview, interviewed by Emma Morgenstern, Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project, Karmazin Recording Studio, Yiddish Book Center, July 24, 2011. Video recording, [URL of interview] ( [date accessed] )
Creator:
Yiddish Book Center (Allie)
Date:
July 24, 2011
Format:
Film/Video
Location:
Yiddish Book Center
Collection (local):
Oral Histories
Subjects:
Mike Katz
Michael Katz
Wexler Oral History Project
Coming back to Yiddish
Music
Transmission
Song
Singing
Yiddish language
United States
Politics and political movements
Religion and ritual
Bar Mitzvah
Vietnam War
Yiddish language (feelings of/about
Meaning
Descriptions of)
Yiddish revival and activism
Yiddish culture: Music
Yiddish scene (U.S.)
Nybc
Ybc
Yiddish Book Center
National Yiddish Book Center
Yiddish
Jewish
Jewish culture
Yiddish culture
Link to Item:
https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/oral-histories/interviews/woh-fi-0000188
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
Language:
English