Blog

I not only found “Fun Hitler-land” interesting from a historical perspective—I also found it compelling as a student of Yiddish. The text tested my linguistic abilities to understand and translate Yiddish jokes (which necessarily rely on Yiddish language conventions and 1930s cultural contexts) into contemporary English.

Jan 14, 2026

This collection — the intimate letters and a diary of an early twentieth century Zionist politician— was saved from oblivion by chance, found in a pile of trash in Israel. Through various intermediaries, the collection then ended up at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw.

Apr 22, 2024

The newly-rediscovered “The Beach” (1996) is a striking early example of Yiddish writer, translator, editor, and teacher Jessica Kirzane’s non-Yiddish work.

Mar 23, 2024

A little piece of bureaucratic university paperwork reminds us of the international scope and depth of the work of great Jewish scholars like Max Weinreich.

Jan 18, 2024

Winokur’s letters offer a colorful snapshot of student life in Vilna between the world wars.

May 02, 2023

A letter from a devoted reader to Moyshe Nadir, detailing the personal struggles and ideological misgivings of a disillusioned Communist.

Feb 20, 2023

A reflection on the “weighty legacy” of retellng the catastrophes and upheavals that befell the Jews of Tulchyn.

Feb 12, 2023

A melodramatic studio photograph illustrates the widening gap between the American and Soviet branches of the author’s family.

Jan 18, 2023

For our briv funem arkhiv series, Artur Rudzitsky discusses letters between Vladimir Naumovich Waisblat and Sholem Aleichem concerning Yiddish theater in Kiev.

Jan 05, 2023

Ezekiel Lifschutz’s diary from his time as YIVO chief archivist in the 1960s offers striking evidence of the institute’s importance in the wider Jewish world. In these passages, we see the personalities of three giants of modern Jewish literature — Yiddish poet Abraham Sutzkever, English novelist Saul Bellow, and Hebrew writer Shai Agnon — and their relationships to the Yiddish language.

Mar 09, 2022