About this episode
This episode discusses the history and resilience of the Yiddish language through various cultural and historical challenges.
Support us on Patreon --- At the dawning of the 20th century, new songs of an ancient nation rang across the world. Yiddish, the native language of the Ashkenazi Jews, had assumed the status of a literary standard and was at the center of a political movement demanding freedom and dignity for its speakers. Though the events of this century would not allow this, Yiddish endured. The Jewish language survived the rise of fascism and nationalism, persisting even through the murder of millions of its speakers in the Holocaust. Today, in spite of all, Yiddish is a living and growing language. Alaskan Yiddish scholar Wilf returns to Gladio Free Europe to discuss the continuing history of one of the world’s most remarkable languages. This episode charts the course of Yiddish history from the 17th century onward, beginning with the diarist Glückel of Hamelin and moving through the social transformations of early modern Jewish life, including reactions to the failed Messianic movement of Sabbatai Zevi and the transformations of the Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment. During this time, Yiddish remained under scrutiny from both Jews and Gentiles. Disparaged…
People in this episode
Host: Gladio Free Europe
Guest: Wilf
Topics covered
- Yiddish language
- Jewish history
- cultural movements
- literary standard
- Holocaust
- Ashkenazi Jews
Keywords
- Yiddish
- Ashkenazi Jews
- Holocaust
- Jewish Enlightenment
- cultural history
- Wilf
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