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Presenting the Yiddish past
     in contemporary Europe



          Jewishness in Contemporary Culture:
          American and European Perspectives
 Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, 17-18 May 2011

                     Gerben Zaagsma
             Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies
                   University College London


                                                                   1
Introduction


public history in Europe: Memoria e Ricerca
“Public history beyond the state: Presenting the Yiddish past in
contemporary Europe”


Yiddish = stateless: who takes responsibility for saving/promoting/
presenting the Yiddish past when it does not exclusively belong to
one country?




                                                                      2
Questions


how are Yiddish, its culture and its speakers, inscribed in
representations of Jewish history in Europe?
how is Europe’s ‘Yiddish past’ presented in institutional and non-
institutional settings?
who is involved?




                                                                          3
Structure


Yiddish ‘revival’?
Yiddish in pre- and post-war Europe
Yiddish and the Jewish heritage boom?
presenting the ‘Yiddish past’: Western vs. Central/Eastern Europe
the role of Europe
concluding remarks




                                                                      4
Yiddish revival?




Oxford English Dictionary




                            5
Yiddish revival?




                   6
Yiddish revival?




                   7
Yiddish revival?




                   8
Yiddish revival?


mistakes or equates an interest in cultural phenomena with an
interest in the language itself: “Yiddish without Yiddish” (Helen
Beer)


tendency „to reduce the Yiddish heritage merely to its musical
aspect and to some scraps of folklore” (Yitshok Niborsky)




                                                                     9
Europe’s ‘Yiddish past’


qualify the engagement with Yiddish, its culture and speakers, in
contemporary Europe


what is there beyond music?
Yiddish ‘history’ in public settings such as museums, websites,
walking tours, etc.




                                                                    10
Yiddish in pre-war Europe




                            11
Yiddish in pre-war Europe


Western Europe: language of migrants
‣   Western Yiddish: demise during Haskalah and emancipation
‣   post-1880 migration: Eastern Yiddish returns
‣   different migratory trajectories and differences in acculturation:
    varying numbers of speakers and linguistic attachments on eve of
    WWII: Britain versus France


Central and Eastern Europe: main Jewish language




                                                                         12
Yiddish in post-war Europe


75% of world’s Yiddish speakers perished during Holocaust
Western Europe: 2nd/3rd generations abandon language
Central and Eastern Europe: repression alongside modest
“continuation”
so: pockets of Yiddish activity




                                                               13
Yiddish & the (Jewish) heritage boom


growing preoccupation with heritage in Europe since early 1980s
creation of a “Jewish space” in the 1990s (Diana Pinto) and
following decades: beyond the Holocaust
post-1989 Central and Eastern Europe: revaluation of region’s
Jewish histories


more than Jewish context:
‣    reappraisal of histories of minority groups in the post-colonial era
‣    migration as a political and cultural theme in Europe




                                                                            14
Western Europe:
                               Jewish migrants & Yiddish culture


Jewish museums:
‣   reflect a community’s self-understanding
‣   narratives that emphasised succesful emancipation & upward
    social mobility
‣   ommision of Jewish migrants> reproduced conflicts &
    tensions between established Jewish communities/elites and
    migrants




                                                                   15
Western Europe:
Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture




                                      16
Western Europe:
Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture




                                      17
Western Europe:
                                 Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture


community initiatives:
private institutions, walking tours, internet blogs or websites, etc.




                                                                        18
Western Europe:
Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture




                                      19
Western Europe:
Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture




                                      20
Western Europe:
                              Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture



migration institutions in Europe:
part of a global phenomenon: International Network of Migration
Institutions (UNESCO and IOM) 2006




                                                                    21
Western Europe:
Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture




                                      22
Western Europe:
Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture




                                      23
Eastern Europe:
                                   Jewish history as Yiddish history?


Jewish history to a large extent Yiddish history
killing fields of the Holocaust
ancestral lands of many American/Israeli Jews
Jewish history related activity driven by tourism and funded from
abroad
example: Poland




                                                                        24
Eastern Europe:
Jewish history as Yiddish history?




                                     25
Eastern Europe:
Jewish history as Yiddish history?




                                     26
Eastern Europe:
Jewish history as Yiddish history?




                                     27
Eastern Europe:
Jewish history as Yiddish history?




                                     28
Eastern Europe:
Jewish history as Yiddish history?




                                     29
Europe and Yiddish


Dovid Katz: Yiddish as a quintessentially European language...
“European more than anything else quite simply because it has thrived
across the time and space of medieval and modern Europe”


European role in preserving Yiddish heritage
Council of Europe:
‣    1987: ‘Resolution on the Jewish contribution to European culture’
‣    1995: conference on Yiddish Culture in Vilnius
‣    1996: recommendation on Yiddish culture
‣    1998: European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages




                                                                         30
Europe and Yiddish


1996 recommendation on Yiddish culture: the assembly regrets ...


“that at present the main centres for Yiddish culture are outside
Europe: in Israel and the United States of America. For historical and
cultural reasons, Europe should take steps to encourage and develop
within Europe centres for Yiddish culture, research and language”




                                                                         31
Europe and Yiddish


1998: European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
‣   Finland (1994)
‣   The Netherlands (1996)
‣   Sweden (2000)
‣   Romania (2007)
‣   Poland (2009)
‣   Bosnia and Herzegovina (2010)


example charter effects: Sweden




                                                             32
Europe and Yiddish




                     33
Europe and Yiddish


preserving and presenting Yiddish online: the Internet


funding for large scale digitisations projects




                                                                  34
Europe and Yiddish




                     35
Europe and Yiddish




                     36
Concluding remarks


increase in interest/attention for Europe’s ‘Yiddish past’
impulses, actors and platforms vary:


Western Europe:
‣   migration as a theme: Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture included in
    revised narratives in Jewish museums and migration institutions
‣   state indirectly involved as a funder
‣   beyond Jewish institutions: non-Jewish actors & venues (Cité in Paris)




                                                                             37
Concluding remarks


increase in interest/attention for Europe’s ‘Yiddish past’
impulses, actors and platforms vary:


Central/Eastern Europe:
‣   demand for heritage from abroad
‣   non-state & non-local Jewish actors
‣   new bottom-up initiatives




                                                                38
Concluding remarks


Europe as an actor: role in preserving and promoting Yiddish
culture
importance of the Internet which reaffirms status of Yiddish as a
transnational language & culture




                                                                   39
Concluding remarks


to be continued...




                                          40

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20110517 - Presenting the Yiddish past in contemporary Europe

  • 1. Presenting the Yiddish past in contemporary Europe Jewishness in Contemporary Culture: American and European Perspectives Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, 17-18 May 2011 Gerben Zaagsma Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies University College London 1
  • 2. Introduction public history in Europe: Memoria e Ricerca “Public history beyond the state: Presenting the Yiddish past in contemporary Europe” Yiddish = stateless: who takes responsibility for saving/promoting/ presenting the Yiddish past when it does not exclusively belong to one country? 2
  • 3. Questions how are Yiddish, its culture and its speakers, inscribed in representations of Jewish history in Europe? how is Europe’s ‘Yiddish past’ presented in institutional and non- institutional settings? who is involved? 3
  • 4. Structure Yiddish ‘revival’? Yiddish in pre- and post-war Europe Yiddish and the Jewish heritage boom? presenting the ‘Yiddish past’: Western vs. Central/Eastern Europe the role of Europe concluding remarks 4
  • 9. Yiddish revival? mistakes or equates an interest in cultural phenomena with an interest in the language itself: “Yiddish without Yiddish” (Helen Beer) tendency „to reduce the Yiddish heritage merely to its musical aspect and to some scraps of folklore” (Yitshok Niborsky) 9
  • 10. Europe’s ‘Yiddish past’ qualify the engagement with Yiddish, its culture and speakers, in contemporary Europe what is there beyond music? Yiddish ‘history’ in public settings such as museums, websites, walking tours, etc. 10
  • 11. Yiddish in pre-war Europe 11
  • 12. Yiddish in pre-war Europe Western Europe: language of migrants ‣ Western Yiddish: demise during Haskalah and emancipation ‣ post-1880 migration: Eastern Yiddish returns ‣ different migratory trajectories and differences in acculturation: varying numbers of speakers and linguistic attachments on eve of WWII: Britain versus France Central and Eastern Europe: main Jewish language 12
  • 13. Yiddish in post-war Europe 75% of world’s Yiddish speakers perished during Holocaust Western Europe: 2nd/3rd generations abandon language Central and Eastern Europe: repression alongside modest “continuation” so: pockets of Yiddish activity 13
  • 14. Yiddish & the (Jewish) heritage boom growing preoccupation with heritage in Europe since early 1980s creation of a “Jewish space” in the 1990s (Diana Pinto) and following decades: beyond the Holocaust post-1989 Central and Eastern Europe: revaluation of region’s Jewish histories more than Jewish context: ‣ reappraisal of histories of minority groups in the post-colonial era ‣ migration as a political and cultural theme in Europe 14
  • 15. Western Europe: Jewish migrants & Yiddish culture Jewish museums: ‣ reflect a community’s self-understanding ‣ narratives that emphasised succesful emancipation & upward social mobility ‣ ommision of Jewish migrants> reproduced conflicts & tensions between established Jewish communities/elites and migrants 15
  • 16. Western Europe: Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture 16
  • 17. Western Europe: Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture 17
  • 18. Western Europe: Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture community initiatives: private institutions, walking tours, internet blogs or websites, etc. 18
  • 19. Western Europe: Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture 19
  • 20. Western Europe: Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture 20
  • 21. Western Europe: Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture migration institutions in Europe: part of a global phenomenon: International Network of Migration Institutions (UNESCO and IOM) 2006 21
  • 22. Western Europe: Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture 22
  • 23. Western Europe: Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture 23
  • 24. Eastern Europe: Jewish history as Yiddish history? Jewish history to a large extent Yiddish history killing fields of the Holocaust ancestral lands of many American/Israeli Jews Jewish history related activity driven by tourism and funded from abroad example: Poland 24
  • 25. Eastern Europe: Jewish history as Yiddish history? 25
  • 26. Eastern Europe: Jewish history as Yiddish history? 26
  • 27. Eastern Europe: Jewish history as Yiddish history? 27
  • 28. Eastern Europe: Jewish history as Yiddish history? 28
  • 29. Eastern Europe: Jewish history as Yiddish history? 29
  • 30. Europe and Yiddish Dovid Katz: Yiddish as a quintessentially European language... “European more than anything else quite simply because it has thrived across the time and space of medieval and modern Europe” European role in preserving Yiddish heritage Council of Europe: ‣ 1987: ‘Resolution on the Jewish contribution to European culture’ ‣ 1995: conference on Yiddish Culture in Vilnius ‣ 1996: recommendation on Yiddish culture ‣ 1998: European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages 30
  • 31. Europe and Yiddish 1996 recommendation on Yiddish culture: the assembly regrets ... “that at present the main centres for Yiddish culture are outside Europe: in Israel and the United States of America. For historical and cultural reasons, Europe should take steps to encourage and develop within Europe centres for Yiddish culture, research and language” 31
  • 32. Europe and Yiddish 1998: European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ‣ Finland (1994) ‣ The Netherlands (1996) ‣ Sweden (2000) ‣ Romania (2007) ‣ Poland (2009) ‣ Bosnia and Herzegovina (2010) example charter effects: Sweden 32
  • 34. Europe and Yiddish preserving and presenting Yiddish online: the Internet funding for large scale digitisations projects 34
  • 37. Concluding remarks increase in interest/attention for Europe’s ‘Yiddish past’ impulses, actors and platforms vary: Western Europe: ‣ migration as a theme: Jewish migrants and Yiddish culture included in revised narratives in Jewish museums and migration institutions ‣ state indirectly involved as a funder ‣ beyond Jewish institutions: non-Jewish actors & venues (Cité in Paris) 37
  • 38. Concluding remarks increase in interest/attention for Europe’s ‘Yiddish past’ impulses, actors and platforms vary: Central/Eastern Europe: ‣ demand for heritage from abroad ‣ non-state & non-local Jewish actors ‣ new bottom-up initiatives 38
  • 39. Concluding remarks Europe as an actor: role in preserving and promoting Yiddish culture importance of the Internet which reaffirms status of Yiddish as a transnational language & culture 39
  • 40. Concluding remarks to be continued... 40