On the Edge the Volcano: Yiddish Literature in Berlin before the Third Reich

When Hitler took power in Germany in 1933, he vilified the capital, Berlin, as a haven for “rootless cosmopolitans,” meaning immigrants, communists, and Jews. Berlin was loathed by the Nazis for the very same reasons that it attracted Jewish newcomers, including some of the most prominent Yiddish writers of the day. This talk explores the rich Yiddish literary culture that flourished in exile in interwar Berlin, the conditions of its rise, and the events that led to its demise on the eve of the Third Reich.

This lecture will be in English, with some Yiddish.

Dr. Rachel Seelig is the author of Strangers in Berlin: Modern Jewish Literature between East and West, 1919-1933 (2016), and co-editor of The German-Hebrew Dialogue: Studies of Encounter and Exchange (2017). She has taught and held fellowships at the University of Toronto, the Hebrew University, the University of Michigan, Columbia University, and Harvard University.

Sunday, November 1, 2020 | 2:00 pm EST

Registration required: Please CLICK THIS LINK to register by Oct. 31

For more information, email yiddish@ujafed.org or visit www.committeeforyiddish.com