Fred Irving

Item Information

Title:
Fred Irving
Description:
Fred Irving was interviewed by Allie Brudney on February 16, 2012, at the Yiddish Book Center. Fred Irving spends the first half of his interview describing his time as a prisoner of war (POW) during World War II. Fred volunteered to be a navigator in the air corps of the US military. While on a mission to bomb a synthetic oil field, his plane was shot down over Hungary. Fred managed to parachute out of the plane and survived, only to endure more horrors. He relates in detail the various attempts made to kill him: how Hungarian farmers tried to hang him, how a German soldier tried to shoot him, and how he was stoned as he was driven through the streets in a truck, with a loudspeaker blaring "Death to the American gangster." Fred was then held in a POW camp until the spring of 1945, when he and the other POWs were marched westward into the German interior. After many days of marching with little or no food, Fred was liberated on April 29, 1945. The second half of the interview focuses primarily on Fred's early life and on his religious journey. He explains that his father died of misdiagnosed appendicitis when Fred was only four years old, leaving behind a widow and his six children, the oldest of whom was twelve. Fred's mother had immigrated to the United States when she was nine, and had never attended school; as one of ten children, she was kept home to help her mother raise the others. Fred grew up in a primarily African-American neighborhood. This experience, as well as being ridiculed for living on welfare and wearing hand-me-down clothes that were often too large, made Fred aware of prejudice and discrimination at a very young age. Fred explains in depth why he became a Unitarian. As a child he attended Hebrew school after public school, and attended shul on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with his mother and grandparents. Fred describes the shul he attended and his disaffection with Judaism, recalling that the only answer he ever received from a religious figure was "Because I said so," or "Because the Rabbi said so." He was told, for instance, that he would be a "bad Jew" if he did not do his homework, because a "bad Jew" is someone who does not listen to the Rabbi. As Fred became more and more frustrated with his shul and with Judaism, he began to search for an alternative. He found a library book that discussed various world religions and began to read it, and eventually became interested in Unitarianism, which he describes as similar to Judaism but more liberal. Fred also briefly discusses his career in the State Department and in the Diplomatic Services. Fred rose rapidly in the State Department, despite being, as he claims, quite outspoken. As a civil servant he was sent to the National War College and subsequently served as ambassador to Iceland and Jamaica. Fred emphasizes that he is never ashamed of having grown up in a Jewish family and has told his children and grandchildren not to be ashamed of being part Jewish either. Although he has been an active Unitarian since his teens, Fred is proud of coming from a Jewish family and explains that Judaism taught him not to discriminate, to recognize and appreciate different cultures, and to look for what is inside a person. Fred ends the interview by urging future generations not to be afraid to speak up, to be honest, and not to let prejudice stand in the way of achievement. To learn more about the Wexler Oral History Project, visit: http://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/tell-your-story To cite this interview: Fred Irving Oral History Interview, interviewed by Allie Brudney, Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project, at the Yiddish Book Center, in Amherst, Massachusetts, February 16, 2012. Video recording, [https://archive.org/details/FredIrving16february2012YiddishBookCenter] ([date accessed])
Creator:
Yiddish Book Center (Emily)
Date:
February 16, 2012
Format:
Film/Video
Location:
Yiddish Book Center
Collection (local):
Oral Histories
Subjects:
Childhood
Jewish Identity
Career and Professional Life
World War Two
Jewish education
Eastern Europe
Advice
Religion and ritual
Western Europe
United States
Transmission
Roots/heritage
Anti-Semitism
Urban
Assimilation
Soviet Union
Immigration
Migration
Holocaust
Jewish community
Travel
Fred Irving
Air Force
Prisoner of War
Military
General Patton
Army
1940s
Unitarianism
Brown University
Providence RI
Rhode Island
Tuskegee Airmen
Navigator
British
German
Nuremberg
Bar Mitzvah
Jamaica
Hungary
Germany
Iceland
Yiddish Book Center
National Yiddish Book Center
Wexler Oral History Project
Nybc
Ybc
Yiddish
Jewish culture
Link to Item:
https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/oral-histories/interviews/woh-fi-0000257
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
Language:
English