Yechiel Schachner

Item Information

Title:
Yechiel Schachner
Description:
Yechiel Schachner was interviewed by Christa Whitney on April 2, 2011 in New York. Yechiel Schachner’s family lived in Odessa before his mother immigrated to the United States in 1920 and his father in 1922. Yechiel begins his interview describing his childhood growing up in Boro Park in Brooklyn, New York. Yechiel describes his parents’ commitment to the Yiddish world and their apolitical household. After sharing stories of how his home was vandalized and how his father received his Yiddish books every month, Yechiel begins describing his Jewish education. Much of the interview covers Yechiel’s time spent at the Camp Boiberik, a secular Yiddish summer camp. Throughout the majority of the interview, Yechiel describes the camp’s schedule, its ideology, its founding members, and its famous counselors (including Uriel Weinreich). As Yechiel describes his time at camp Boiberik, he also recalls how he met his wife (another camper), his education at the Sholem Alechiem shules, and his time in the army. The latter part of the interview shifts into Yechiel’s thoughts and beliefs about the Yiddish world he grew up in. Yechiel shares his thoughts on what will happen to Yiddish given the ways that the Holocaust changed Yiddish and Jewish culture. Yechiel, an avid traveler, also explains the differences and similarities he sees in other Jewish communities, focusing heavily on Israel. Yiddish is a major thread of this section, and it eventually leads Yechiel back towards his time at camp Boiberik. As the interview comes to a close, Yechiel describes his life as an engineer and businessman, the decision to only speak Yiddish to his son, and his many insights into generational shifts in Yiddish language and culture. To learn more about the Wexler Oral History Project, visit: http://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/tell-your-story To cite this interview: Yechiel Schachner Oral History Interview, interviewed by Christa Whitney, Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project, Karmazin Recording Studio, Yiddish Book Center, April 2, 2011. Video recording, http://archive.org/details/YechielSchachner2april2011YiddishBookCenter ( [date accessed] )
Creator:
Yiddish Book Center (Allie)
Date:
April 2, 2011
Format:
Film/Video
Location:
Yiddish Book Center
Collection (local):
Oral Histories
Subjects:
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-0000133
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
Language:
English