The Holocaust & the Exile of Yiddish: A History of the Algemeyne Entsiklopedye (Book Talk with Barry Trachtenberg)

I'm happy to say that the video is now available for the book talk I did with author Barry Trachtenberg for his latest, The Holocaust & the Exile of Yiddish: A History of the Algemeyne Entsiklopedye.

The Algemeyne Entsiklopedye (General Encyclopedia) was a 16-volume set published between 1930 and 1966, with Yiddish and English volumes, some on Jewish topics and others for general knowledge. But that dry description really can't capture the many twists and turns the project took over three decades.

I had a fantastic time chatting with Barry for a book talk sponsored by the Congress for Jewish Culture. I hope you'll give it a watch. He is a wonderful historian and a really engaging speaker.

(And while you're watching the video, make sure you subscribe to the Congress for Jewish Culture YouTube page.)

The men who launched the Algemeyne project hoped:

"...to add a sophisticated Yiddish language encyclopedia to the already blossoming global genre of Jewish encyclopedias in world languages. The Entsiklopedye’s central tension lay between those who felt the goal should be to offer world knowledge for Yiddish readers, and those who urged the Entsiklopedye to educate Jews about their own history. It was a tension that would linger across the Entsiklopedye’s many twists and turns.

For more on the wild history of Yiddish reference books, see my May column, Encyclopedic Knowledge.