The Papers of an American Jewish Communist: Interview with an Archivist (1964)

On November 15, 1964, the featured guest on YIVO’s radio program was YIVO Chief Archivist Ezekiel Lifschutz, who discussed one particular archival collection under his care: the Papers of Kalman Marmor (RG 205). Marmor (1879-1956) was a Yiddish writer, literary critic, editor, lecturer, and political activist.  In 1906, he joined the Socialist Party and in 1919, the American communist movement. From 1922 was a contributor to the Morning Freiheit.  He was a lecturer at the Institute for Jewish Proletarian Culture in Kiev from 1933 to 1936.   

From 1963-1976, YIVO had its own program on WEVD, the radio station established by the Socialist Party of America in 1927 (its call letters stand for the initials of American socialist leader Eugene V. Debs), which was purchased by the Jewish Daily Forward in 1932 and became a major venue from Yiddish programming.

YIVO used its spot on WEVD for Yiddish-language interviews and discussions with leading New York Yiddish cultural figures, as well as for reporting on its own scholarly and cultural work.

A new podcast of this program in the order in which it was originally broadcast will be posted here every two weeks.

Presentation of series curated by Matt Temkin, YIVO Sound Archives.

Listen to the program [in Yiddish].