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AHEYM: The Archive of Historical and Ethnographic Yiddish Memories
 (09-010.15-F)


The Archives of Historical and Ethnographic Yiddish Memories (AHEYM—the acronym means "homeward" in Yiddish) includes approximately 800 hours of Yiddish-language interviews with 350 individuals, most of whom were born between 1900 and 1930. The interviews were conducted in Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Hungary, and Slovakia. The interviews include:

  1. linguistic and dialectological data;
  2. oral histories of Jewish life in Eastern Europe;
  3. Holocaust testimonials;
  4. musical performances (including Yiddish folk songs, liturgical and Hasidic melodies, and macaronic songs);
  5. folklore, including anecdotes, jokes, stories, children's ditties, folk remedies, and Purim plays;
  6. reflections on contemporary Jewish life in the region, and;
  7. guided tours by local residents of sites of Jewish memory in the region.

In the period before the Second World War, much of the Jewish population of Eastern Europe lived in small towns, or shtetls, scattered throughout the Soviet Union, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, parts of Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. In the aftermath of the war, however, surviving Jews abandoned the shtetls and the Yiddish language and found instead a future in the larger metropolises, where they lost many of the local customs, beliefs and practices that had defined Jewish identity in the prewar shtetl. There were, however, many Jews who remained in the small towns of Eastern Europe. Some returned from evacuation after the war, others came out of hiding, and some literally crawled out of mass graves to reclaim their lives. This population group that remained in their native region is the subject of the Archives of Historical and Ethnographic Yiddish Memories.

Yiddish language and culture are intricately intertwined with the Eastern European shtetl from which they emerged. The language itself is a fusion language incorporating Hebrew, Aramaic and Slavic components into a predominantly Germanic structure, and is intimately association with other defining characteristics of Yiddish culture—its cuisine, music, plastic art, theater, and architecture—all of which are as much products of small-town Eastern Europe as they are of the traditional Jewish religious way of life. Whether it is borsht, klezmer, Jewish humor, Chagall or wooden synagogues, contemporary notions of Yiddish culture are inseparable from the territory of Eastern Europe in general and the shtetl in particular. Although literary Yiddish and highbrow Yiddish culture is most saliently a product of the city, and particularly major metropolitan areas like Vilnius, Warsaw, Kiev, and Odessa, it is the experience of the shtetl that has most captured public imagination.

The interviews address issues of Jewish life cycles, family structure, religious observance, community organization, cultural activities, education, health, recreation, cuisine, folklore, language, and linguistics. At the same time, they document and trace dialectological data in order to establish more accurate isoglosses in an effort to map out the historical division of Yiddish dialects, and to retrace the development of the Yiddish language and the dynamics of interregional connections via the spread of Hasidism, Enlightenment, and modernization.

To facilitate cataloging and discovery, this large collection has been divided the Archives of Traditional Music into subcollections by locality.  



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Collection Country Location Start Year End Year # of Recordings Total duration Genres Format
Fastiv
 (09-010.15-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Fastiv
2008 2008 5 4 hrs,
4 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Haysyn
 (09-010.16-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Haysyn
2002 2002 4 2 hrs,
39 min
Oral history, food customs, religious customs, Holocaust testimony, dialectology, jokes, music
MiniDV (NTSC)
Onești
 (09-008.04-F)
 IUCAT
Romania
Onești (Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej)
2008 2008 3 2 hrs,
32 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Hîrlău
 (09-008.05-F)
 IUCAT
Romania
Hîrlău
2006 2006 5 2 hrs,
29 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Hnivan'
 (09-010.17-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Hnivan', Vinnytsya
2008 2008 3 2 hrs,
19 min
Oral history, religious customs, Holocaust testimony, dialectology
MiniDV (PAL)
Iași
 (09-008.06-F)
 IUCAT
Romania
Iași
2006 2006 14 10 hrs,
15 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Ivano-Frankivs'k
 (09-010.18-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Ivano-Frankivs'k
2003 2003 9 7 hrs,
9 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Izyaslav
 (09-010.19-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Izyaslav, Zhytomyr
2003 2007 6 5 hrs,
50 min
Oral history, religious customs, dialectology, personal narrative, Yiddish song
MiniDV (PAL), MiniDV (NTSC)
Kam”yanets’-Podil’s’kyy
 (09-010.20-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Kam”yanets’-Podil’s’kyy, Mohyliv-Podil’s’kyy
2003 2003 5 5 hrs,
5 min
Oral history, religious customs, Yiddish song, food customs, dialectology
MiniDV (PAL)
Khmel’nyts’kyy
 (09-010.21-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Khmel’nyts’kyy
2007 2009 20 16 hrs,
36 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Kolomyya
 (09-010.24-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Kolomyya
2003 2009 24 24 hrs,
39 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Korosten'
 (09-010.25-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Korosten'
2003 2003 4 3 hrs,
59 min
Oral history, dialectology
MiniDV (NTSC)
Korsun’-Shevchenkivs’kyy
 (09-010.26-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Korsun’-Shevchenkivs’kyy
2005 2005 8 7 hrs,
56 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Košice
 (09-009.01-F)
 IUCAT
Slovakia, Hungary
Košice, Vaja
2006 2006 7 7 hrs,
5 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Kotovs'k
 (09-010.27-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Kotovs'k
2004 2004 3 2 hrs,
37 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Kovel'
 (09-010.28-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Kovel'
2003 2003 4 4 hrs,
1 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
L'viv
 (09-010.29-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
L'viv
2003 2005 18 17 hrs,
56 min
Oral history, personal narrative, Holocaust testimony
MiniDV (NTSC)
Lipcani
 (09-007.06-F)
 IUCAT
Moldova
Lipcani
2005 2005 6 6 hrs,
9 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Luts'k
 (09-010.30-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Luts'k
2003 2007 6 6 hrs,
6 min
Oral history, Holocaust testimony, religious customs, wedding customs, personal narrative, food customs, dialectology
MiniDV (PAL), MiniDV (NTSC)
Mihăileni
 (09-008.07-F)
 IUCAT
Romania, Ukraine
Mihăileni, Chernivtsi
2006 2007 3 2 hrs,
59 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Mohyliv-Podil’s’kyy
 (09-010.31-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Mohyliv-Podil’s’kyy
2003 2005 8 8 hrs,
7 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Mukacheve
 (09-010.32-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Mukacheve
2005 2005 8 8 hrs,
17 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Mykolayiv
 (09-010.33-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Mykolayiv
2008 2008 5 4 hrs,
15 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Rădăuţi
 (09-008.10-F)
 IUCAT
Romania
Rădăuţi
2003 2003 3 2 hrs,
40 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Rakhiv
 (09-010.41-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Kolomyya, Rakhiv, Solotvyno
2005 2005 3 3 hrs,
3 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Rîbniţa
 (09-007.09-F)
 IUCAT
Moldova
Ribniţa
2002 2002 5 4 hrs,
40 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Rivne
 (09-010.42-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Rivne
2003 2007 15 14 hrs,
25 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Săveni
 (09-008.11-F)
 IUCAT
Romania
Săveni
2003 2003 2 1 hrs,
48 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Sharhorod
 (09-010.43-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Sharhorod, Bratslav, Shpykiv
2002 2002 7 4 hrs,
39 min
Oral history, religious customs, Holocaust testimony, dialectology, Yiddish song, food customs
MiniDV (PAL)
Shepetivka
 (09-010.44-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Shepetivka
2003 2003 3 2 hrs,
54 min
Oral history, dialectology
MiniDV (NTSC)
Shpykiv
 (09-010.45-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Shpykiv
2002 2002 3 2 hrs,
3 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Sighetu Marmaţiei
 (09-008.12-F)
 IUCAT
Romania
Sighetu Marmaţiei
2003 2003 2 1 hrs,
58 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Siret
 (09-008.13-F)
 IUCAT
Romania
Siret
2002 2002 3 2 hrs,
35 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Skvyra
 (09-010.46-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Skvyra
2008 2008 1 58 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Slavuta
 (09-010.47-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Slavuta
2003 2007 6 5 hrs,
47 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Soroca
 (09-007.10-F)
 IUCAT
Moldova
Soroca
2005 2006 13 11 hrs,
30 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Starokostyantyniv
 (09-010.48-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Starokostyantyniv
2008 2009 5 4 hrs,
51 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Suceava
 (09-008.14-F)
 IUCAT
Romania
Suceava
2002 2002 1 35 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Svalyava
 (09-010.49-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Svalyava
2005 2005 2 2 hrs,
4 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Teplyk
 (09-010.50-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Teplyk
2002 2002 9 5 hrs,
17 min
Oral history, personal narrative, dialectology, Holocaust testimony
MiniDV (NTSC)
Ternopil'
 (09-010.51-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Bar, Ternopil', Kremenets
2005 2005 4 3 hrs,
56 min
Oral history, dialectology
MiniDV (NTSC)
Bender
 (09-007.11-F)
 IUCAT
Moldova
Bender (Tighina)
2002 2002 9 7 hrs,
12 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Tomashpol'
 (09-010.52-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Tomashpol'
2003 2008 14 11 hrs,
48 min
Oral history, dialectology, Holocaust testimony, food customs
MiniDV (NTSC)
Tul'chyn
 (09-010.53-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Tul'chyn
2002 2009 25 21 hrs,
25 min
Oral history, Holocaust testimony, religious customs, food customs, dialectology, Yiddish song
MiniDV (PAL), MiniDV (NTSC)
Uman'
 (09-010.54-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Uman'
2002 2008 9 7 hrs,
27 min
Oral history, Holocaust testimony, Yiddish song, dialectology
MiniDV (NTSC)
Uzhhorod
 (09-010.55-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Uzhhorod
2005 2005 7 7 hrs,
14 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Vaja
 (09-006.03-F)
 IUCAT
Hungary
Vaja
2006 2008 3 2 hrs,
52 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Vatra Dornei
 (09-008.15-F)
 IUCAT
Romania
Vatra Dornei
2003 2003 3 2 hrs,
23 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Vinnytsya
 (09-010.56-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Vinnytsya
2002 2008 21 17 hrs,
8 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Vynohradiv
 (09-010.57-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Vynohradiv
2005 2005 2 2 hrs,
6 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Zhmerynka
 (09-010.58-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Zhmerynka
2002 2002 3 1 hrs,
58 min
Oral history, dialectology, Yiddish song, food customs, religious customs
MiniDV (PAL)
Zhovkva
 (09-010.59-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Zhovkva
2003 2003 2 2 hrs,
4 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Zhytomyr
 (09-010.60-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Zhytomyr
2002 2009 40 31 hrs,
36 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Balta
 (09-010.01-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Balta
2008 2008 11 8 hrs,
46 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Bălți
 (09-007.01-F)
 IUCAT
Moldova
Bălți
2005 2005 10 9 hrs,
22 min
Oral history, Holocaust testimony, personal narrative
MiniDV (NTSC)
Bar
 (09-010.02-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Bar, Lityn
2005 2005 3 3 hrs,
6 min
Oral history, dialectology, personal narrative, religious customs, Holocaust testimony
MiniDV (NTSC)
Bila Tserkva
 (09-010.03-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Bila Tserkva
2005 2005 5 4 hrs,
56 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Berdychiv
 (09-010.04-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Berdychiv, Pechera
2002 2009 26 21 hrs,
7 min
Oral history, personal narrative, war narrative, dialectology, religious customs, wedding customs, food customs, Yiddish song, Hebrew prayer, Holocaust testimony
MiniDV (PAL), MiniDV (NTSC)
Berehove
 (09-010.05-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Berehove, Khust
2007 2007 4 3 hrs,
27 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Bershad'
 (09-010.06-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Bershad', Odesa, Teplyk, Nemyriv, Uman'
2002 2009 19 14 hrs,
36 min
Oral history, Holocaust testimony, Yiddish song, religious customs, food customs, recipes, personal narrative, dialectology, Hebrew prayer, klezmer music, wedding customs
MiniDV (PAL), MiniDV (NTSC)
Bilhorod-Dnistrovs’kyy
 (09-010.07-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Bilhorod-Dnistrovs’kyy
2008 2008 2 1 hrs,
46 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Boryslav
 (09-010.08-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Boryslav
2007 2007 5 4 hrs,
4 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Botoșani
 (09-008.01-F)
 IUCAT
Romania, Ukraine
Șofrîncani, Rădăuţi, Botoșani, Chernivtsi
2006 2006 10 7 hrs,
58 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Bratslav
 (09-010.09-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Bratslav, Uman’, Kopayhorod
2002 2008 9 7 hrs,
35 min
Oral history, Holocaust testimony, dialectology, food customs, Yiddish song, Hasidic nigunim (melodies)
MiniDV (PAL), MiniDV (NTSC)
Briceni
 (09-007.02-F)
 IUCAT
Moldova
Briceni
2005 2005 4 3 hrs,
54 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Budapest
 (09-006.01-F)
Hungary
Budapest
2006 2009 39 30 hrs,
22 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Călărași
 (09-007.03-F)
 IUCAT
Moldova
Călărași
2006 2006 1 1 hrs,
3 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Chernihiv
 (09-010.10-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Chernihiv
2003 2003 6 4 hrs,
49 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Chernivtsi
 (09-010.11-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Chernivtsi, Edineț, Botoșani
2003 2007 15 14 hrs,
38 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Chişinău
 (09-007.04-F)
 IUCAT
Moldova
Chișinău
2005 2006 49 43 hrs,
30 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Khmil'nyk
 (09-010.12-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Khmil’nyk
2008 2009 5 4 hrs,
43 min
Oral history, religious customs, personal narrative, dialectology, Holocaust testimony
MiniDV (PAL)
Chortkiv
 (09-010.13-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Chortkiv
2005 2005 2 2 hrs,
6 min
Oral history, dialectology
MiniDV (NTSC)
Cluj-Napoca
 (09-008.02-F)
 IUCAT
Romania
Cluj-Napoca
2007 2008 19 16 hrs,
25 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Debrecen
 (09-006.02-F)
 IUCAT
Hungary
Debrecen, Vaja
2006 2008 12 9 hrs,
44 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Dorohoi
 (09-008.03-F)
 IUCAT
Romania
Dorohoi, Săveni
2007 2007 7 7 hrs,
12 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Drohobych
 (09-010.14-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Drohobych
2003 2007 7 7 hrs,
2 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Dubăsari
 (09-007.05-F)
 IUCAT
Moldova
Dubăsari
2002 2002 2 2 hrs,
6 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Khust
 (09-010.22-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Khust, Uzhhorod
2005 2005 6 6 hrs,
16 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Kyiv
 (09-010.23-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Kyiv
2002 2005 23 18 hrs,
20 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Nizhyn
 (09-010.35-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Nizhyn
2003 2003 2 1 hrs,
59 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Novoselytsya
 (09-010.36-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Novoselytsya
2009 2009 3 2 hrs,
2 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Ocna Șugatag
 (09-008.08-F)
 IUCAT
Romania
Ocna Șugatag
2003 2003 2 2 hrs,
2 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Odesa
 (09-010.37-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Odesa
2008 2008 13 11 hrs,
18 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Oradea
 (09-008.09-F)
 IUCAT
Romania
Oradea, Cluj-Napoca
2007 2008 11 9 hrs,
18 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Orhei
 (09-007.07-F)
 IUCAT
Moldova
Orhei
2006 2006 3 2 hrs,
23 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Ostroh
 (09-010.38-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Ostroh
2003 2003 1 1 hrs,
3 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Ovruch
 (09-010.39-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Ovruch
2003 2007 11 10 hrs,
47 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Peresecina
 (09-007.08-F)
 IUCAT
Moldova
Peresecina
2006 2006 1 1 hrs,
3 min
Oral history
MiniDV (NTSC)
Polonne
 (09-010.40-F)
 IUCAT
Ukraine
Polonne
2003 2003 3 2 hrs,
49 min
Oral history, commemoration, wedding customs, dialectology, religious customs, Yiddish song
MiniDV (PAL)


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