Jewish Historical Society Oral History Project

Digital Collection

Identifier: dcpl_ohp001

Staff Only

Digital Object (mixed_materials)

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Dates

Creation: 1980 - 1981

Summary

The Jewish Historical Society Oral History Project Collection consists of 26 oral history interviews conducted by the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington in the early 1980s with Jewish older adults of D.C. focused on growing up in Washington in the early years of the 20th century and development of the district’s Jewish community.
This oral history consists of audio of interviews and an index or transcript for each. Topics covered include arriving and settling in Washington, military service, education, businesses and professions, family relationships, synagogues, traditions and customs, and leisure time activities.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions in accessing the digital collection.

Conditions Governing Use

The D.C. Public Library does not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission from the Jewish Historical Society of Washington, D.C. to publish or exhibit information from the interviews.

Biographical / Historical

From December 1980 through 1981 the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington conducted interviews with individuals selected from a cross-section of senior citizens in the Jewish community. Ellen R. Epstein, a Society member and Director of the Center for Oral History, trained seven volunteers to conduct the interviews. A grant from the D.C. Community Humanities Council provided funds for transcribing the taped interviews.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Custodial History

The Jewish Historical Society of Washington, D.C. donated this collection to the Washingtoniana division on January 21, 1982.
All of the interviews were digitized from 54 audiocassette tapes in summer 2014, along with all known transcripts and indexes. Some sides of the tapes were blank. Portions of some interviews are inaudible due to poor quality recordings and degradation of the original audio cassettes.