A Jewish Refugee in New York

Book Launch Presented by Center for Jewish History, American Jewish Historical Society, and YIVO Admission: Free

Join Anita Norich in conversation with Joseph Berger about Jewish refugees in America, female authors, Yiddish novels, translation and more to celebrate the launch of Professor Norich’s translation of Kadya Molodovsky’s novel.

Rivke Zilberg, a 20-year-old Jewish woman, arrives in New York shortly after the Nazi invasion of Poland, her home country. In this fictionalized journal originally published in Yiddish, author Kadya Molodovsky provides keen insight into the day-to-day activities of the large immigrant Jewish community of New York. By depicting one woman's struggles as a Jewish refugee in the US during WWII, Molodovsky points readers to the social, political, and cultural tensions of that time and place. A copy of the book is included with admission. A reception and book signing will follow the program.

A limited number of seats are available for this event; reservations are required.

This event is generously supported by the Covenant Foundation.

About the Speakers

Anita Norich is Collegiate Professor Emerita of English and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan, and currently the National Endowment for the Humanities Senior Scholar at the Center for Jewish History. Her recent publications include Writing in Tongues: Yiddish Translation in the 20th Century and Discovering Exile: Yiddish and Jewish American Literature in America During the Holocaust.

Joseph Berger is a renowned journalist, author, and speaker. For many years he was a staff reporter of The New York Times. His books include Displaced Persons: Growing Up American After the Holocaust, and The World in a City: Traveling the Globe through the Neighborhoods of the New York.