Dr. Max Weinreich Reminisces About the Early Days of YIVO (1965)

This episode, originally broadcast on April 4, 1965, presents excerpts from a speech delivered by Dr. Max Weinreich at a staff luncheon on the occasion of YIVO’s 40th anniversary. The talk covers the founding of YIVO, influential individuals in its history, and sources of funding in the earliest days of its existence.

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].