During the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, thousands of
men and women have participated in some way in
the Yiddish theatre. This exhibition focuses on
the work of one man, as well as the professional
life of his second wife Celia and her first
husband, actor Leon Zuckerberg.
Zylbercweig was editor of the six-volume "Leksikon
fun yidishn teater (Lexicon of the Yiddish
Theatre)", a compendium of more than 2,800
Yiddish-language biographies and histories of
those individuals and now-defunct theatrical
organizations who were once involved in some way with the Yiddish theatre.
The Museum of
Family History's strives mightily to recreate the Yiddish
world of the past, often creating new
multimedia exhibitions, while also presenting educational
and research material that will be of interest
to lovers of Yiddish language and culture.
AUDIO: Museum
Founder and Director Steven Lasky introduces
this exhibition. Zalmen Zylbercweig also talks
about the once-rich Jewish cultural life in
Europe, his efforts in searching for material
for his "Lexicon", and of his love for America.
Listen here.
Z. was also the
editor or author of more than thirty books
relating to Yiddish culture and history. The
first volume of the "Lexicon of the Yiddish
Theatre", his most
famous work, was published in 1931; Volume 6 was
issued in 1969.
Volume 7 was never published, as it still remains in galley form, as Z.
passed away in 1972, and the hopes of publishing
this last volume have faded. Volume 5, which was published after World War II, is the
Lexicon's memorial edition and consists mostly of biographies of
those who were killed during World War II by the
Nazis et al. |
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Zalmen Zylbercweig
circa 1960s
Courtesy of the estate of
Zalmen and Celia Zylbercweig.
© Museum of Family History
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