History of Yiddish Cinema

4 credits · Undergraduate

This course will trace the history of Yiddish cinema from its "golden era" before World War II down to today. Jews famously played a big role in the development of modern cinema, especially as Hollywood producers and studio moguls. But although many of these moguls knew Yiddish and were themselves immigrants, they were not anxious to make Jewish films at a time of increasing anti-Semitism. During Hollywood's Golden Age, Yiddish films were not made by the major studios, but independently, mainly in New Many York and Poland. The Yiddish film industry was closely linked to the world of Yiddish theater, which was enormously popular on New York's Lower East Side.