TOMS RIVER, N.J. (January 23, 2026) —Yiddish was once the vibrant language of everyday life for the masses of Jews who lived for centuries in Eastern Europe. But it was more than a language—the mamaloschen, or mother-tongue—it was a way of being, the connecting current of Jewish secular life. Yiddish was a culture that created an amazing corpus of literature, theater, and film that embodied the spirit and experiences of Jews in a world marked by antisemitism, poverty, and hardship. It emerged in Poland and Russia in the early 1900s, with its “Golden Age” in the United States from 1936 to 1939, providing not just entertainment, but also a platform for social commentary exploring themes of immigration, assimilation, identity, and the challenges of modernity faced by Jewish immigrants in America. Whether through drama and tears, humor and pathos, the films reflect the predominant features of Jewish life such as strong family values, the savoring of ancient folkways, rich doses of humor in the face of hardship, and unbreakable ties to tradition. With the extermination of Eastern Europe’s Jews, Yiddish culture lost the bulk of its audience, but the legacy of Yiddish film endures today.
Kicking off in February, the OCC Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education will be offering a 3-hour seminar on Yiddish film, beginning with silent films which document Jewish life in the shtetlach (small Jewish towns), and which were largely the product of Soviet and Polish Jews rather than U.S. producers. If this class is well-received, there will be ongoing classes that follow the history of the genre in Poland and the U.S. All films have English subtitles.
Event: Celebration of Yiddish Film
Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Location: Ocean County College Main Campus, College Drive, Toms River
Technology Building Lecture Hall (Building #25, Room 115)
Cost: Free, but registration is required. Contact abotein-furrevig@ocean.edu to register.
The Ocean County College Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education at Ocean County College offers innovative educational programs and events which foster awareness of the Holocaust, genocides, and other crimes against humanity, and which advance ongoing dialogue about the pernicious consequences of bigotry, ethnic hatred, indifference, and intolerance. For more information about the center or its programs, contact Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig at 732-255-0400, ext. 2368, or abotein-furrevig@ocean.edu.
About Ocean County College
For 60 years, Ocean County College, a public two-year community college sponsored by Ocean County and the State of New Jersey, has provided area residents with the opportunity to benefit from higher education. OCC is an innovative academic leader offering affordable, student-centered, high-quality educational experiences that empower diverse learners to achieve their goals while enriching the communities we serve. Learn more at ocean.edu.