Take a look at these Yiddish American sheet music covers in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month! Many of these songs originated from productions in the Yiddish theater, a boisterous and vibrant scene in New York’s Lower East Side and Bowery from the 1880s until the 1950s. Second Avenue was known as the Yiddish Broadway, where Yiddish-speakers from all over the city could escape for a night of drama and song. The writers and composers of these pieces were musical celebrities in their own time: Henry Russotto, Louis Friedsell, Joseph Rumshinksy, Shalom Secunda, Irving Berlin, and Boris Thomashefsky, to name a few. However, there were hundreds more composers and performers whose creativity drew in thousands each night. The covers give us a glimpse into what it was like to enter this world. Some of the sheet music conveys the lighthearted, comical, and oft whimsical nature of these arrangements as well as the joy of Jewish Americanness in this newfound goldene medina (golden country). However, in other pieces, the lyrics speak to more serious themes, including the trials and tribulations of immigration, allusions to persecution and destruction, and most urgently, the importance of obeying one’s Yiddishe momme (Jewish mother). Though the number of active Yiddish Theaters in New York today are few and far between, the legacy of this world still thrives, as new and old Yiddish operas and plays are being written and performed all around. Which cover stands out to you? Comment below. 📷 1: Emune is Theier sheet music, 1882. Gift of Irving Riegel, 470.91 📷 2: Where’re Your Pants Mr. Hitler sheet music, 1944. Gift of Yehuda Nir in memory of his father, Samuel Grunfeld, 299.90 📷 3: Ellis Island sheet music, 1912. Gift of the Hebrew Publishing Company, 5.87 📷 4: Mein America sheet music, 1938. Gift In memory of Charlotte and Berhard Kluger, 120.89 📷 5: Goldene Medina sheet music, 1902. Gift In memory of Charlotte and Berhard Kluger, 118.89 📷 6: Yesoimele sheet music, 1914. Gift of Irving Riegel, 465.91 📷 7: A Mother You Must Obey sheet music. Gift of Ansonia Associates, 385.93 📷 8: Di Sheine Americanerin. Collection of Museum of Jewish Heritage, 647.88 (fb)

“My father and I had our first transport in September 1943, before it really happened. Two people had to get away; the fishmonger was the contact, and he had already asked someone who didn’t dare. We took them to our boat in the evening and covered them with a fishing net, and in the morning we went out, as on a normal working day. We thought we could go directly to Mölle or Höganäs, but the Øresund was swarming with German patrol boats, so we went east. Then we reached the submarine blockade [a net across the sound from Sweden to Denmark with one German patrol boat on each side]. The old man said, ‘There is only one way. We go!’ And we were not stopped and continued eastward. Suddenly there was a fog bank and the old man said, ‘Now or never!’ And we made for Rä harbor. But we were not sure whether the Swedish police would take us. We had a dinghy on board which we lowered, helped the people into it, and pushed them into the harbor to safety.” - Niels Sørensen, Gilleleje, 1993 This portrait of Niels Sørensen, accompanied by the above testimony, is featured in the Museum’s photo presentation — “Judy Glickman Lauder: The Danish Exception.” Glickman Lauder’s photographs and accompanying text (based on firsthand interviews and research she conducted) are located just outside “Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark,” serving as a striking complement to this exhibition. Come see these portraits for yourself - learn more and plan your visit at: mjhnyc.org/danishexception Credit: Judy Glickman Lauder, 1993. Archival pigment print. Courtesy of the artist. (fb)