Old Lives, New Lives: Soviet Jewish Women in Minnesota
Why do people decide to leave the land of their birth and start over? What was life like for Jews in the Soviet Union and specifically for Jewish women? What did it mean to be a grandmother? What was school like? What were friendships like? What did mothers want for their children? How did it feel to be labeled “Jew” in the Soviet Union and “Russian” in America? What do American Jews expect of newcomers and how realistic are these expectations? These were among the questions put to a group of women who entered the St. Paul Jewish community beginning in 1978. In the course of lengthy oral history interviews, the women-ranging in age and background-talked candidly about their lives, past and present. Photography by Betty Globus Goodman.
It is easy to say we are a “nation of immigrants” but harder to understand how difficult the process of becoming an American truly is. This process may be particularly true for Jews who are expected to assume a double identity, that of American and that of American Jew. We hope this exhibit will help viewers understand the circumstances that shaped these women’s lives in the Soviet Union and how they have proceeded to build their lives anew in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Old Lives, New Lives Jewish Identity Decision to Leave Starting Over |
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Old Lives, New Lives Anti-Semitism Working Starting Over |
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New Lives War Anti-Semitism |
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Old Lives, New Lives Childhood War Working |
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Old Lives, New Lives Working Childhood Anti-Semitism |
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Old Lives, New Lives Childhood Relationship |
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New Lives Anti-Semitism Relationship Decision to Leave Starting Over |
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New Lives Relationship Jewish Identity Decision to Leave |
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New Lives Jewish Identity War Relationship |
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Click here to view JHSUM’s pathfinder for more Soviet Jewish history resources.
