July 13, 2017

Iosif Lakhman Shloyshim Memorial

59 minutes

A special "Shloyshim" program in memory of Iosif Lakhman, beloved co-host of our program, who also extremely active and involved "retirement" life since coming to Boston from the former Soviet Union in 1991.

Participants in the show included Sholem Beinfeld, Dovid Braun, Misha Khazin, Lillian (Leye) Shporer-Leavitt, Dina (Dobe) Ressler, and Mark David.

We heard excerpts of a broadcast of the Yiddish Voice from August 2012 featuring Iosif Lakhman in studio for the 60th anniversary of the 12 August 1952 "night of the murdered Yiddish poets", the killing of the leading Soviet Yiddish poets and writers on orders from Stalin, an event which Iosif was a masterful in memorializing for our community. Note that there are also "cameo" appearances by the Yiddish activist Arele Viswanath and the Yiddish language and literature professor Elke Kellman in this excerpt. Also, by the way, the full broadcast is currently featured and available for download from the online Forverts article in the links below.

We also heard excerpts of Iosif Lakhman's 2013 interview by Aaron Lansky, founder and president of the Yiddish Book Center. Thanks to the Wexler Oral History Project and the Yiddish Book Center for making this video and making excerpts available to us. See link below for Iosif Lakhman's Oral History for additional audio, video, and info.

Related links:

Iosif Lakhman, Yiddish Cultural Activist in Boston, Has Died -- in Yiddish -- obituary in the Forverts written by Misha Khazin.

Iosif Lakhman's Oral History -- in Yiddish -- Iosif Lakhman's 2013 interview for the Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History project. (Note: Aaron Lansky, founder and president of the Yiddish Book Center, conducted this interview with Lakhman.)

Dear Dad -- in Russian -- a touching open letter from Iosif Lakhman's daughter Zina Lamm, looking back on their lives together. The letter was published on the web site of the Massachusetts Club of Russian-Speaking Scientists, of which Lakhman had been an active member until the very end.

Air Date: July 12, 2017

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