Oral History Collection

The Nicki Newman Tanner

Oral History Collection

As part of JWA’s mission to expand the narrative of Jewish history, we have collected and recorded hundreds of interviews with leaders, activists, and community members across the United States, documenting their encounters with major events and movements of the 20th and 21st centuries and the many ways that gender, class, place, and religious and ethnic identities have shaped women’s lives. With generous support from Nicki Newman Tanner,  Mass Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, we are proud to make these interviews and transcripts available to the public. All entries include transcripts; audio or video recordings are also available where narrator permissions allow. 

More about the collection

Althea Diesenhaus Stroum

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Pamela Brown-Lavitt interviewed Althea Diesenhaus Stroum on July 23, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Stroum discusses her upbringing, family history, experiences of antisemitism, community activism, marriage, role as a mother, support for the arts, and philanthropy.

Frances Berman Sulsky

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Frances Berman Sulsky was interviewed by Elaine Eff on April 30, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland for the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Sulsky discusses her upbringing, millinery career, family moves, the Jewish neighborhood, business growth, and reflections on being a businesswoman and life in Baltimore.

Pamela Sussman-Paternoster

Project
Women Who Dared

Julie Johnson interviewed Pamela Paternoster-Sussman on March 1, 2005, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Paternoster-Sussman shares her upbringing in a blended family, strong Jewish identity, experiences of antisemitism, activism, teaching marginalized students, and her educational pursuits in Cleveland and Cambridge.

Marcy Syms

Project
General

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Judge Marcy Syms on October 3, 2023, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Judge Abrams explores her family, education, career path, focus on gender issues, and notable legal cases in an interview. The interview with Marcy Syms covers her diverse life, exploring her immigrant and Jewish roots, early encounters with feminism, experiences with discrimination, leadership in her family's company, activism for the Equal Rights Amendment, and insights into gender equality and workplace reforms.

Elana Sztokman

Project
Meet Me at Sinai

Jayne Guberman interviewed Dr. Elana Maryles Sztokmann on February 8, 2015, in New York City, New York for the "Meet Me at Sinai" Oral History Project. Dr. Sztokman, raised in a Modern Orthodox family, became a feminist activist challenging Orthodox Judaism's sexism, pursuing higher education, and seeking a balance between her beliefs and her commitment to gender equality.

Marillyn Tallman

Project
Women Who Dared

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Marillyn Tallman on February 2, 2005, in Chicago, Illinois for the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Tallman talks about her childhood, activism work, involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, and her Jewish life and Zionist beliefs.

Nicki Newman Tanner

Project
General

Gail Reimer interviewed Nicki Newman Tanner on August 24th, 2007, in Scarsdale New York. Nicki discusses her early life in Chicago, her experiences at Wellesley College, her career in Los Angeles, and her involvement in various leadership roles, including the board at Colonial Williamsburg, JWA, and HUC, as well as her Jewish identity and community engagement.

Nancy Timm

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Nancy Timm on August 22, 2007 in New Orleans, Louisiana as a part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Project. Nancy, a clinical social worker, discusses her New Orleans roots, upbringing, Jewish faith, involvement in various organizations, Hurricane Katrina's disruption including evacuation experiences and her daughter's challenges due to the storm, shifts in her counseling work, and her evolving relationship with Judaism.

Louis Trachtman

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Louis Trachtman on July 20, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Trachtman discusses his family history, the transition from Orthodox to Conservative Judaism, his experiences as a physician during Hurricane Katrina, his involvement in the Chevra Kadisha, and his reflections on race relations in New Orleans.

Jean Trounstine

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Jean Trounstine on July 21, 2000, in Lowell, Massachusetts for the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Trounstine details her Jewish background in Cincinnati, how it shaped her political lens, and her prison reform work, including theater productions with incarcerated women.

Reva Twersky

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Roz Bornstein interviewed Reva Twersky on June 19, 2001, in Seattle, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Twersky discusses her family's Russian roots, their Orthodox values, community life in Seattle, experiences during World War II, involvement in Jewish organizations, and her marriage.

Roselle Ungar

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Roselle Ungar on August 30, 2006, in Metairie, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Ungar talks about her role as assistant executive director of the Jewish Federation, creating resources for Katrina evacuees, connecting them to aid and facilitating community, and her part in rebuilding the Jewish community in New Orleans.

Semah Unterman

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Ann Buffum and Sandy Gartner interviewed Semah Unterman on August 12, 2005, in Belmont, Vermont, for the Vermont Jewish Women's History Oral History Project. Unterman discusses her family, childhood activism, experiences during the war, career in education and local politics, the importance of critical thinking, and her daughter's illness and travels.

Rachel Van Voorhees

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Rachel Van Voorhees on August 2, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Van Voorhees shares her path as a harpist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and discusses her life in New Orleans, including her Jewish identity and the impact of Hurricane Katrina on her home and family.

Andrea Waldstein

Project
Soviet Jewry

Georgia Westbrook and Alexandra Kiosse interviewed Andrea Waldstein on July 14, 2016, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Soviet Jewry Oral History Collection. Waldstein explores her family's Ukrainian roots, her Jewish upbringing in Massachusetts, her involvement in the Soviet Jewry Movement, and her reflections on Jewish identity and women's issues.

Sara Wallace

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Iris Geik interviewed Sara Wallace on February 8, 1997, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Wallace talks about her community activism and career as a lawyer, discusses her immigrant upbringing, her pioneering role as a woman in the legal profession, her involvement in social advocacy, and her membership with Temple Israel Boston.

Mollie Wallick

Project
Women Who Dared

Abe Louise Young interviewed Mollie Wallick on January 11, 2005, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Wallick reflects on her Orthodox upbringing, her family relationships, her evolving Jewish identity influenced by her gay rights activism, and her support for LGBTQ+ students as a University counselor.

Miriam Waltzer

Project
Women Who Dared

Abrielle Louise Young interviewed Miriam Waltzer on January 12, 2005, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Waltzer shares the story of her childhood in Germany during World War II, her marriage to an American, their involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, her career as a judge, and her contributions to humanitarian organizations.

Miriam Waltzer

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Miriam Waltzer on September 28, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Waltzer details her childhood during World War II, her career as the first woman elected to the New Orleans Criminal District Court, her experiences during Hurricane Katrina, and her current volunteering activities in Dallas.

Gertrude Webb

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Gertrude (Goldie) Mikel Webb on January 15, 2002, in Waltham, Massachusetts, for the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Webb, a Boston educator, discusses her Jewish upbringing, a career in teaching students with learning disabilities, and ongoing commitment to helping others influenced by her Jewish heritage.

Jill Weinberg

Project
Women Who Dared

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Jill Weinberg on January 31, 2005, in Chicago, Illinois, as a part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Weinberg talks about her upbringing, involvement in Jewish communal service, experiences in Israel, work at the Jewish Federation and Holocaust Museum, and her commitment to bridging Jewish and Indigenous heritage.

Hanna Weinberg

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Jean Freedman interviewed Hanna Weinberg on June 10, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Weinberg shares her immigration story from Germany and Lithuania to the United States, her experiences growing up in various cities, her marriage to Rabbi Yaacov Weinberg, her community involvement, and her reflections on raising a large family and widowhood.

Ingeborg B. Weinberger

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Jean Freedman interviewed Ingeborg Weinberger on May 20, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Weinberger discusses her Jewish upbringing in Germany, her escape from Nazi persecution to Bolivia and later Baltimore, her life in the United States, and her career with HIAS, all while reflecting on family, community, and the changing times.

Mindy Weisel

Project
Washington D.C. Stories

Deborah Ross interviewed Mindy Weisel on October 19, 2010, in Washington, DC, as part of the Washington D.C. Stories Oral History Project. Weisel reflects on her childhood, the impact of her family's Holocaust legacy, and her journey as an artist to express emotions, find beauty amidst darkness, and foster person-to-person connections for hope and healing.

Tobie Weisman

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Sandy Gartner and Ann Buffum interviewed Tobie Weisman on August 15, 2005, in Montpelier, Vermont, as part of the Vermont Jewish Women's Oral History Project. Weisman shares her family's immigration history, her upbringing, early experiences in Israel, her rabbinical training, and ultimately finding fulfillment in marriage and joining her husband's organic fruit tree farm in Vermont.

Birth City

Type

Donate

Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women.

donate now

Listen to Our Podcast

Get JWA in your inbox

Read the latest from JWA from your inbox.

sign up now

How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Oral History Collection." (Viewed on December 3, 2024) <https://jwa.org/oralhistories>.