MY YIDDISHE CHILDHOOD
My Yiddishe Childhood: Stories of 1930s Chicago by Annette Baran (edited by Naomi Baran) is a heartwarming memoir of growing up in the Jewish neighborhood of Humbolt Park. Annette was a child of eastern European immigrants who were passionately dedicated to the socialist cause. Her capacity for vivid imagery and humorous detail provides an intimate experience of a world uniquely shaped by Yiddish culture.
Annette wrote these eleven tales of her childhood in the 1980s, which were only recently discovered. Her daughter Naomi Baran gathered and edited this collection of previously unpublished stories and brought them to life with Yiddish folk songs, family recipes, and historic photos.
My Yiddishe Childhood is a tribute to a bygone culture, and a daughter's loving tribute to her mother. These stories are about impassioned idealism, culture, politics, community, family and an enduring friendship.
“It is possible that if Annette Baran had not written this book an entire world would have been lost and forgotten forever, like Atlantis below the waves. I am thankful that she did write it, because through her vivid recall a time and place of passionate idealism has been brought vibrantly to life. Beyond the gift she has given us of the sights and smells and sounds of that time and place, she has the rare ability to dig compelling (and often very funny) narrative out of the raw material of events large and small. I came out of the book knowing and caring deeply about these people, in all their irresistible craziness. A moving and important work.”
— Stephen Tolkin; American Television Writer, Director
“At long last! The childhood of Annette Baran — one of the wisest women ever born… I was excited when I heard Naomi Baran was going to publish her mother’s childhood stories. I wanted to ‘hear’ her voice again through storytelling (one of her many brilliant talents)... Annette has created a historical document about a sliver of time, a generation of children raised by courageous Zionists, Poales… As her family passed on the torch of activism to her, teaching her from an early age to speak out against the wrongs in the world, Annette passed a torch to so many of us.”
— Jean Strauss; Best-Selling Author and Filmmaker
“My Yiddishe Childhood brings to life Naomi’s mother’s family, friendships and politics in the most intimate and tender way, making our heritage richer, more complicated, and even more worthy of our pride.”
— Carel Bertram; Author. Professor, Faculty in Middle East and Islamic Studies
“Mazel tov! to the three generations producing this fascinating and moving account of two lifelong friends... Naomi Baran has brought these stories to life in her mother Annette’s own voice... This is more than a moving memoir of dramatic family stories of comic and tearful moments; its also cultural anthropology of a Yiddish culture that comes alive through the storytellers… If you liked Aaron Lansky’s Outwitting History and are curious about Yiddish-speaking immigrants making a life in the 1930s, including those who joined the Workmen’s Circle and read the Jewish Daily Forward, read this book!”
— Don Stone; PhD, Faculty, St. Mary’s College
“These stories of Annette Baran's childhood in the midst of a Yiddish -progressive -tightly knit and loving family are wonderfully evocative of time and place and especially, people.”
— Ernestine Elser; Researcher, Anthropologist, UCLA Professor
“Each of these stories is a delight and together they tell the story of a particular friendship at a particular time and place in Jewish history. These kinds of memories were not preserved in my family and I now feel less deprived by having read Annette's. I especially loved the photos, recipes and music that rounded out these stories. I'll write another review after I've tried the brisket recipe.”
— Betty Stone; Educator of Jewish Studies
“Annette's Baran memoir is an invitation to a sweet, lost world. She's a gifted storyteller who transports readers to her childhood in Chicago with warmth and humor. I loved the journey.”
— Matthew Hermann; Educator and Principle
“I greatly enjoyed reading this book written by my mother's best friend, and not only because my mother has a prominent role in it… There is much humor and pathos in this very fine book about some exceptional people. I'm very grateful to Annette for having written it and to Naomi for putting it all together.”
— Avner Ash; Son of Shulamit (Annette’s childhood friend)
FROM the editor
Growing up, I loved hearing my mother tell stories about her life. With her contagious sense of fun and humor, she created such vivid and lasting pictures. Having a keen eye for detail, and a capacity for both playfulness and depth, she wove pathos, compassion into the tales she shared.
It has been a labor of love gathering and editing her previously unpublished childhood memoirs and sharing them with the world. Though my mother published other books and articles these stories remained sequestered away in a box in the back of a closet. I know how much she wanted them to be read and to keep her culture alive.
It is with great joy that I share them with you. May you enjoy the Yiddishe Socialist world of her childhood, and may it spark curiosity into your own family and immigration stories.
