We write today with exciting news and with a request for help in documenting these extraordinary times. The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education is proud to have been selected by the Council of American Jewish Museums (CAJM) as one of 10 Jewish museums to record and collect our community’s stories of this moment in history. This project will provide a snapshot for researchers and future generations of being Jewish in Oregon in 2020—how we have collectively and individually experienced the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter protests, struggles for justice, and the 2020 presidential election.
As archivists, we know the value of oral histories and documentation of current events. We have had many requests for information on about the 1918 pandemic in Oregon and we are sorry to say that we have no relevant archival materials. We are grateful to CAJM for this opportunity to create a robust repository of our community’s experience—our goal is to capture 150 personal stories. Trained volunteers will work with staff to record online interviews with members of our community. Interviews will be approximately 30-40 minutes in length. We will be using the TheirStory video recording platform, which works much like Zoom except that it requires no prior knowledge or software from the person being interviewed.
Can you help with this project?
We are looking for Jewish community members of all ages and backgrounds to be interviewed. Please step forward and contact us if you are willing to have an interview conducted. And reach out to your friends and relatives who might not get this letter. We want to cast a wide net throughout the state. Additionally, perhaps you would also like to be trained as an interviewer for the project? We would love to hear from you! Please email Alisha Babbstein, ababbstein@ojmche.org, to sign up or ask more questions. Thank you for your continued support of our mission and work.
Warm regards,
Alisha Babbstein, archivist
Anne LeVant Prahl, curator of collections
The Council of American Jewish Museums (CAJM) and its member museums recognize that this is a critical time to be collecting the Jewish experience in America. It is a time in which Jewish life is responsive and changing in the face of the pandemic, the protests and struggles for justice, the election year, and the community work we do together to heal.