00:00–02:53
Opening chat about the camera, being photographed and photographs to be sent to the woman. She thanks the team, and Kerler says people in town remark that only she remembers things.
Later expeditions, 2012–2018 › 2012 Expedition
AHEYM-2012-186 · Sternberg, Rosa
Not online: the recording is held by the project and is not on Media Collections Online, YouTube or archive.org. Everything below is a paraphrase of a machine transcript, the weaker of this site's two transcript layers — see how it was made.
Summary
Recording with Rosa Sternberg in Chernovits (Chernivtsi), 2012-06-01, with Kerler. It is mostly a song-and-memory session: banter about the camera and photographs, then Yiddish and Russian songs she remembers, including camp songs. She also talks about her camp experience and her husband's death, and ends with farewells as the team leaves for Romania.
Stretches
02:53–06:43
She sings or recites a short song about luck and fortune. Kerler asks for songs about childhood years, and she sings a childhood-years song and one about a little bed in the old house. Kerler says they are leaving for Romania, towards Suceava (?), and asks for old songs only, to be recorded on cassette.
06:42–10:43
She talks about a club and a cultural performance where she sang Yiddish songs, and about people who died, with the date ninth of May mentioned. She then sings a song about a girl whose betrothed went off to war and the lines 'send me a ray'.
10:43–13:27
Practical talk about the team's route and timing, with a hotel to be found in Romania and a border to cross, and a mention of French visitors. A second Masha or Sasha, an acquaintance with a groom in America, is discussed, with an expected visit in August.
13:27–15:18
She sings a song about her little town and her childhood home. Kerler asks whether she has been to Belz, and she says the house and the tree she planted are gone.
15:01–18:38
Banter about a hairdresser and about students and age, with Kerler praising her lively humor. She then recites a long song or poem on a girl waiting for a beloved from the army, a mother and 'the old maid'. Kerler remarks that the Hungarian visitor understood it.
17:57–19:44
She sings a song about love that has made her ill, and one about waiting for her beloved. A listener from Budapest (Hungary) is said to have understood every word, having learned Yiddish.
19:44–23:26
She sings a camp song about lying in a torn dress with a crust of bread beside the mother, and says it was sung in the camp. She says she composed one song herself and describes crowded camp conditions without light. She also sings a Russian song lamenting the fate of the Jew, and mentions a small book of camp memoirs.
23:26–27:15
Talk about small booklets of her songs and memoirs, five of which could be bought and sent through Masha. Kerler asks her to sing again the song about the mother, and she begins it with the line about why she was born.
27:15–32:03
She sings a song about a sick child and a weeping mother, with angels in a dream. Then she recounts a tale about a wife and a mother, which is partly unclear. Kerler asks again for the camp song about the mother lying ill, and she sings it.
31:48–36:54
She mentions a Bukovina newspaper that wrote about her, then tells of the camp (name unclear), an attack on the population and the camp's hunger. She describes a film in which women's hair was cut off and shootings took place, and says she was interviewed for Holocaust cassettes. She says her husband worked in the mines.
36:54–39:31
She talks about her late husband, whom she says was a shoykhet, rabbi and prayer leader. He prayed for hours at an advanced age, was ill, and was taken by taxi to the synagogue. Kerler says they will return in a year.
39:31–42:09
They look at a photograph. Kerler asks the year, and she says it is after the camp. She tells of buying a dress, courses, and mobilization, then of her work and singing, for which she was praised.
41:39–44:36
She sings a Hanukkah song about the father lighting the candles and giving Hanukkah money. Kerler says it was composed by Sheyne (?) Yanever (?), who did not return from the camp. She tells of her illness, neighbors who took her in, and a small Sukkot booth.
44:36–47:27
Farewells and thanks. Kerler says they must leave, talks about the photographs and the video to be made, and says the team will come back. She wishes them health and speaks of her son.