This presentation explores the life and career of Ida Kaminska, a central figure in Yiddish theatre whose work spanned Europe, the Soviet Union, and the United States. From performing as a child alongside her mother to leading major Yiddish theatres after the war, her story is closely tied to the upheavals of the twentieth century and the evolution of Yiddish theatrical tradition. The program incorporates personal artifacts, photographs, and archival materials to ground her career in lived experience. These objects reveal how Yiddish theatre functioned not only as performance, but as survival, memory, and community. Together, Kaminska’s story and the materials on view offer a fuller picture of Jewish cultural life during a period marked by loss and resilience.
Charlotte Apter, Assistant Curator, Collections at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, will be in conversation about Ida Kaminska with Adam Ginsberg, President of the Cedar Grove Cemetery Association and Deirdre Poulos, Director of the Legacy Foundation at Mount Hebron Cemetery.
Co-presented by the Mount Hebron Cemetery.