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Speaking Yiddish to chickens: Holocaust survivors on South Jersey chicken farms

JL;DR SUMMARY After World War II, approximately a thousand Holocaust survivors settled in southern New Jersey, establishing poultry farms in an area already familiar with Jewish immigrant farmers since the 1880s. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Holocaust SurvivorsYiddish CultureNew JerseyCultural HeritageImmigrant CommunitiesJewish FarmingPost WwiiVinelandJewish Poultry Farmers AssociationYiddish Performers

Places mentioned

Vineland, New Jersey, United States
"Most of their farms were in and around Vineland, a small city of 30,000 people halfway between Philadelphia and Atlantic City."
New Jersey, United States
"Jewish community in South Jersey."
New York City, New York, United States
"Later they performed wherever the remnants of European Jewry had scattered, including New York City, Miami Beach and Buenos Aires."
Miami Beach, Florida, United States
"Later they performed wherever the remnants of European Jewry had scattered, including New York City, Miami Beach and Buenos Aires."
Buenos Aires, Argentina
"Later they performed wherever the remnants of European Jewry had scattered, including New York City, Miami Beach and Buenos Aires."
Brooklyn, New York, United States
"The farmers and their children scattered; some to Atlantic City, others like my family to Brooklyn."
Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
"The farmers and their children scattered; some to Atlantic City, others like my family to Brooklyn."
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
"Most of their farms were in and around Vineland, a small city of 30,000 people halfway between Philadelphia and Atlantic City."

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Cairo Item ID 68368
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-11-25 05:31:14 UTC
Curated 2025-11-25 08:31:15 UTC