Yiddishland California

Jews and Jazz – a Talk by Yale Strom
2026-09-20 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Denver) | Zoom
This will be a lecture that includes photos and music.
When: Sunday, September 20, 2026, 11:00 a.m.– 12:30 p.m. PT / 1:00–2:30 p.m. CT / 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Online (Zoom)
Cost:
Early bird pricing: $20 per lecture (if registered before September 6, 2026)
Regular pricing: $25 per lecture
Register for this event
Artist Name: Yale Strom
Artist’s Bio:
Yale Strom (violin) is one of the world’s leading ethnographer-artists of klezmer and Romani music and history. With a master’s degree in Yiddish Studies, he has conducted extensive ethnographic research across Eastern Europe on Jewish and Romani musical culture.
His fieldwork shaped the repertoire of his klezmer band Hot Pstromi and informed his work directing 10 award-winning documentary films, including The Last Klezmer (Oscar short-list).
Strom has written 15 books and two award-winning audio dramas, recorded 20 CDs, and presented numerous photo exhibitions in North America and Europe. His latest documentary, Recordially Yours: Lou Curtiss (2023), explores the life of San Diego audiophile-ethnomusicologist Lou Curtiss; he is currently developing a musical on Marc and Bella Chagall. Strom was Artist-in-Residence in Jewish Studies at San Diego State University (2006–2020). He now teaches in the Music Department and previously taught at New York University. His first historical novel, The Autobiography of the Offenbacher, will be published in 2026.

Forging Survival: Operation Bernhard and the Holocaustv
2026-11-08 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Jeremy Stern will talk about Operation Bernhard, a German scheme to counterfeit British bank notes during World War II. Jewish prisoners were forced to become counterfeiters for the Nazi state. The Nazis hoped to use forged British paper money both to finance their agents across Europe and to undermine the British economy. Skilled Jewish captives were ordered to operate a makeshift forgery factory at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Their only choice was to produce convincing counterfeits for the SS, or to die. The conscripted forgers made astonishingly close copies of British notes, with only a few subtle errors. The prisoners faced a deadly dilemma: risk finishing the work and face certain death, or play for time and risk the SS deciding the scheme was no longer worth the trouble. Finally, the operation fell to pieces as the German war effort failed, leaving the forgers’ fate hanging on the decisions and self-interest of the scheme’s SS commander.
When : Sunday, Nov 8, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. PT / 1–2 p.m. CT / 2–3 p.m. ET
Where : Zoom
Cost :
Early bird : $18 (if registered before Sunday, October 25, 2026)
Regular admission : $25
Register for this event
About the Speaker :
Jeremy A. Stern, Ph.D. is an independent historian, writer, and history educator. In addition to consulting on educational standards and content across the country, he has written and spoken for both popular and professional audiences on a wide range of historical subjects. He has long been intrigued by the story of Operation Bernhard, especially since he acquired an original forged Bernhard note – a rare direct physical trace from the Nazi camps.
