Listening Comprehension: Yiddish, a Struggle for Survival (Part 1) from BBC Documentaries

I listened to this BBC documentary podcast and found it very interesting. It describes the history of the Yiddish language and how it was almost wiped out of existence due to Hitler’s attempt to exterminate Europe’s Jews. Yiddish found a new home for survival in the United States where it is still spoken in some Jewish neighborhoods and circles. Yiddish has also had a huge influence on American culture such as in jazz music and American English lending to it a new vocabulary now used and understood by all Americans. To learn more, download from the link below the 20 minute program. To download, right click with your mouse on the link and save the mp3 to your computer.

Yiddish: A Struggle for Survival MP3 (level B1 and higher)

If you are having difficulties with the above MP3 link, you can go directly to this program’s page HERE!

Also, click on the above image to go to the BBC World Service Documentaries homepage to check out other documentaries you can download and listen to.