Oral History Collection

The Nicki Newman Tanner

Oral History Collection

As part of JWA’s mission to expand the narrative of Jewish history, we have collected and recorded hundreds of interviews with leaders, activists, and community members across the United States, documenting their encounters with major events and movements of the 20th and 21st centuries and the many ways that gender, class, place, and religious and ethnic identities have shaped women’s lives. With generous support from Nicki Newman Tanner,  Mass Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, we are proud to make these interviews and transcripts available to the public. All entries include transcripts; audio or video recordings are also available where narrator permissions allow. 

More about the collection

Ruth Jungster Frankel

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Pamela Brown Lavitt interviewed Ruth Jungster Frankel on August 7 and 15, 2001, in Seattle, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women’s Words project. Frankel reflects on her experiences growing up in Germany, witnessing Hitler's rise to power, immigrating to the United States, involvement at Temple Herzi, her husband's Alzheimer's, and her engagement in Jewish camps, trips to Israel, and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Trude Kranzler

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Jean Freedman interviewed Trude Kranzler on April 28, 2002, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Kranzler recounts her experience as a Jewish child in Germany during the rise of Hitler, her family's escape to the United States, and her subsequent career as an educator, emphasizing the importance of education and creating a positive learning environment for students.

Frieda Piepsch Sondland

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Roz Bornstein interviewed Frieda Sondland on May 1 and 17, 2001, in Mercer Island, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Frieda recounts her family's escape from Nazi Germany, their journey to South America, and their eventual settlement in Seattle, highlighting community involvement, and the challenges of parenting and aging.

Hanna Weinberg

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Jean Freedman interviewed Hanna Weinberg on June 10, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Weinberg shares her immigration story from Germany and Lithuania to the United States, her experiences growing up in various cities, her marriage to Rabbi Yaacov Weinberg, her community involvement, and her reflections on raising a large family and widowhood.

Ingeborg B. Weinberger

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Jean Freedman interviewed Ingeborg Weinberger on May 20, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Weinberger discusses her Jewish upbringing in Germany, her escape from Nazi persecution to Bolivia and later Baltimore, her life in the United States, and her career with HIAS, all while reflecting on family, community, and the changing times.

Birth City

Interview Location

Type

Donate

Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women.

donate now

Get JWA in your inbox

Read the latest from JWA from your inbox.

sign up now

How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Oral History Collection." (Viewed on June 13, 2026) <https://qa.jwa.org/oralhistories>.