The Jews of Summer

The Jews of Summer: Summer Camp and Jewish Culture in Postwar America

Virtual Event

Explore the lived experiences of youth in postwar Jewish summer camps, sites of intergenerational negotiation in the making of American Jewish culture. This lecture considers how postwar American Jewish leaders representing a diverse range of ideological commitments, including Zionism, Yiddishism, and liberal Judaism used summer camps to expose children to their ideologies, and attempted to transform them according to their visions of authentic Jewishness. Through the elements of camp programs and schedules, Jews with varied ideological, political, and religious perspectives shared nearly identical goals, and aimed to meet them through nearly identical means.