Jewish Women of Hartford, CT during WWII
“Pride, Honor & Courage” New film focuses on Hartford-area Jewish women during World War II
By Cindy Mindell (Jewish Ledger)
Published: Wednesday, October 7, 2009 12:54 PM EDT
Sarah Brody was serving with the Army Nurse Corps in Germany during World War II, when she was shot at a few minutes after this photo was taken. Brody is one of several Hartford area Jewish women whose WWII stories are chronicled in a new documentary that will premiere in West Hartford this month.
Since she became executive director of the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford (JHSGH) five years ago, Estelle Kafer has made it a priority to organize oral history projects among the various segments of the local Jewish community.
“It’s important to try to tell the stories of individuals and community members and their experiences within the community, and to use our archives to make those stories come alive,” she says.
In 2008, while planning a women’s oral history project, Kafer consulted with Jayne Guberman, oral history director of the Jewish Women’s Archive, a national organization based in Brookline, Mass.
Guberman mentioned the JWA’s plans to conduct a nationwide survey of Jewish women who had served in the military. To start, JWA hoped to set up “roadshows” akin to the PBS series, “Antiques Roadshow” at historical societies and smaller museums throughout the country. Women would come to give their stories and show their artifacts to interviewees, which would then be added to the JWA collections and displayed in an online exhibit.