The Silent Exodus: The Decline of the Yiddish Language in the Aftermath of the Holocaust

Abstract

Despite the hundreds of organizations and museums dedicated to documenting the atrocity of the Holocaust and the sufferings of the Jewish People, very few documents and museums touch upon the impact the Holocaust has brought upon the language of Yiddish. Very little is known today about the distribution of Yiddish speakers throughout the world. Additionally, very little research has been made about the aspects in the aftermath of the Holocaust that has smothered the language. This study focuses on those aspects that have rendered the Yiddish language almost extinct and attempts to reveal the complexity and variety of negative impacts that the Holocaust has had. I found that a combination of antisemitic legislature, religious movements, and mass migrations led to the ultimate downfall of Yiddish.