EUGENE–Nationally known klezmer fiddle player Cookie Segelstein will explore the relationship between the Holocaust and klezmer music during a free lecture and performance at
5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8, in the Oak Room of the Erb Memorial Union, 1222 E. 13th Ave. on the University of Oregon campus.

In her lecture, "The Holocaust and Klezmer: A Tradition Almost Lost," Segelstein–the child of Holocaust survivors–will talk about the musical richness of pre-war Jewish culture in Eastern Europe. Klezmer, the Jewish wedding music of Eastern Europe, is part of the rich culture almost destroyed by the Holocaust.

Sponsors of Segelstein’s visit are the UO Judaic Studies Program, the Jewish Student Union, the anthropology and German departments, and the School of Music.

The event coincides with and commemorates the 62nd anniversary of Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass" when mobs of Nazi supporters and sympathizers in Germany and Austria freely attacked Jews in the street, in their homes and at their places of work and worship. Nearly 100 Jews were killed and hundreds more were injured.

During the 1938 rampage, more than 7,000 Jewish businesses and 1,000 synagogues were burned or destroyed, and countless cemeteries and schools were vandalized. Considered the beginning of what is now known as the Holocaust, Kristallnacht also led to the arrest of 30,000 Jews who were sent to concentration camps.

In addition to the Nov. 8 lecture and demonstration, Segelstein will be a scholar-in-residence, coaching the East European Folk Music Ensemble at the UO School of Music and lecturing to a Jewish Folklore Class for the Department of Anthropology.

She also will teach a klezmer fiddle class for area high school students on Nov. 7 and will offer a workshop for adult fiddle players in the Eugene-Springfield community. The workshop is scheduled from 7—9 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 1020 W. 19th Ave. For reservations, call Nancy Blake, 485-8466.

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