Jewish Heritage Collection: Oral history interview with Bertha Lazarus Breibart
Date:
1997
Interviewer:
Rosengarten, Dale, 1948-;Grossman, Michael Samuel
Interviewee:
Breibart, Bertha Lazarus, 1917-
Description:
Bertha Lazarus Breibart, daughter of immigrants Louis and Rose Lazarus (Lazarowitz), discusses growing up in Charleston and Summerville, South Carolina, in the 1920s and ’30s. Louis arrived in New York in 1902, worked as a tailor, and, later, his wife and their first child, Max, joined him. The family moved to Charleston, where Louis ran a shoe repair shop in various locations on King Street. When they moved to Summerville, he reopened on Main Street. Bertha remembers that her father struggled to make a living; they were a “very poor family,” one that included three brothers, Max, Morris, and Herman, all much older than Bertha. The family traveled to Charleston to attend holiday services at Brith Sholom, one of Charleston’s two Orthodox synagogues. Bertha recalls the traditional foods her mother made, their Jewish neighbors in Charleston and Summerville, and her experiences attending Summerville public schools. When she was eighteen she represented Summerville in Charleston’s 1935 Azalea Festival beauty contest and won. Bertha attended AZA and B’nai Brith dances and other social events in Charleston, and on one of her many visits to the city, she met her husband, George Breibart. Note: the transcript contains additions and corrections made by the interviewee during proofing.
Bertha Lazarus Breibart, audio interview by Dale Rosengarten and Michael Samuel Grossman, 15 April 1997, Mss. 1035-143, Special Collections, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Personal or Corporate Subject:
Beth Israel (Charleston, S.C.) Brith Sholom (Charleston, S.C.)
Dorchester County (S.C.) and Charleston County (S.C.)
Language:
English
Shelving Locator:
MSS 1035-143
Date Digital:
2012-05-04
Digitization Specifications:
Mp3 derivative audio created with Audacity software. Archival masters are wav files.
Internet Media Type:
audio/mpeg;application/pdf
Copyright Status Statement:
Digital resource copyright 2013, College of Charleston. All rights reserved. For more information contact Special Collections, Addlestone Library, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424.
