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[email protected] for further information about this collection YEHUDA MANDEL [1-1-1] THIS IS AN INTERVIEW WITH: YM - Cantor Yehuda Mandel [interviewee] NL - Nora Levin [interviewer] Interview Date - February 18, 1982, March 17, 1982, June 4, 1982 Tape one, side one: NL: Now, Cantor Mandel, would you be good enough to tell us a little about when and where you were born and a little about your family background? YM: Dr. Levin, I was born in a small town in Hungary called Csepe. NL: Can you spell that, please? YM: Yes, I will. C-S-E-P-E. Ugocsa Comidat. That's U-G-O-C-S-A Comidat. NL: That's the district? YM: The district. On March the 3rd, 1904. NL: So this was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. YM: This was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was in the part of Hungary which was the so-called "religious" Jewish part, where we spoke Yiddish and, eh, automatically we learned two, and some of us even three languages when we were small children. Yiddish was spoken inside as soon as we closed the door. From the inside we spoke Yiddish only. As soon as we were on the outside, the language was Hungarian and in some cases the Russian, Maloruski, the Ukrainian language. NL: May I ask, why Russian? What was the Russian influence there? YM: Because there, at that part of Hungary, were many, many Ukrainians who spoke Russian, and the pressure was so big, even 50 and 100 years ago, to tear away from mainly Austro-Hungary because they felt that they can't live as nationals.