Originally published on May 30, 2023 (Episode 318)
Introduction
East of Philadelphia and west of Atlantic City lies Vineland, New Jersey—long a hub for Jewish agricultural settlement. Since the late 19th century, Jewish immigrants had built farms there, alongside schools, synagogues, and cultural institutions that reflected Alexis de Tocqueville’s vision of what American civic life ought to be, but all too often is not.
After the Second World War, thousands of Holocaust survivors joined this tradition, choosing farm life in South Jersey over crowded American cities. Among them were the grandparents of journalist Seth Stern. In his book Speaking Yiddish to Chickens: Holocaust Survivors on South Jersey Poultry Farms (Rutgers, 2023), Stern tells not just their story but that of an entire community. Some families failed quickly, defeated by the difficulty of farming. Others looked back on those years as the hardest of their lives. Still others, even those who later left farming, remembered them as their happiest years in America.
About the Guest
Seth Stern is a legal journalist and editor at Bloomberg Industry Group. He previously reported for Bloomberg News, Congressional Quarterly, and the Christian Science Monitor. Speaking Yiddish to Chickens is his second book.
For Further Investigation
Seth Stern, Speaking Yiddish to Chickens: Holocaust Survivors on South Jersey Poultry Farms (Rutgers, 2023)
“Jewish Farming in the Garden State” – a survey of Jewish farming communities in New Jersey
Alliance Heritage Center: resources on Jewish settlements in South Jersey
Obituary of Miles Lerman (1920–2008), from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
💬 Listen & Discuss
What does the story of Jewish farmers in South Jersey tell us about resilience, adaptation, and community-building after catastrophe? Was farming a way of healing—or simply survival? Share your thoughts in the comments, and pass this episode along to anyone interested in immigrant and Holocaust history.
