Learn about the history of Yiddish Detroit in the places where it happened! From Belle Isle to the suburbs, we’ll cover a century of Yiddish education, politics, literature, and culture—all intertwined with the urban, labor, and social histories of the Motor City from 1900 to the present day.

SEE:
…a statue which inspired decades of Yiddish cultural activism…
…the last remaining block of the street once home to Detroit’s Yiddish quarter…
…the still-standing buildings where students learned to read and write Yiddish literature…
…and more!

Tour guide bio: Nadav Pais-Greenapple is an award-winning public historian, literary translator, writer, and educator born and raised in Southfield, Michigan. He earned a BA in History and Judaic Studies from Wayne State University and was recently a 2025 YIVO Centennial Scholar. His research, published in Michigan Jewish History, In geveb, and forthcoming in American Jewish History, focuses on Yiddish life and culture in the industrial Midwest in the early 20th century. His particular interest is in Detroit’s role as a central node in a larger regional, international network of Yiddish cultural production and activism. His most recent publication for "In geveb, 'In Ford’s Factory,'" is a translation of Yiddish writer Joseph Opatoshu’s 1929 report on working conditions in Ford’s River Rouge factory complex.