Jewish St. Louisans have played a significant role in our region’s development—their names graced department stores, buildings, and landmarks. In 2008, NinePBS created a documentary entitled, “St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans” which traces the more than 200-year history of Jewish Americans in St. Louis.
An updated version of the documentary is being reshown on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 10 p.m.
“For this broadcast, we added the opening of the expanded Holocaust Museum towards the end of the program,” said NinePBS Executive Producer Jim Kirchherr.
St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans
The original 2008 documentary was produced to complement David Grubin’s national PBS doc series “The Jewish Americans.”
This landmark series featured Jewish Americans who have made significant contributions to American life – from Louis D. Brandeis and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Henry Morgenthau, Hank Greenberg, Betty Friedan, Molly Goldberg, Carl Reiner, Sid Caesar, and Tony Kushner. But it was also about Jewish American tailors and shopkeepers, soldiers and bankers, peddlers and merchants, labor organizers and civil rights activists, all of whom also helped shape the American landscape.
The project was narrated by Liev Schreiber.
In 2008, NinePBS created an advisory board made up of members of the St. Louis Jewish community for guidance and input.
“We used Walter Ehrlich’s two-volume history “Zion in the Valley” as a historical guide,” remembered Kirchherr.
The St. Louis Jewish Light helps out
In the March 25 edition of the St. Louis Jewish Light, the newspaper helped in creating that advisory board by publishing a story titled “KETC seeks Jewish community’s stories.”
We asked:
“When did your family first arrive in St. Louis? What was the most memorable bar mitzvah you’ve ever attended? Where’s the best place to find your favorite Jewish foods? Who was your favorite rabbi? What is the best advice a Jewish mother ever gave you?
“KETC/Channel 9 hopes simple questions like those will prompt the memories of St. Louis’ Jewish community and inspire individuals to write and share their stories about the Jewish experience in this area.
“The station is seeking personal memories for St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans, a community engagement initiative designed to collect and preserve the history of Jews in St. Louis.
How to watch
The updated version of St. Louis Stories: The Jewish Americans will be broadcast Jan. 17th at 10 p.m. but can also be streamed on the PBS Video App or online.
