The history of the history

In the spring of 2015, NCJW produced a film featuring an interview with Esther Vexler to commemorate the inaugural award to be given in her name.  Esther’s film was about the array of NCJW programs in which she was involved – many of which she founded.   At the premiere, the audience was struck by the sheer volume of all she had accomplished and the impact she had not only on the Jewish community, bur on San Antonio as a whole.  As many of you know, we lost Esther two years ago and are so grateful for what we were able to record and now able to share with future generations.

Esther’s film inspired us.  We started thinking, here is one person within the community and look at all she has done.  How many Esthers are there and what could we learn about how these people have shaped San Antonio over the last 8-10 decades.  So, we started interviewing – mainly people in their 80s and 90s and even a centenarian.  What we have learned is fascinating – and their stories share a similar arc.  Typically first generation Americans, many came here with absolutely nothing, and were heavily influenced by the cataclysmic events that roiled the world between two World Wars, the Great Depression, the 67 war, just to name a few.  Within this backdrop, these people managed to build a strong Jewish community and turn their efforts outward toward the greater San Antonio community.  The result of these interviews is Impact: The San Antonio Jewish Oral History Project. Please join us to see how this extraordinary group of people shaped our values, our institutions, and our city.

About the video team:

Susan Butler, Rhonda Grimm, and Alan Petlin embarked on this project in the fall of 2017.  It has been a great privilege to interview the honorees and to examine their profound impact on the city of San Antonio. 

Honorees

The following individuals have generously given their time to allow us to interview them and document their lives in San Antonio as they helped to build the community we all so enjoy and love.  Many thanks for their kindness and inspiration.

Alternatively, if you would like to simply donate to this project, click the button below.  And thank you!

As always, NCJW San Antonio is profoundly grateful for the tremendous support it has received from the community for this important, ambitious endeavor.  Our many thanks to the following founding sponsors who have helped support this project: