Gladys Lavitan [1], 1990 April 22

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Identifier: JC_LA0006

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Gladys Lavitan oral history interview 1, 1990 April 22

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Scope and Contents

A longtime resident of Charlotte, North Carolina, Gladys Lavitan discusses the Jewish experience in the 1930s and 1940s as well as changes to the Charlotte Jewish community during and after World War II. She describes the challenges that life in Charlotte presented for Jewish men and women, including the lack of continuity in the transient Jewish population and the resulting lack of lay and rabbinical leadership. She recalls a network of organizations stretching across the Carolinas that provided Jews with social and religious outlets. Ms. Latvian also discusses personal brushes with antisemitism in Charlotte and reminisces about her early religious education.

Dates

Creation: 1990 April 22

Conditions Governing Access

11 of the 13 interviews that comprise the Charlotte Jewish Historical Society oral history interviews have been digitized and are available in the digital repository. Original audiovisual materials are closed to patron use.

Biographical Note

Gladys Lavitan was 74-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Augusta, Georgia in 1916. She graduated from Central High School of Charlotte, studied theater in New York and was employed as an actress in Charlotte and at the Olney Theater near Washington, D.C. She also taught Hebrew at Temple Beth El of Charlotte and hosted radio and television talk shows.