Life and struggle in the Jewish East End: Stories and songs for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street
75 years ago, in October 1936, Sir Oswald Mosley planned to march 3,000 uniformed and jack-booted fascists through the heart of the Jewish East End. The people of the East End, Jewish and non-Jewish made plans to stop him. But who were the Jews of the East End and what were their daily lives like? What songs were being sung in the theatres and on the streets that reflected and engaged with the area where they lived and the markets, factories and sweatshops where they worked. And what happened on that day in October 1936? Vivi Lachs and David Rosenberg answer these questions through songs, stories, images and reminiscences of the East End Jews.
Vivi Lachs is a teacher, singer and researcher of East End Yiddish songs 1880-1950. Her CD with Klezmer Klub, Whitechapel, mayn Vaytshepl, has been widely acclaimed. She is about to start a PhD exploring how the songs reflect East End history and contribute to debates of the time. (www.klezmerklub.co.uk)
David Rosenberg is a writer, editor, teacher and historian of the East End. He is the author of a forthcoming book (October 2011), "Battle for the East End: Jewish responses to fascism in the 1930s", and also leads guided historical walks (www.eastendwalks.com).