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Ester Rachel Kamińska

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Ester-Rokhl Kaminska

Ester Rachel Kamińska (Yiddish: אסתּר־רחל קאַמינסקאַ); née Ester-Rokhl Halpern (Porozów, 10 March 1870 – Warsaw, 25 December 1925) was a Polish Jewish actress, known as the mother of Yiddish theatre.[1] She won fame as the star of a series of Yiddish theater companies managed by her husband, Avrom Yitshok Kamiński (Abraham Isaac Kamiński), touring in the cities and small towns of the Russian Empire from approximately 1893 to 1905. In Warsaw, in 1907 they together founded the Literary Troupe (Literarishe trupe), the first Yiddish theater company to dedicate itself to a 'literary' or 'artistic' repertoire.[2]

She was the mother of Ida Kamińska (1899–1980), the well known stage and film actress, who cofounded the Warsaw Yiddish Art Theater in the 1920s, and, in 1946, following the Second World War, played in reestablished Yiddish theaters in Poland.[2] Today, the Jewish Theatre, Warsaw is named after the two actresses.[3]

The grave of Ester Rachel Kamińska in Warsaw

References

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  1. ^ Sheila Segal. Women of Valor: Stories of Great Jewish Women Who Helped Shape the ... 1996 - Page 54 "Ida's mother, the legendary Esther Rachel Kaminska, was its shining star, enthralling audiences wherever the troupe ... After her father's death, in 1918, and her mother's death, in 1925, Ida took over the company and starred in most of its "
  2. ^ a b Steinlauf, Michael C. (17 August 2010). "Kaminski family", YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  3. ^ Payson R. Stevens, Sol Steinmetz Meshuggenary: Celebrating the World of Yiddish 2002 - Page 204 "Star of the Yiddish Theater Ida Kaminska (1899-1980) descended from an illustrious family of Yiddish actors. The daughter of Abraham Isaac Kaminski and Esther Rachel Kaminska, pioneers of the Yiddish theater In Eastern Europe, Ida ..."
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