The Secret Language of Cattle Dealers: German-Jewish Roots with Ken and Hannelore Krug

<p>Hannelore Krug, a German-Jewish immigrant, and her son Ken, a genealogy enthusiast, discuss their family&#39;s roots in Hesse-Nassau, Germany. They detail the family&#39;s history as cattle dealers, noting a unique professional German-based jargon that incorporated many Hebrew words, including for numbers. Hannelore describes immigrating to New York in 1937 and her rapid linguistic assimilation, while Ken recalls German becoming a secret language used by his elders. Through preserving heritage words like schneckchen and traditional recipes like bienenstich, Ken pieces together their ancestral puzzle. He concludes by highlighting his extensive genealogical research and successful efforts to reclaim their family&#39;s German citizenship.</p><p>Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect.</p><p>Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor</p><p>Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut</p><p>Editor: Avishay Artsy</p><p>Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg</p><p>Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.</p>