Click PDF link for full bibliography or see annotated bibliography below.

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Ahuvia, Mika. 2020. “Judaism, Jewish History, and Anti-Jewish Prejudice: An Overview.” Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, University of Washington, https://jewishstudies.washington.edu/who-are-jews-jewish-history-origins-antisemitism/. Accessed 30 March 2023. 

Professor Mika Ahuvia provides an extremely helpful overview of Judaism, both in video form and as a written article. She gives an important overview of the origins of Jewish faith and tradition, examining the narrative of the Torah and the political world of ancient Israel up through the Roman Empire. The article also explains the ways in which Judaism is simultaneously an ethnicity, a religion, and a culture, and examines the core beliefs of Judaism. It is also helpful in identifying some of the misconceptions and stereotypes that led to prejudice and violence. 

 

Aleichem, Sholem. Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories. Translated by Hillel Halkin. New York: Schocken Books Inc., 1987. 

The short stories of Sholem Aleichem are the foundational text and source for Fiddler on the Roof. Aleichem himself has become a touchstone for Jewish identity, capturing much of the lost world of the shtetl through his writings. His eight Tevye stories describe, with witty humor and heartbreaking poignancy, both the traditional culture of the shtetl and its eventual collapse. While I do recommend reading all of the eight Tevye short stories, the ones most specifically connected to Fiddler on the Roof are “Today’s Children”*, “Hodl”, “Chava”, and “Lekh-Lekho”. 

 

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. “Following in the Footsteps of Tsar Nicholas II: Putin’s Use of Violent Extremism as a Political Weapon.”  April 27, 2022. U.S. Helsinki Commission. https://www.csce.gov/international-impact/following-footsteps-tsar-nicholas-ii?page=44. 

This is a disturbing and enlightening look at connections between the political climate of Fiddler on the Roof and the modern day political environment of Russia under Vladimir Putin. The article examines how Tsar Nicholas II used violent extremist groups as a political weapon, and compares it to how Putin allows the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), which the U.S. State Department has designated to be a terrorist organization, free rein in Russia. RIM’s disdain for the Ukranian people is also compared to the antisemitism of the Union of the Russian People and the Black Hundreds. 

 

Halkin, Hillel. Introduction to Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories, by Sholem Aleichem, viii - xli. New York: Schocken Books Inc., 1987. 

Hillel Halkin charts the life of Sholem Aleichem and his influence on culture, particularly Jewish culture. Halkin provides a helpful context of the historical events and cultural shifts that impacted Aleichem and his stories. He also explains Yiddish colloquialisms and some of what might be lost in translation, and provides an in-depth character analysis of Tevye.  

 

Kassow, Samuel. 2010. “Shtetl.” YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Shtetl (accessed March 21, 2023). Accessed 21 Mar. 2023. 

Kassow examines the historical and cultural significance of both the reality of shtetl life and the creation of the “imagined shtetl” as a way of processing the massacre and destruction of the Jewish people post-WWII. Using clear and understandable language, Kassow breaks down the social hierarchy of shtetls, the political climate surrounding shtetls, and the way in which shtetls became idealized and romanticized. The article provides an excellent foundation for understanding Anatevka as an “imagined shtetl.” 

 

Lambroza, Shlomo. 1987. “The Tsarist Government and the Pogroms of 1903-1906.” Modern Judaism, Vol. 7, No. 3, Oct. 1987, pp. 287-296. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1396423 

Lambroza provides a concise and clear explanation of the political systems of Russia and the ways in which they allowed for the occurrence of pogroms. He goes into a brief history of the 1881 assassination of Tsar Alexander II and the resulting pogroms before more specifically examining Tsar Nicholas II and his government in the early 1900s. Lambroza’s article provides crucial context for understanding the political background of pogroms, as not much is given in Fiddler on the Roof.  

 

Lewkowicz, Max, director. 2019. Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles. Roadside Attractions.  

This masterful documentary explains the creation of Fiddler on the Roof and its monumental cultural significance, both to the specific Jewish community and to a universal audience. It includes rarely-seen footage of different Broadway casts, and dozens of interviews. It includes interviews with the three creators of the show (Bock, Stein, and Harnick), several actors who have played Tevye (Chaim Topol, Danny Burstein, and Steven Skybell), two members of the original cast (Austin Pendleton and Joanna Merlin), and several directors and producers of various productions (Harold Prince, Norman Jewison, Bartlett Sher 

 

Solomon, Alisa, Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof, (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2013), page 219 – 230. 

Alisa Solomon’s book delves more deeply into the history of Fiddler on the Roof than any other source. She charts Fiddler’s journey from Sholem Aleichem’s short stories, to its varying dramatic iterations, to its development as a Broadway show, to its expansion as a global phenomenon, to its legacy. Meticulously researched and smoothly written, the book contains fascinating history and analysis. While I recommend reading the full book, pages 219-230 specifically describe Fiddler’s reception after its original premiere and how it exploded into the cultural zeitgeist.