Documentary Film – Jews of the Wild West

Jews of the Wild West is a feature length documentary about resilience and identity in an unexpected place – the American West. The film tells a positive immigration story and highlights the dynamic contributions Jewish Americans made to shaping the Western United States.

Western Jewish pioneers, those of the silver screen and real life, are a largely forgotten chapter in US History. And yet, they played a definitive role shaping the expansion of the United States. There were nationally known names such as Levi Strauss, Samsonite founder Jesse Shwayder and the Guggenheim family, who built their great success through grit and determination in California and Colorado. A young Golda Meir spent formative years in Denver. Wyatt Earp’s wife, Josephine Marcus Earp, was a Jewish actress whose beauty is rumored to have triggered the fight at the OK Corral. And by the end of the 19th Century nearly every notorious Wild West town had a Jewish mayor.

The wagon trains that moved westward with Jewish families traveled for the same reason as many settlers: opportunity. Continuous cycles of anti-Jewish oppression, deadly violence and forced poverty in Europe pushed over two million Jewish refugees to seek out a better life in America. The antisemitism and tenements found in New York City, however, did not offer the respite many were seeking. By 1912, it is estimated over 100,000 Jewish immigrants had moved to the Wild West. They put down roots and, today, they epitomize the important legacy of immigration in America.

This film was named Readers’ Choice Best Western Documentary by True West Magazine.

Not rated. 1 hour 20 minutes

Program Info:

Sunday, November 16
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
FREE for Museum Members (Members, log-in first to reserve tickets)
FREE with Museum Admission
$10 for just the program