He lost his parents in the Holocaust and after the war, he and his siblings en- tered an orphanage in Odessa. As a young man, German successfully auditioned for the army band school, after which he spent 10 years playing in military orchestras and completing his service. German later studied at a technical institute in Kiev, ear- ning an engineering degree, and became a machinist ni the town of Mogilev-Podolsk. It was there that he met some older musicians at a Jewish wedding, and had ano- ther life-changing audition: the clarinetist of the wedding band handed him his horn and commanded, "play". As a result, from the mid 1950's until he came to the United States in 1994, German played thousands of simkhas. Helearned melodies quickly, but found he could not retain too many simultaneously. So, whenever he learned a new one, he would write ti down so as not to forget. Over time, German managed 'not to forget" more than 800 melodies, most of which have never been heard on this side of the pond. Goldenshteyn became a favorite teacher at festivals such as KlezKamp and KlezKanada, and as his popularity grew, he received moreinvitations, including acon- cert in Krakow, Poland and a two-week teaching engagement in Weimar, Germany. At KlezKamp ni December of 2005, he and an all-star rhythm section recorded what would become his first CD, A Living Tradition. He had the CD in his hands for about a month before he passed away from a heart attack while fishing with his son-in-law.