In the face of darkness, every small act of courage and empathy can ignite a beacon of hope. That lens of dark versus light is how we’re examining stories in this episode.
“As I’m sitting there having this conversation with her, it’s just chilling to think this person in front of me had this experience. This was not generations ago. I’m talking to the human being who spent the first two years of her life in darkness, or the first chunk of her life, right? It’s just remarkable.” — Jackie on her conversation with Holocaust survivor Zahava Rendler, who was hidden in a bunker as a baby with her parents.
Zahava Rendler has spent her adult life sharing her experience of the darkness of her childhood – being born in 1941 in Poland to a Jewish family. Her family was forced to make incredibly hard decisions to survive Nazi persecution. Even through that darkness, Zahava is able to see the light that upstanders brought to her story, hiding her and her family. We share a part of Zahava’s story in this episode, and we know you’ll want to hear more. Find her full episode of Hear My Story below.
Jackie and Kevin also share the way light has shown up in their lives and in the news lately, and are here to remind you that whatever light you have to bring to the table is needed because we all have times when darkness seems like it’s going to win. As Kevin reminds us in this episode, “that’s what being an upstander means. It means letting your light shine.”
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This episode is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling. Subscribe here to make sure you don’t miss a thing https://www.youtube.com/@holocaustandhumanity
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Episode Resources
Admission to the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center will be free every January! Watch this to find out about the gift that’s making that possible https://youtu.be/GGITEqa7C9s?si=p2OEVKW9sEZgNG9r
Read John Trautmann’s op-ed about his experience in Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene https://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/contributors/2024/10/21/opinion-how-my-family-survived-the-nightmare-of-hurricane-helene/75597735007/
Experience Rutka at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
https://www.cincyplay.com/productions/RUTKA
General John Kelly’s words about Donald Trump and Hitler in the news
Read historical context of the generals in the Nazi regime
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-armed-forces-high-command
Historical information about fascism
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/fascism-1
Historians are wrestling with whether Donald Trump meets the definition of a fascist. Read more here https://theconversation.com/is-donald-trump-a-fascist-heres-what-an-expert-thinks-242243
Check out more of Eric K. Ward’s work at Race Forward https://www.raceforward.org/
Read more about Dr. Sarah Crane, our Scholar in Residence, and other important work we’re doing in the education space https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/stories-that-shape-us-educational-updates/
Find out more about BLINK Cincinnati
https://www.blinkcincinnati.com
Watch Zahava Rendler’s story
https://youtu.be/RXpvx-3ash0?si=Vq-Ayrs5m8qgcTyT
