The Holocaust Educational Trust is launching a powerful new podcast series exploring Holocaust history through personal objects — starting with a deeply moving episode featuring BBC journalist Nick Robinson.
In the first episode of Objects of the Holocaust, available from Tuesday 8 April, Robinson reflects on a handwritten letter received by his grandfather, Dr Bernard Rosenberg, a Jewish GP in 1930s Berlin. It came from a long-time patient, who explained that — although he still wanted Robinson’s grandfather to be his doctor — he could no longer be seen entering the practice because it displayed a Jewish name.
“I remember reading that letter for the first time and thinking, ‘Oh my God, that’s it,” Robinson says in the episode. “For me, it suddenly shone a light on everything. I thought, I’ve got it. It’s in that letter.”
Presented by Professor Tim Cole and actress Louisa Clein, Objects of the Holocaust tells the story of the Shoah through individual artefacts — from a repurposed sardine can to a wedding dress made from parachute silk. Each object unlocks a personal account of persecution, survival or memory, told by public figures, descendants, or survivors themselves.
Louisa Clein and Tim Cole
Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said:
“This podcast is a powerful way to connect audiences with the history of the Holocaust in a deeply personal way. The stories we hear in this series are fascinating stories of survival. Behind every object is a person, a family, a story.
“We are very proud to launch Objects of the Holocaust and hope it will reach new audiences and encourage them to consider the lessons of the Holocaust and the nature of the antisemitism that led to the murder of six million Jewish men, women and children by the Nazis.”
Louisa Clein, co-host and daughter of a Holocaust survivor, added:
“As a daughter of a Holocaust survivor, I feel so passionate about telling these stories, listening to these voices, and remembering everyone who is no longer able to speak for themselves.
“Our new podcast, Objects of the Holocaust, is a portal to the past and will enable the true, personal stories of the Holocaust to reach new audiences. It now falls to all of us, the next generation, to ensure that these objects and the important stories they represent are never forgotten. It has been a privilege to listen to everyone speak, and I am constantly in awe of the generosity of our guests sharing their family stories.”
In the first episode, Robinson recounts how his grandparents, Bernard and Susan Rosenberg, were secular German Jews living in Berlin when the Nazis rose to power. The letter they received — quietly severing a trusted relationship because of antisemitism — was never spoken of but was carefully preserved and found after their deaths.
“It mattered enough that he kept it. It mattered enough that my grandmother kept it after he died. It mattered enough that it was in the box of her possessions after she died — and that I found it,” Robinson says. “The deal this man wanted was: ‘You look after me. I won’t look after you.’”
The episode follows the Rosenbergs’ escape from Germany to Italy and then to Shanghai, where they rebuilt their lives in exile. The series continues with six more episodes featuring new guests and artefacts, including:
Nick Robinson. Photo Credit: BBC
Bernice Kennet and Josh Kennet on Gena Turgel’s parachute silk wedding dress (15 April)
Ariana Neumann on a makeshift tin ring (22 April)
Eva Clarke BEM on her birth certificate, issued in Mauthausen concentration camp (29 April)
Judy Russell on a Shabbat candle made from a sardine tin (6 May)
Mike Attenborough CBE on his family’s cabaret reunion brochure (13 May)
Ilana Metzger on her father’s resistance medal (20 May)
