Episode 4: "Bearing Witness" with Ed Kruszynski and Patrice O'Neill

Jackie and Kevin start this conversation by remembering the life of a Cincinnati Holocaust survivor, Dr. Renate Neeman, z”l. As a young girl, she was hidden by the Dutch resistance - upstanders whom she credited with her survival. She shared her story for many years with students and others as part of our Coppel Speakers Bureau.  

Jackie and Kevin discussed a recent Wall Street Journal article, “Holocaust Museums at a crossroads” and the challenges facing organizations like the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center. 

We also introduce Cincinnati author, Ed Kruszynski. Ed's father, Sgt. Edmund Kruszynski, led dozens of medics on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and for days afterwards, and later treated people at multiple concentration camps after liberation. Ed discovered documents that told his parents’ story, and began writing about them. The result is his book, The Medic’s Wife. Jackie and Kevin shared their reaction to Ed’s work bearing witness to all his parents went through during and after the war. 

The upstander featured in this episode is Patrice O’Neill. Her film, Repairing the World: Stories from the Tree of Life tells the story of the community response to the deadly attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2018. 11 people were murdered by a gunman motivated by antisemitic hate, and the area was left reeling, but as Patrice’s moving film shows, vowed not to let hate have the last word. 

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Episode Resources:  

Learn more about the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/  

We remember the life of Dr. Renate Neeman, z”l https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/remembering-dr-renate-berg-neeman-zl/  

Book a speaker through our Coppel Speakers Bureau
https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/programs-and-events/book-a-speaker-coppel-speakers-bureau/  

HHC staff members' trip to Auschwitz
https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/press-releases/hhc-staff-members-to-attend-international-summer-academy-on-auschwitz-and-the-holocaust/  

Catch the full episode of Hear My Story with Ed Kruszynski https://youtu.be/e6SZrhgFwPU?si=czfId5NPIoE_UHn0 

Buy your copy of The Medic’s Wife https://www.amazon.com/Medics-Wife-Love-War-Secrets/dp/B0CHG8T2WG

Watch Hear My Story: Patrice O'Neill https://youtu.be/nEoDIynHYAo?si=NnDURpido5yFv1b3

This episode is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling https://www.youtube.com/@holocaustandhumanity  

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