The Holocaust History Podcast

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Many historians have sought to tell the story of the Catholic Church and its behavior during the Holocaust and explain its responses.  They have approached it from a variety of perspectives from high-level political histories to low-level studies of rescuers.
On this episode, I talk with Aliza Luft about her in-depth study of the French Catholic Church and its interactions with the Jewish community.  It a really interesting converations about the limits of human morality and personal courage but also about the complexities of history.

Luft, Aliza.  Sacred Betrayal: How the French Catholic Church Broke Its Pledge to Protect Jews During the Holocaust (2026)
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Email the podcast at holocausthistorypod@gmail.com

The Holocaust History Podcast homepage is here

You can find a complete reading list with books by our guests and also their suggestions here.

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We often hear on this podcast about how historians have sought to recover the past but what is it like trying to do this when you are not a professional? In this episode, I talked with Julie Brill about her personal and family journey toward uncovering her father's Holocaust history in Yugoslavia. 
We talk about memory, the journey of researching family history, and what it means to be a 2nd generation survivor.

Julie Brill is an author and doula.
Brill, Julie.  Hidden in Plain Sight: A Family Memoir and the Untold Story of the Holocaust in Serbia (2025)

Follow on Twitter @holocaustpod.
Email the podcast at holocausthistorypod@gmail.com

The Holocaust History Podcast homepage is here

You can find a complete reading list with books by our guests and also their suggestions here.

Send us Fan Mail
In Holocaust history much like history in general, women's voices and experiences have often been overlooked or ignored.  In this episode, I talk with an author who has focused on bringing those experiences to light.
We talk about the actions of a number of young Jewish women in the Warsaw Ghetto resistance, both during the uprising itself but also before.  From traveling in disguise across occupied Poland to smuggling weapons to leading fighting groups. Elizabeth Hyman documents their remarkable contributions to resisting the Nazis.

Elizabeth Hyman is a writer, historian, and archivist.

Hyman, Elizabeth. The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto: The True Story of Five Courageous Young Women Who Sparked an Uprising (2025)
Follow on Twitter @holocaustpod.
Email the podcast at holocausthistorypod@gmail.com

The Holocaust History Podcast homepage is here

You can find a complete reading list with books by our guests and also their suggestions here.

Send us Fan Mail
HAve you encountered material on the Holocaust that you find disturbing or upsetting?  Was it in your reading or at a Holocaust site or museum?  In this episode, I talk with Julie Golding about the challenges of presenting such material in Holocaust education and at Holocaust museums.
How shoudl museums address the emotional wellbeing of their visitors?  What kinds of content is appropriate (and how do you decide?). We talk about these and many other issues in our conversation.

Julie J. Golding is a Holocaust educator, museum professional, and Assistant Professor and Deputy Chair of the Master's in Holocaust Education at Touro University.
Golding, Julie J. Unseen Scars:: Vicarious Trauma at Holocaust Museums, Exhibitions, and Memorial Sites (2026)
Follow on Twitter @holocaustpod.
Email the podcast at holocausthistorypod@gmail.com

The Holocaust History Podcast homepage is here

You can find a complete reading list with books by our guests and also their suggestions here.

Send us Fan Mail
Even as the Holocaust was ongoing, some Jews dreamed of and sought revenge for Nazi attacks on them.  Ironically, the Nazis themselves believed in a particularly antisemitic myth of Jewish vengeance and many Germans after the war feared widespread retaliation by Holocaust survivors.  Indeed, there were some attempts to carry out revenge attacks on Nazis after the war.
In this episode, I talked with Laura Jockusch about what revenge meant in all these contexts and more, including in the popular imagination with media like Inglourious Basterds and The Hunters.  

Laura Jockusch is the Albert Abramson Associate Professor of Holocaust Studies at Brandeis University.

Jockusch, Laura. Jewish Revenge and the Holocaust: History, Memory, and Imagination (2026)
Follow on Twitter @holocaustpod.
Email the podcast at holocausthistorypod@gmail.com

The Holocaust History Podcast homepage is here

You can find a complete reading list with books by our guests and also their suggestions here.