Ep 663: Raised by Survivors with Bernie Furshpan and guests Miriam Will & Rina Berman on hmTv

Send us Fan MailRaised by Survivors | Ep. 663: How Holocaust Survivors Rebuilt Family in America | HMTCFor Holocaust survivors rebuilding their lives after the war, close friends often became family. They celebrated holidays together, raised their children together, helped one another through hardship, and created a community connected by shared history and an unspoken understanding.In Episode 663 of Raised by Survivors, host Bernie Furshpan reunites with longtime family friends Miriam Will and Rina Berman for a deeply personal journey through photographs, memories, Jewish traditions, and the enduring friendships formed by their families in Israel and New York.Miriam and Rina share warm memories of Bernie’s parents, Moshe and Zenia Zahava Furshpan. Rina remembers arriving in America as a young wife and mother and finding a maternal figure in Zenia, who helped her care for her first child. Miriam recalls Zenia’s remarkable devotion to her family, including washing her twins’ diapers before sunrise and carefully dividing a watermelon into two perfectly equal portions.Their stories reveal how survivor families created extended communities of support. They gathered for holidays, attended one another’s weddings and bar mitzvahs, traveled together, helped with household projects, and filled their basements with parties, laughter, and the friendships that made rebuilding possible.Bernie reflects on his father’s childhood survival in the forest, his lifelong need to protect his family, and the extraordinary kindness he retained despite losing nearly everyone he loved. He also remembers the profound devotion between his parents and how his father cared for his mother through years of illness.The conversation eventually reaches further into the past. Miriam recounts how her mother fled Warsaw against her father’s wishes, carrying food hidden inside a schoolbook, and later met Miriam’s father aboard a train escaping toward Russia. Rina describes how her father-in-law recognized the danger in Lomazy and led his family away before their neighbors or the Nazis could murder them.Through humor, grief, affection, and remarkable family history, this episode demonstrates that Holocaust testimony is not limited to what was lost. It also lives in the families survivors created, the friendships they sustained, the traditions they preserved, and the stories their children now carry forward.Raised by Survivors on hmTv | Host: Bernie Furshpan | Guests: Miriam Will and Rina BermanExecutive Producer and Director: Bernie FurshpanA production of the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County🌐 hmtcli.org🎙 buzzsprout.com/2449781▶️ youtube.com/@hmTv-hmtc─── CHAPTERS ───0:00 Opening0:18 Welcome and guest introductions1:46 Miriam’s journey from Poland to Israel and America2:45 Remembering Marcel Will and family life in Queens3:57 Jewish identity and the fear of wearing a Magen David5:24 Rina, Tzvika, and arriving in America6:20 Zenia Furshpan’s devotion as a mother7:00 Food, trauma, and caring for Moshe7:46 The extraordinary love between Bernie’s parents8:10 How Moshe’s survival shaped family life9:11 Family photographs awaken old memories10:34 Why survivor families gathered together11:49 Bar mitzvah candles and honoring loved ones13:11 Remembering relatives murdered in the Holocaust14:56 Jewish traditions and accepting responsibility16:55 Passing identity and memory to the next generation17:58 Antisemitic myths and the return of old hatred20:31 Family trips, holidays, and raising children together22:41 A documentary creates an unexpected reunion23:51 Hotel ashtrays, smoking, and humorous memories24:48 Classic cars and working together in New York26:00 The Puck Building and a powerful family connection26:58 A community where everyone helped one another28:42 Diapers, watermelon, and “the equalizer”30:32 Zenia’s lifelong consideration for others32:26 Joanne and the continuing presence of Bernie’s mother33:35 Childhood memories of Yazur and Bat Yam36:13 The matchmaker who introduced Bernie’s parents37:44 Moshe’s illness and life after losing Zenia39:03 Survival decisions and escaping by train39:52 Rina’s family flees Lomazy40:42 Miriam’s mother escapes Warsaw41:51 A shared legacy for descendants of survivors42:45 Jewish survival, homeland, and hope44:24 hmTv outro──────────────────#RaisedBySurvivors #MiriamWill #RinaBerman #BernieFurshpan #HolocaustSurvivors #SecondGeneration #JewishFamily #InheritedMemory #JewishTraditions #SurvivorStories #HolocaustLegacy #HMTCSupport the show