Combatants and Protectors
12 Years That Shook the World
When the Germans invade the Soviet Union in 1941, three Jewish brothers prepare to fight back. Tuvia, Zus, and Asael Bielski hide in a dense forest, and form a group of resistance fighters. While surviving in the forbidding wilderness, they also rescue Jews, and try to hold on to a sense of community. Featuring historian Dr. J. Luke Ryder.
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Convinced
12 Years That Shook the World
All her life, Pauline Kneissler wanted to become a nurse. And in 1939, she is recruited by the Nazis to be a nurse in a secret killing operation. Will she be forced to murder? Or will she choose to become a killer? Featuring historian Dr. Patricia Heberer-Rice.
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Bad Conscience
12 Years That Shook the World
Hans Scholl, his sister Sophie, and his friends at the University of Munich secretly form a resistance group called “The White Rose.” They distribute messages condemning the Nazi regime, and speak out on behalf of Jews. Until one morning in 1943, they’re caught. Featuring Dr. Rebecca Dupas.
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Resister in a Nazi Uniform
12 Years That Shook the World
Kurt Gerstein, a Nazi SS officer, is asked to supply the chemical Zyklon B to the Auschwitz killing center in 1942. But once Gerstein sees that the chemical will be used to murder Jews in gas chambers— he makes an unexpected move. Featuring historian Dr. Jürgen Matthäus.
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Accidental Witness
12 Years That Shook the World
While visiting Vienna, Austria with her family in March 1938, American Helen Baker finds herself caught up in a pivotal moment. She watches as the Nazis move in and annex Austria. Then, she steps into the story, herself. Featuring historian Dr. Rebecca Erbelding.
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Season 1 Trailer
12 Years That Shook the World
12 Years That Shook the World explores stories of real people, the choices they made, and specific moments in Holocaust history from 1933-1945. From the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, this podcast is released in seasons, twice-yearly.
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Thousands of False Identities
12 Years That Shook the World
From an office in Geneva, Switzerland, two friends—a Jewish businessman and the Salvadoran colonel who rescued him—manufactured thousands of false citizenship documents that protected Jews in Nazi-controlled Europe. This is the story of the largest Holocaust rescue you’ve never heard of.
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Genocide, 1948
12 Years That Shook the World
At the time of the Holocaust, there was no legal definition for an atrocity on such an enormous scale. And there wouldn’t be one for seven more years—until the United Nations adopted the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. How has this document been applied in a post-Holocaust world?
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What a Secret Archive Taught the World
12 Years That Shook the World
Most of what we know about the Holocaust comes from Nazi perpetrator documents. One striking exception is the Ringelblum Archive: a massive collection of writings from Jews trapped in the Warsaw ghetto during the German occupation of Poland. Under the leadership of historian Emanuel Ringelblum, Jews secretly wrote and preserved their own history. Featuring Holocaust scholar Leah Wolfson, Senior Program Officer at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies.
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Welcome to 12 Years That Shook the World
12 Years That Shook the World
Holocaust history reminds us that the unimaginable is possible, and that individuals have far more power than they realize. Welcome to “12 Years That Shook the World,” a podcast from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, examining the impact of the Holocaust, both then and now. Join us in exploring this history, one story at a time. Check us out on social media @HolocaustMuseum, and look for the show wherever you get your podcasts.
info_outline12 Years That Shook the World explores stories of real people, the choices they made, and specific moments in Holocaust history from 1933-1945. From the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, this podcast is released in seasons, twice-yearly.