Throughout this season of Chosen For What?, we've explored how the Holocaust continues to shape the lives of survivors, their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. In this final episode, host Tommy Schnurmacher turns his attention to an essential question: Why do we continue to teach these stories, and why does Holocaust and genocide education matter more than ever?

The episode brings together educators, descendants of survivors, authors, and advocates who have dedicated themselves to preserving memory and sharing history with future generations. Neal Dalzell discusses how today's students engage with difficult conversations about prejudice, racism, genocide, and human behavior. Stacy Seltzer reflects on what it means to pass her family's legacy on to her own daughter, while Mollie Bowman speaks about the urgent need to preserve survivor stories as the number of living Holocaust survivors continues to decline.

You will also hear from Judith Wertheim and Willie Handler, both of whom have found powerful ways to keep family histories alive through education, public speaking, and writing. The episode concludes with an inspiring message from Dorothy Goldwin about the impact one person can have by sharing their story.

Chosen For What? is brought to you by the Foundation for Genocide Education, a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that every student understands the history and lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides. To learn more about their work, or to make a donation, please visit GenEd.org.

*Note: You will hear the terms 2G and 3G used frequently in this podcast. This refers to second-generation and third-generation descendants of Holocaust survivors.

Identity is shaped by many things: family, culture, memory, and sometimes by stories that were never fully told. In this episode of Chosen For What?, host Tommy Schnurmacher explores what it means to inherit the legacy of the Holocaust, even for generations who did not experience it firsthand.

Through conversations with descendants of survivors, the episode examines how family history can quietly influence values, identity, and the way people understand themselves and the world around them.

And that begins with Stephen and Judith Wertheim, a father daughter duo who speak to young people about their family's experience. The pair reflect on speaking together about Stephen's parents' Holocaust experiences and the responsibility of carrying those stories forward across generations.

Mollie Bowman shares memories of her grandmother and the lasting impact those relationships continue to have on her life today.

Shoshana Cenker discusses the values passed down through her family, including resilience, compassion, and responsibility, and how she now shares those lessons with her own children.

The episode also features Dorothy Goldwin, a second-generation Holocaust survivor who reflects on how survivors gradually began speaking publicly about their experiences after years focused on rebuilding their lives in new countries.

Chosen For What? is brought to you by the Foundation for Genocide Education, a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that every student understands the history and lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides. To learn more about their work, or to make a donation, please visit GenEd.org.

*Note: You will hear the terms 2G and 3G used frequently in this podcast. This refers to second-generation and third-generation descendants of Holocaust survivors.

Some stories are told openly. Others remain buried for decades. In this episode of Chosen For What?, host Tommy Schnurmacher explores the silence that often followed the Holocaust, and the lasting emotional impact that silence can have on survivors, their children, and even future generations.

Trauma therapist Brent Diaz explains how unresolved trauma can continue to shape families long after the original event, especially when painful experiences remain unspoken. The conversation examines how silence can affect identity, emotional regulation, relationships, and the ability to fully process grief and fear. The episode also explores an important question many descendants of survivors wrestle with: can trauma still be felt, even when the details were never shared?

The episode also features Cindy Silverman, a third-generation descendant of Holocaust survivors who only uncovered her grandparents' story years after they had already passed away. Cindy reflects on piecing together fragments of family history, learning about her grandparents' escape from Vienna, and what it was like to discover such a significant part of her identity later in life. Together, these conversations explore inherited trauma, family silence, Holocaust memory, and the emotional weight of stories left untold.

Chosen For What? is brought to you by the Foundation for Genocide Education, a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that every student understands the history and lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides. To learn more about their work, or to make a donation, please visit GenEd.org.

*Note: You will hear the terms 2G and 3G used frequently in this podcast. This refers to second-generation and third-generation descendants of Holocaust survivors.