Objects of the Holocaust – Details, episodes & analysis

Coming 8th April: Objects of the Holocaust explores personal testimonies across generations through single objects, uncovering lesser-known histories of the Holocaust and telling incredible stories of family, loss, and survival. Hosted by Professor Tim Cole from the University of Bristol and actress and member of the second generation Louisa Clein, the series features a new guest each week who joins to offer a deeply human perspective on one of history’s darkest chapters.  

Objects of the Holocaust is brought to you by the Holocaust Educational Trust, a charity that works across the UK to ensure that the horrors of the past are never forgotten. Find out more and support them at www.het.org.uk.

In this episode, journalist and broadcaster Nick Robinson talks about his grandparents’ experiences in 1930s Germany as the Nazis rose to power and of their eventual decision to leave Germany.

Objects of the Holocaust is brought to you by the Holocaust Educational Trust, a charity that works to ensure that people from every background are educated about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today. 

Find us on X, Instagram, Linkedin and TikTok.

Presenters: Professor Tim Cole, Louisa Clein

Producer: Sarah Peters, Tuning Fork Productions https://tuningforkproductions.com/

Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews www.moving-air.com

Composer: Iain Chambers https://www.iainchambers.com/

This episode features Bernice and Josh Kennet, the daughter and grandson of Holocaust survivor Gena Turgel MBE. On the 15th April 1945 Gena was liberated by British troops from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Two days after liberation, Gena met Norman Turgel - a sergeant in the British Army who arrested Josef Kramer, Commandant of Belsen. On 7th October 1945, they were married, and Gena became known as the ‘Bride of Belsen’. In this episode, we focus on Gena’s wedding dress which was made out of silk from a British Army parachute.

Objects of the Holocaust is brought to you by the Holocaust Educational Trust, a charity that works to ensure that people from every background are educated about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today. 

Find us on X, Instagram, Linkedin and TikTok.

Presenters: Professor Tim Cole, Louisa Clein

Producer: Sarah Peters, Tuning Fork Productions https://tuningforkproductions.com/

Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews www.moving-air.com

Composer: Iain Chambers https://www.iainchambers.com/

This episode centres on Holocaust survivor Eva Clarke BEM’s birth certificate. Eva was born in Mauthausen concentration camp on 29 April 1945. Her mother Anka was imprisoned in Auschwitz–Birkenau from 1 - 10 October 1944, after she volunteered to follow her husband who had been deported there from Terezin. 15 members of Eva’s immediate family were murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau but Anka survived against all odds. 

Objects of the Holocaust is brought to you by the Holocaust Educational Trust, a charity that works to ensure that people from every background are educated about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today. 

This episode aired on 29th April 2025 on Eva's 80th birthday. 

Find us on X, Instagram, Linkedin and TikTok.

Presenters: Professor Tim Cole, Louisa Clein

Producer: Sarah Peters, Tuning Fork Productions https://tuningforkproductions.com/

Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews www.moving-air.com

Composer: Iain Chambers https://www.iainchambers.com/

This episode features best-selling author Ariana Neumann. Growing up in 1970s Venezuela, Ariana knew very little of her father's past. It wasn't until his death in 2001 and receiving a box of wartime documents, that she began to put the pieces of history together. This process of discovery led her to her Jewish relatives in 1930s Prague, to her grandparents' deportation to Terezin and to an incredibly brave young woman who took great risks to provide for her Jewish in-laws; a feat that led to a modest gift made in gratitude and love, from materials gathered in the most dire of circumstances.

Objects of the Holocaust is brought to you by the Holocaust Educational Trust, a charity that works to ensure that people from every background are educated about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today. 

Find us on X, Instagram, Linkedin and TikTok.

Presenters: Professor Tim Cole, Louisa Clein

Producer: Sarah Peters, Tuning Fork Productions https://tuningforkproductions.com/

Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews www.moving-air.com

Composer: Iain Chambers https://www.iainchambers.com/

In this episode, Tim and Louisa speak to Ilana Metzger, daughter of the late Henry Wermuth. Henry survived Plaszow, Auschwitz-Birkenau and Nordhausen before being liberated at Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria.

In 1942, Henry attempted the unimaginable – the assassination of Hitler. Henry tried to derail the train he knew Hitler would be travelling on, and so tried to change the course of history. Although his effort was unsuccessful, years later he was awarded with a resistance medal by the German government, in recognition for his act of bravery.

This was the final episode of Series 1, we hope you’ve enjoyed listening. If you have an object you’d like to share with us, please email info@het.org.uk – we’d love to hear your story. 

Objects of the Holocaust is brought to you by the Holocaust Educational Trust, a charity that works to ensure that people from every background are educated about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today. 

Find us on X, Instagram, Linkedin and TikTok.

Presenters: Professor Tim Cole, Louisa Clein

Producer: Sarah Peters, Tuning Fork Productions https://tuningforkproductions.com/

Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews www.moving-air.com

Composer: Iain Chambers https://www.iainchambers.com/

In this episode, featuring Michael Attenborough CBE, we learn about the Attenborough family’s connection to the Holocaust. The Attenborough’s fostered two sisters, Irene and Helga Berjach, who came to the UK from Nazi Germany via the Kindertransport. They were welcomed into the family and lovingly cared for - the Attenborough boys (Richard, John and David) referred to them as their “little sisters.” 

The object featured in this episode is a brochure from a production of A Chorus Line - from a reunion which took place years later, and which brought back memories of the family’s time together during the Second World War, when Helga and Irene were far from home.

Clip from Helga Waldman, © 2025 USC Shoah Foundation.

Objects of the Holocaust is brought to you by the Holocaust Educational Trust, a charity that works to ensure that people from every background are educated about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today. 

Find us on X, Instagram, Linkedin and TikTok.

Presenters: Professor Tim Cole, Louisa Clein

Producer: Sarah Peters, Tuning Fork Productions https://tuningforkproductions.com/

Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews www.moving-air.com

Composer: Iain Chambers https://www.iainchambers.com/

This episode features Judy Russell speaking about her father Ernest Levy OBE. On a Death March to Bergen-Belsen towards the end of the war, Ernest picked up a sardine tin which had been discarded by a guard. Instead of drinking the oil which would have given him a little sustenance, he fashioned a wick. Later, in a freezing cold barn, Ernest and his fellow prisoners lit this candle and sang Maoz Tzur, a traditional Chanukah song. 

This is an important and powerful story of spiritual resistance. 

Objects of the Holocaust is brought to you by the Holocaust Educational Trust, a charity that works to ensure that people from every background are educated about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today. 

Find us on X, Instagram, Linkedin and TikTok.

Presenters: Professor Tim Cole, Louisa Clein

Producer: Sarah Peters, Tuning Fork Productions https://tuningforkproductions.com/

Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews www.moving-air.com

Composer: Iain Chambers https://www.iainchambers.com/