3GDC Presents - 30 Minutes with a 3G

In a new episode, Mark Joseph Stern speaks with Maya Hyman, whose grandparents fled Poland together before World War II to seek refuge in Australia.

In a new episode, Mark Joseph Stern speaks with Marika Van Laan about her grandmother's escape from pre-war Berlin and her long, fascinating journey to the United States, where she lived to the age of 100.

In a new episode, Mark Joseph Stern speaks with Yevette Smith, a 3G whose grandfather took a circuitous path from Europe to Chicago, where he found and married the love of his life.

In a new episode, Mark Joseph Stern speaks with Adam Zimmerman, a 3G who teaches a 7th grade Holocaust and Jewish Identity class at Temple Beth Ami.

In a new episode, Mark Joseph Stern speaks with Shelley Rood Wernick, a 3G who serves as Managing Director of the Center on Holocaust Survivor Care and Institute on Aging and Trauma at the Jewish Federations of North America.

In a new episode of 30 Minutes With a 3G, Mark Joseph Stern speaks with Andrea Goldstein, whose grandmother survived the Holocaust, about the stories she heard growing up and the importance of passing along that history to the next generation.

In a new episode of 30 Minutes With a 3G, Mark Joseph Stern speaks with Mike Salamon, the grandson of four Holocaust survivors, about his family's history, its impact on his work today, and his passion for helping others understand the true meaning of "never again."

Mark Joseph Stern speaks with Laura Bakst, an attorney in D.C., about her grandparents’ lives in the wake of the Holocaust. After meeting at a displaced persons camp, her grandparents made their way to the United States, starting a family that served as a testament to their faith and perseverance. Laura also describes the immense impact of her grandparents’ experience on her own career, and explains her decision to document their lives in a book, The Shoemaker's Son. This is the second of two episodes with Laura.

Just released! In the latest episode of 30 Minutes with a 3G, Mark Joseph Stern speaks with Laura Bakst, an attorney in D.C. Laura's grandmother and grandfather both survived the Holocaust, though each had very different—and harrowing—experiences. In this episode, Laura tells Mark about her grandparents' remarkable escape from antisemitic persecution and Nazi atrocities, which she documents in her book, The Shoemaker's Son. This is the first of two episodes with Laura.

In our season three premiere, new host Mark Joseph Stern speaks with Jeffrey Robins, an attorney in the DC area. Jeff's grandfather was born in Poland and emigrated to the United States after surviving the Holocaust. In this episode, Mark and Jeff discuss the impact of a survivor's story on their children and grandchildren; the investigative work that so many 3Gs undertake to uncover their family's history; and the urgent, continued need for Holocaust education. They also explore how Jeff's close connection to a survivor led him to a career in the law.

In this episode, we meet 5th generation wine maker Rachel Lipman who currently manages most aspects of the operations for her family vineyard in Mt. Airy, MD, started by her grandfather Bill Loew who is a Holocaust survivor. Prior to WWII, her family had established the first national meadery and beeswax production in Poland and Rachel has been able to dig up fascinating old documents corroborating the business' success and reach before the Nazis and Russians occupied the area. Rachel was kind enough to host 3GDC for a wine tasting event at Loew Vineyards in October, 2021 and share some of her family story then. We encourage you to visit the winery and meet Rachel after listening to this episode!

In this episode, we learn about Josh Fishbein's maternal grandmother who went into hiding as a child with her extended family outside Nazi-occupied Patras, Greece and ultimately forged a lifelong connection with the Christian family who saved them. Inspired by his grandmother's survival story, Josh recently composed a 20-minute Cantata (choral work) called "Out of the Ashes of the Holocaust" which he hopes honors both his family and the compassion and courage of the Michaloses in Greece.

In a new twist for season two, Toby Kaminsky interviews cousins Robyn Miller-Tarnoff and Nina Navisky, whose grandmothers were sisters from a large family and escaped Vienna mostly by foot. Although their grandmothers were reticent about their Holocaust experiences and preferred to focus on building their lives in Flint, Michigan, after the war, Robyn and Nina learned of their courage and resourcefulness and draw strength from their family story as adults today.

In this mini-episode, Toby previews the second season of Thirty Minutes with a 3G. Enjoy and tune in soon for this season and more!

In this mini-episode, Toby reviews the opening slate of episodes to wrap up the inaugural 'season' of Thirty Minutes with a 3G. Enjoy and tune in soon for more episodes!

In this episode, Dana Foster tells us about her grandfather who traveled as a teen from Germany to boarding school in England, immigrated independently to the United States and proudly served in the U.S. Army during WWII. He was right to always describe his life and immigration story as a "big, happy adventure" and he later helped found the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum so that his survival story would live on for future generations. Dana's work as a Jewish educator also ensures that teens in the DC area can hear and relate to his story. Enjoy!

In this episode, we learn about Mike Schroeder's grandfather who had the opportunity to "sit out" the war from the comfort of the United States but instead went back to Europe to save his girlfriend, who later became his wife; their epic love story and journey spanned Europe, Asia and North America, with crucial intervention from diplomats in the Netherlands and Japan. It's no wonder that Mike teaches international studies as faculty of American University's School of International Service with this incredible background. Enjoy!

AJ Siegel is a DC resident for the last 7 years after having started his career back in his hometown of West Hartford, CT. He is a father of an amazing, rambunctious 2 year old named Talia, the husband of the successful and stunning Camille and dog-daddy to two troublesome dachshunds. AJ is a Experience Architect at ServiceNow, helping customers understand that actual humans use their technology tools, and it's their job to make it easy to use. Once that is sorted out his home office becomes a home gym and he finds some efficient way to stay fit so he can quickly go back to dad mode. AJ is the wizard responsible for the technical aspects of launching this podcast series and is also an invaluable board member of 3GDC. In this episode, we learn about AJ's grandfather who was a major influence in AJ's life; he spent many years educating students about the horrors of the Holocaust, all while keeping an upbeat attitude about the "American dream."

Lizzie Gelernter Westin was born and raised in La Paz, Bolivia and has lived in the DC area since college. She currently lives in Potomac, MD with her husband, son, and daughter. She is proud to have been one of the founding members of DC Young Leaders Chapter of HIAS (although it is no longer active in that format) and has been active with the Refugee Committee of her synagogue because of her family's own refugee history. She works in the Enterprise Data Platforms team at FINRA. In this episode, we explore Lizzie's grandparents' amazing escape from Nazi Europe to Bolivia, which was one of the few countries which welcomed Jews and happened to be home to some high profile Nazis after the war as well.

A current Generations After Board Member, Matt Gever also serves as the newsletter editor of 3GDC. His parents Eli and Rocha Gever (nee Levinson) are both survivors from Latvia. In December 2018, Matt participated in a study trip to Poland that examined Polish-Jewish relations and the purported resurgence of Jewish life in Poland. When not working on Shoah-related events, he is active at Sixth and I synagogue and with DC Jews on Bikes. He currently lives in the Petworth neighborhood of DC with his wife Karen. Matt received a Bachelor of Arts in History from UCLA in 1998 and a Masters of Public Affairs from the University of Texas in 2001. He currently works as an analyst for the U.S. Department of Justice. In this episode, we discover that Matt is both a 2G and 3G (child and grandchild of Holocaust survivors); he knew from a young age that his parents escaped the Nazis but it took many years for him to use this background as a force for good in the community.