Mandy Patinkin Discovers His Ancestor's Hidden Holocaust Connection | Finding Your Roots | Ancestry®

[@AncestryUS]

“My job is to imagine, and I’ve never been able to get a hold of that.” A powerful statement. Tell us a story of when you've been inspired by your ancestor's strength.

[@TeetoPlastic]

Gave me chills

[@ottawavalleystoner]

My great grandfathers sister was adopted out in the early 1910’s in New Brunswick Canada after their mother passed. They were of indigenous descent; so as my great grandfather was kept because he was of working age (but there’s a suspicion he went to a day school) she was placed in an orphanage run by the church and government; a place also known as a residential school. She lived there until she was old enough to live on her own. She never married or had children and met my great grandfather when they were in their 70’s-80’s. They both passed not long after meeting 💔

[@treeofrage7622]

My family always claims to be about 80% of people who were killed in the salem whitch trials. I dont know how true this is, but quite scary to imagine. Getting killed for, well, nothing.

[@Dakinekine]

It's truly heartbreaking.

[@iminco9844]

Mandy Patinkin is one of the most soulful actors of our time. He’s a true human being.

[@rheeryder2524]

If you haven't already check out his hilarious, poignant youtube channel. No really, you don't have 2 thank me. 😁

[@iminco9844]

@@rheeryder2524 I follow him on TikTok but didn’t know he was on YT.

[@SledDog5678]

Agreed!!!

[@devonmackify]

I admire his talent so much. When he broke, I broke with him.

[@LE-zy2od]

Who left Criminal Minds

[@darkangel_1978]

As soon as he started crying, I just wanted to give him a big hug.

[@BetsyC07]

His tears are my tears, his heart is my heart. The world still cries for those who have died before their time.

[@norwaydude4798]

Not really

[@Lifeletnothingholdudown]

Yes I agree.

[@mtio2807]

Absolutely

[@tenbroeck1958]

70 years of being a secret just hit him. It hurts to watch.

[@uc3698]

@@norwaydude4798 Why? Do you hate anyone who’s not anglophone?

[@danawinsor1380]

This is heartbreaking. If you're reading this please remember: "he (or she) who does not learn from history is doomed to repeat it!"

[@sole129]

heartbreaking is the right word..and I join his fear for the world right now.

[@spaceballs44]

If anyone finds out their ancestors went through something so monstrous would make almost anyone break like him.

[@ChristaFree]

The holocaust, the Japanese internment camps, the slaves, the native Americans, the indentured servants, etc. In the 20th century there were 16 instances of genocide. Anytime a society demonizes a subset of the population, separating the population, this happens. It has throughout history.

[@mtio2807]

Amen!

[@cuthwulf]

And to think we had mexican children in cages just a few years ago in America. People should be ashamed about what they will allow these days if it doesnt directly affect them.

[@AthenaisC]

Okay, I just teared up at Mandy's sob. How tragic and sad to see one of the greatest actors of our time grieving the cousin he never knew he had. I have no words.

[@silverfeigner]

I teared up as well. My heart broke for him.

[@AncestryUS]

Hi Kim, thank you for watching this video! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed it.

[@ohana8535]

@@AncestryUS You really need to rethink your canned responses. This one is just wrong.

[@lightyagami3492]

@@ohana8535 agreed. This automated response is very insensitive.

[@ericbingham-kumpfcomposer5293]

My father served in WW2 liberating the concentration camps in Germany. He told me that when his platoon entered one of the camps, it was like walking into a nightmare that you could not wake up from. Dead bodies and the smell was just awful. Many of the survivors were just barely alive and were in need of help. 2/3's of my mother's family died in the concentration camps. My mother, grandmother, uncle and two grand aunts were the only survivors because they were sent to factories as slave labor. It was so heartbreaking to see Mandy Patinkin having to see what happened to members of his family. My mother would not talk about what happened in Germany, but my father did tell me. I told my other siblings after my parents passed away and there was utter silence. This is never a pleasant subject, but it has to be told.

[@flannerymonaghan-morris4825]

Dear god, the sights your dad must have seen is just heartbreaking to contemplate…must have haunted him for the rest of his life. He must’ve been pretty reluctant to share this information with you. Hope he’s doing okay up there.

[@ericbingham-kumpfcomposer5293]

@@flannerymonaghan-morris4825 He met my mother who was forced labor along with her mother, brother and two aunts. They were the only surviving members of her family. They didn't talk much about what happened in Germany.

[@jeffschrade4779]

Thank you for sharing your family's story.

[@ericbingham-kumpfcomposer5293]

@@jeffschrade4779 You are welcome.

[@mtio2807]

God Bless

[@tamarab509]

This is why I am humbled to be a teacher of the Holocaust. May we never repeat the unimaginable.❤️

[@martaupward5992]

Please keep letting our students know. We lose more and more survivors each year.

[@biegebythesea6775]

come and teach people here in the UK please.

[@RachelSings21]

@@biegebythesea6775was coming here to comment the EXACT same thing.

[@jonessl71]

Hearing Mr. Patinkin's cry and how he wept for his fathers family hurt to the core. My heart goes out to him and what they had to endure. Sending my prayers to you sir as you try to find peace in knowing this sad and unbearable truth. 💔🙏😞

[@AncestryUS]

Thank you for sharing this with us. ❤️

[@sassafrassiest]

I have a friend whose grandmother was the only one left of a very large extended family killed in the Holocaust. She started at one of the smaller death camps but was moved to Auschwitz. When it was liberated, she walked through the gates leaving behind the bodies of her mother and sister, with her father and 3 other siblings all dead back at the first camp. She had grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Poland before the war. After, there was only her. She married a boy (this would become my friend’s grandfather) who grew up down the street from her, he was a little luckier; his father survived and I think one or two of his sisters did too. But my friend’s grandmother once told her the worst part of it was how she forgot her family’s faces as the decades went on. She had nothing to remember them by, and has never been able to find any relatives who might have a photograph. I can’t imagine the pain of missing your mother or sister so terribly without quite being able to picture them anymore.

[@MISNM0]

....... These words are painfully meaningful. Love is eternal and memory is for now. I'd like to believe that the precious Humans who were denied their own autonomy and those they were stolen from will reunite in time as yet unknown. Blessings to anyone who endures this pain.

[@mermeiaentertainment]

Utterly heartbreaking

[@saritaschwedes8393]

his family is all of our family… tears for our worlds family… then and now 🌸

[@AdultThirdCultureKid1971]

For sure! As I watched this clip, I think back to the "Unite The Right" and other events from years ago and think, "Gosh, this could happen to us, too!" 😬😢

[@WhistleblowingGoodWitch]

Beautiful 💔❤.

[@saritaschwedes8393]

@@AdultThirdCultureKid1971 🙏🏼 it is.

[@saritaschwedes8393]

@@WhistleblowingGoodWitch thank you 🌸❤️

[@LWms517]

When he broke down crying, I wished I could hug him. I did get to meet him and Patti LuPone years ago in Los Angeles. They were so sweet and gracious.

[@jlcollins14]

I remember watching this on TV and I really really just wanted to give him a big hug. It's so sad what his family experienced and my heart breaks for him.

[@danawinsor1380]

I love Mandy Patinkin. Not only is he loaded with talent, but he is loaded with heart. Mandy Patinkin, you are a mensch!

[@AncestryUS]

Thanks so much for watching, Dana! We're glad you enjoyed the clip.

[@violetbennett2407]

I cried along with him. I had a friend the 1950’s who had come from Poland to our country . Her mother talked about Poland. Her husband and two sons had been killed there. Only her and her daughter (my friend) came to the USA. They had lived a most terrible life. She was so proud to be a US citizen.

[@nancy-katharynmcgraw2669]

Oh Mandy No words. Hugs,, my friend. We met after a superb performance in Lansing, Mi, a few years ago. My daughter Allison & I were so in awe of your talents which you so generously shared that magical evening.

[@dionisioiacobelli6689]

Man's inhumanity to man has no horrific boundaries. May every child , woman , and man lost find everlasting peace.

[@kathleenherron594]

People protect themselves by not discussing things like this. They might not have known, but they probably knew in their hearts. He learned something so tragic about his family, but he has so many loving moments to pass on too.

[@SuperRobertoClemente]

It's a lost part of post-Holocaust history that when survivors set up new lives in the U.S. and Israel, in many cases they didn't talk about the Holocaust. In Israel, many of the new arrivals were looked down upon by those who had already been living there-- they were seen as weak at a moment that that new society was militarizing. In the U.S., it was part of the repression of the 1950s. The trauma was just too great to be processed immediately.

[@salliemorrill2671]

That was extremely powerful. When said toward the end, "At the beginning I didn't know why I was asking", I realized have been going through a very similar inquiry myself. It's as if we have a longing to fill in the blanks about family. It's as if we must put something from the past to rest, more so for them, as opposed to ourselves.

[@benlassu1880]

So moving. It's as if you feel and know his pain. We're related in so many ways, we all lost relatives to this horror and others before.

[@sharons5714]

I can’t imagine how much pain this caused him, but I feel he was thankful to get this information.

[@kentjensen4504]

If only there was video of how he responded.

[@rr7firefly]

I have to admire his courage -- willing to get to the truth, willing to have his great sorrow on display. Most people would create a safe buffer to shield themselves from horrific news.

[@kentjensen4504]

@@rr7firefly Yeah, I'm sure he struggled with the decision.

[@AnnieVuono]

Is Unthinkable that this really happen... prayers for all these souls lost.. Mandy, sending a big hug to you.

[@AdultThirdCultureKid1971]

Here's a big hug from me to Mandy, too.

[@tenbroeck1958]

That broke my heart. You could see the man imagining what his family went through. Really terrible what people can do to other people.

[@davideverett7078]

Dear God what a shock that must have been. My step grandmother is Jewish and I just can’t imagine someone wanting to harm such a sweet and gentle woman. She was so kind and soft spoken, and always took care of me even though I was completely unrelated to her.

[@Gancanna]

That he managed to read that horrific information aloud and hold together until he was finished is a testament to his skill as an actor.

[@StefSoleil]

My grandfather was a prisoner in a concentration camp for more than two years. He was Catholic, and I'm not entirely sure why he was sent there since family stories are rarely accurate. I recently found a letter he wrote about his time in the camp. It was heartbreaking, but I'm so very proud of him.

[@LipglossAndLove13]

oh my gosh

[@rachelhimes7715]

After doing my own research I as well have direct ancestors who have died in the holocaust as well. It really gives you perspective on your life. Makes you grateful for your life. It’s also scary to see the direction this country is going these days.

[@maicey_t.]

I just love Mandy Patinkin. He seems like such a lovely, sensitive soul.

[@Tulku]

To see Inigo Montoya cry as he has breaks my heart as is his.

[@nitasnook519]

The majority of my family were murdered at Auschwitz. Those who were lucky enough to survive came to live in America, until they immigrated to Israel. My family was lucky enough to know who survived and who perished.

[@KimberlyGreen]

I hesitate to "thumb up" your comment because of your family being murdered, but would thumb up that there were survivors. So, instead, I'll say may the souls of your family rest in peace, knowing they'll never be forgotten.

[@adedow1333]

I've been to Auschwitz. I cannot describe my horror.

[@AdultThirdCultureKid1971]

@@adedow1333 My mother and her sisters visited the remains of a concentration camp at Dachau in Germany in the summer of 2011, as part of a tour package that included Austria. She also could not describe her horror

[@norwaydude4798]

Really? Hardly felt anything, but noticed it was extremely clean

[@michaelversace456]

Wasn't just Jews, my Italian cousins and their parents were torn apart by dogs for being Jewish sympathisers.

[@dottiecalderon8759]

This broke my heart . I so admire Mandy . Great actor great human

[@fawnjenkins7266]

Very sad and painful. We must not repeat history. I am horrified of what happened then, but also that some people deny that it happened.

[@pookiehoney]

It’s possible he didn’t know. They may have lost contact, they might have assumed but it’s entirely possible they truly didn’t know for sure. Either he knew and was too heartbroken to speak of it or they weren’t sure. The new records becoming available has really helped many new people put their ancestry puzzles together.

[@Altesse47]

I think his favorite knew but kept it from him.

[@mariacampos8234]

His family NEVER spoke of the Holocaust probably a defense mechanism to protect them from reliving the horrors of the holocaust, and remembering how many never made it out of the concentration camps.. I also suppose a lot of them suffered from "Survivors Guilt" I can't image going through all of that horror..

[@mariacampos8234]

@@Altesse47 - The world only knew what the Nazi's propaganda pictures and films showed about the camps, the truth didn't come out until a year or so after the war started. Pictures and films of the true horror of those camps were smuggled out of Germany and other countries that had camps in them. At first the media didn't want to believe what they were seeing, but as more smuggled images and films came in they were forced to face reality. During this time their was no mail service from Europe to the outside world the only information was that which was smuggled out. I don't think his older family members had any idea who lived and who died in those camps, but they knew the horrific things were being done in those camps.

[@storagebox1793]

He clearly said that he did not know. He said that he had been there and that he did not believe any member of his family dies in that. His reaction is probably because he was at the site of their murder and did don't know and did not pay them the proper respect. He said that his job is to imagine, he has never been able to imagine. I reckon, from his reaction that he is now able to imagine bc it is now personal. Anyway, his reaction is heartbreaking.

[@doctorj6030]

People didn't want to talk about the war, the Holocaust, it was too traumatic. There were certain things you did not bring up.

[@josephinemiller4780]

Absolutely. My German grandfather served during World War II and he hated the Nazis but there was nothing he could do. I don’t ever remember he or my grandmother ever speaking about it. My mom was born in 1943 and she vaguely remembers the end of the war as a child. Watching these is so heartbreaking.

[@michellem3879]

My Uncle David was among the troops that liberated a camp. He was ordered not to take photos because they didn’t want people to see how bad it was. He did anyway and my Aunt donated them to the Holocaust Museum so the world could see. 😢

[@flannerymonaghan-morris4825]

God knows how your Uncle David felt when he took those photos and when he first saw them.

[@comealongcomealong4480]

@@michellem3879 I'm glad your Uncle David defied his orders. It seems that, in 1945, he instinctively understood the power of an image. There was nothing he could do for those people - but he could document their murders. With the photos - noone could ever say it didn't happen.

[@snoosification]

Now that I am older (and as an austrian), I sometimes have to hug my family suddenly, thinking what would happen to us (even tho we arent jews, sinti nor roma), my 98 years old granny would be dead within a week, I wouldn't see my brothers anymore, cause of the separation, my mum would be worked to death, or thanks to her immune system would die from sickness, I, with diabetes wouldn't last long. And all the children starving in the ghetto streets, or going into the "showers". Its the same horrible feeling, when u think of the slavery in america. It was the same. Nothing less, nothing more. And when u can't imagine being in this situation (and your family), so powerless and hopeless, u never will understand what had happened to all those people. How can u survive, knowing u are the only one out of your whole extended family who is still alive?

[@bled4him649]

God remembers, Mandy. Hugs to you.

[@bsusak09]

I visited many of the concentration camps when I was in Germany and unfortunately it’s something I will never forget. To touch the barracks and walk inside the gas chambers was almost too much for me. I pretty much cried the entirety of my visit. Absolutely unfathomable what they did.

[@ohana8535]

And yet we are headed that way here in the US.

[@skontheroad]

@@ohana8535 What are you talking about?? We don't have gas chambers and crematoriums in America! And never will!

[@skontheroad]

Which camps in Germany?

[@ohana8535]

@@skontheroad Yeah, the German public said the same thing in the early 30's

[@babettelock2106]

May their memories be a blessing.

[@c.kainoabugado7935]

The profound thing is that we cannot really relate to these huge historical human events unless we or someone related to us experienced it as in this example. Generally, we all know of the holocaust but we all cannot relate it to ourselves without a human connection being at the event. This video demonstrates this. I shed tears seeing this but I know my tears were not of any deep loss of a loved one like this man, only sympathy...God is too grand in creating humanity for me to understand🤏🏽

[@millienelsen5370]

I saw your interesting & highly emotional interview on "Finding Your Roots", tonight. I laughed over the woman with the high pitched voice & cried with your losses throughout the Holocaust. What losses they must have been for you to have survived to still be effected so profoundly all these years later. In your closing lines you spoke about your journey & how important & deeply felt it is to you. I hope filling in some of the empty places will help you in completing your journey. Off point-you are a great actor-keep acting-for many reasons.

[@jeannemarie3704]

I always loved you Mr Patinkin! I spoke with you once when I was a hotel phone operator at The Paul Hotel across from the Ordway Center when you were there for a singing tour. I was about 20 years old.. I was pretty thrilled I talked to the "Chicago Hope" doctor. ❤️ 💙 💜and of course main character of The Princess Bride.. which my grand children now love! hope finding this history about about your family brings you peace and a even deeper spiritual connection with your family...love from a still fan in Minnesota 🙏

[@justasmalltowngirl_lynne5089]

My heart is breaking too 💔😭

[@NancyLiedel]

To deny this is disgusting. My heart is hurting and I can't stop crying. The inhumanity.

[@NancyLiedel]

@keno2285 I'm woke. Deal.

[@tonistokes1790]

Mandy Patinkin, such a sensitive soul.

[@steph2940]

It has truly broke my heart to see your tears hear the agony in your words.

[@bernardorios9948]

Mandy Patinkin (aka Jason Gideon from Criminal Minds) feels heart broken about his ancestors during the Holocaust. Even he feels unbelievable about their losses. 😔.

[@rachelgrainer3549]

As an elder of the extended Patinkin family, A few facts in Mandy’s story are, his grandfather Max was with his brother David in New York ( not his uncle).Max went on to Chicago. And David went back to Poland. In Poland, before world War 2, David, his wife and 1 daughter were murdered in a robbery in their home. Three other children weren’t home, Harold, Deborah and Lazar. Harold and Deborah came to America before the war. It was Lazar and his family who perished in Treblinka along with 2500 men, women and children from Bransk. Where both my mother and father left in the 1920’s. David’s son Lazar,wife and children were the only Patinkins murdered in the Churban, Holocaust. Totally random genocide of Jews being in wrong place at wrong time……,MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE FOR A BLESSING

[@rachelgrainer3549]

And because I am first generation Patinkin this story about Lazar and family only Patinkins murdered in Holocaust, was never told to the children along with other very painful life in old country. I practically begged for my parents to stories ….it just was mostly painful😢

[@steelydanlover1972]

Hello, Rachel. I'm so sorry for your loss. I have an interest in genealogy. I watched this video over a year ago and created memorials for David, Lazar and Blume on Find a Grave as a result. Unfortunately, I am missing their dates and places of birth (except for the country Poland). Do you know when and where they were born?

[@Nimue56]

OMG.... how terrible that must have been for his family. I begin to imagine the fear and helplessness they felt. In the days coming I will think about this.

[@cynthialouth5192]

NO ONE SHOULD EVER FORGET!!!

[@girl1213]

Mandy's not mad that his grandfather hid this because it really isn't something anyone really wants to share with their children because of how painful it must be. Mandy even says he can't imagine the cruelty of the Holocaust, which for his grandfather's generation is a blessing that must be protected. And Mandy never lied about his family members dying in the tragedy either in all those interviews since he showed he didn't actually know if anyone did. He explained it very clearly. Now he does and if someone asks in another interview, he can tell them how he learned this information.

[@magicsparks2002]

I loved Mandy in dead like me he’s a brilliant actor and a nice guy I’m sorry he had to find out such an awful history to his family. I found out one of my ancestors was a policeman and died in a German bombing raid in the war that really upset me. I tried to get hold of a photo of him but the police didn’t have anything of the station he served at left so no pictures.

[@wn8022]

Mandy is one of the best. I always loved how he is. Kind and decent. 😔

[@Gigi-rg7xy]

I met him in the Upper West side in NYC. Very humble and nice guy 😊

[@sherrytolbird154]

I traced my ancestry and you get to know your relatives and build a relationship learning their story so even though i know they have passed when i find the evidence of their passing I weep and mourn. I wept with Mandy too knowing they passed yet shocked they were part of the words most horrific hate crimes against humanity is a different matter

[@craigpowell7916]

This episode hurt my heart! You can literally see the pain in this man's face and body! He literally had no idea that his family had been part of the Holocaust!

[@pamigreenway]

The thing that hits me hardest is that happened only ten years before he was born.

[@maryannsarkady7950]

I cry every time I watch videos about the holocaust, the atrocities are mind bending and soul tearing

[@lydias2012]

I had a good friend and many who were jewish. It was the 70s and I went to a holiday party and the elders all spoke of the holocast as if it happened yesterday and to remember. I knew it happened but was so young and ignorant I did not realise this happened in their life times. I kept ears my eyes open after that and learned a lot for a gentile. They were telling their stories.

[@rachaelramos]

I wanted to reach through and comfort him as he cried 😔

[@AncestryUS]

Your immediate family is just one piece of the puzzle in your family history. Get started on discovering your roots with Ancestry TODAY: visitancestry.com/3AVXtyv

[@suereed3474]

Parents who did not tell their children or grandchildren about how their families perished in the Holocaust, did so because they wanted them to grow up strong and not harmed by the horrors that had already befallen them. People I know, whose parents were Holocaust survivors, said that even though their parents never talked about it, the children still absorbed their trauma, which they probably unwittingly passed on to the next generation.

[@sarakatharina2928]

I am sorry for your loss Mandy

[@nellwhite5659]

No matter your age it is heavy knowledge for anyone, especially a child.

[@jacquelinenoble6640]

His cry hurt my heart...just heartbreaking. 😢

[@D.Salazar]

Easily the most emotional reaction I've yet to see 😭

[@AncestryUS]

Thanks for sharing. It was indeed a very emotional episode.

[@artieross9537]

So, so sorry for your loss. My heart breaks with you.

[@patstaaf7661]

Dear God. I have no words. Blessings upon the Patinkin family, past and present.

[@AncestryUS]

Hi Pat, thanks for stopping by. We hope you enjoyed the video!

[@kennstransky]

Thanks for sharing.

[@kentjensen4504]

A truly great actor. Masterful.

[@johnnyebarrera1380]

Heart wrenching. So sad. God Bless...

[@RobinPM86]

It is very hard to imagine, to remember, but we MUST remember, or it could happen again.

[@216marketing9]

Heart wrenching.

[@JimmyRJump]

I cried along with Mandy.

[@InsideouttrainingWB]

Heart wrenching ♥️🙏🏼

[@AncestryUS]

Thanks for sharing this with us, Wendy. We're glad you enjoyed the clip.

[@stevenc.brittingham1572]

Great... Love Patankin... Great Actor

[@lizstratton9689]

I am so very sorry for your loss.

[@TekuilaM]

My heart broke with him as he read about his ancestors' death. 💔😭

[@blahmooblah789]

Never, ever forget.

[@garyedwardgray7549]

I can really relate to this, except that I still don’t have answers. I too think, “nah, none of my relatives died in the Holocaust”. That’s because they came to America before then. But all I need to do is expand the family tree even slightly. My grandmother could’ve had first cousins left behind there and almost certain second cousins. The blood relation thins out quickly as you expand out. So, I know that second cousins are already not very close. But it’s not TOO distant. Most people that I know grow up knowing at least some of their second cousins. I don’t have many, and I’m friends with most of them, and fairly close with a few. And I’d bet any money on it that my grandmother had second cousins, and maybe even some first cousins, who perished. My family sort of assumes not, just given that we’ve never heard anything about it. But just given the typical size of their families (they were pretty proliferate, lol), there must’ve been MANY relatives left behind. And they came right from possibly the worst area in Europe you could be as a Jew. I’m certain that many met a sad end. But… I know nothing of it. I suspect this is true of many Jewish immigrants. So, I’m not trying to be all woe-is-me, like this is a tragic story that only my family has. No… I’m merely noting that it’s quite sad what has been lost to time. Further complicating my own research is that neither of my Jewish immigrant ancestors were naturalized. Those papers can be a wealth of information tracking down where they came from exactly, like what city, and maybe even identifying other critical details. I have none of that. My Jewish immigrants are like a blank slate. All I know is that the wife was the daughter of a rabbi… but I got that from her headstone, and I’ve learned that this sometimes just means respected or learned man, it may not mean an actual synagogue leader (although there are some family stories that he was… so, it seems plausible). Otherwise, they’re a blank slate. And it’s frustrating because I also know that the surname Levy can be a big deal among Jews. (That’s the family name.) But I also know that many European and American Jews adopted that name due to its importance. So, I’d also like to know if we’re “real” Levys. Sadly, I’m not sure how to figure it out. I think there is a haplogroup which is identified as tied to that. However, it requires either a straight line on the male or female line back. I have none and know of no relative with one. Our Levy ancestors, even though just a few generations back as pure Jews, all seemed to “go astray” and marry outside of the faith. And the women tended to have mostly sons, or the men had mostly girls. So, there’s no direct line by gender to trace the haplogroup. For example, my grandmother, Pauline Levy comes from a Jewish father and an Irish mother. So, we need a son from that family. There isn’t one. (There is one, but we discovered, incredibly, that he isn’t his father’s actual birth son.) Two girls, no boys. Going up a generation, it’s the only one with few kids, and leaves no other options. Tons of kids the generation up from that, but that gets pretty distant and hard to track down current extended family members… let alone ensuring that they come from only one gender line, so we can get the haplogroup to prove the origins. So… this is just yet another family mystery I may never know. Are we or are we not actual Levys, or did the family just adopt the name? Long comment. Sorry. Point is, that Jewish roots can be tremendously difficult to trace. Stories, like Mandy’s are easily lost to time. I wish I could discover these truths, even if heartbreaking, about my own family.

[@Estrella21]

I watch every single episode of Finding Your Roots and every time there is a Jewish guest, they discover they had family that was killed in the holocaust. I have a hard time wrapping my head around how many were killed. 😢

[@garyedwardgray7549]

@@Estrella21 I dread even investigating my own heritage. I mean, I’ve done so! I don’t dread it so much that I don’t want to know. But I fear what I will find. I’ve never been successful in tracing my Jewish roots back to the old world. Mostly. I do know they came from Poland, possibly western Ukraine given the shifting borders. And it’s distressing to consider. While they did emigrate to the US prior to WWII, close relatives may still have been there. It’d be extended family to me. So, I’m not trying to hold a pity party here… oh, woe is me, look at my sad family history. No, it’s just reality. I almost certainly have extended family who were victims in this. And not terribly distant family. Obviously, not my direct ancestors, or I wouldn’t be here. However, their siblings could have been victims of this. They would’ve been quite elderly by then, so more likely their nieces and nephews. But still… these aren’t THAT distant relatives to me. It’s family. It’s troubling to think about. And my ancestors there were fairly high profile, so I’m guessing they were targeted. My immigrant’s father was a rabbi back in Poland (or Ukraine). I have never been able to deduce what happened to them. I want to know. But I almost don’t. I fear that I know what happened. But, at the same time, if ANY managed to survive, I’d love to know about it. Do any of their descendants exist today. I’d love to find out. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll ever know.

[@KAAnn-uc8nn]

I love this man.

[@rheeryder2524]

His youtube channel brought me here.

[@Lifeletnothingholdudown]

It happens alot in families not talking about what happened. Doing my Genealogy I found out my great grandfather was Jewish he married a Irish woman... I have Jewish ancestry way back and didn't even know it tell recently and I'm in my sixties. My grandmother never talked about it, her father was from France.

[@reginaromsey]

Much as we would like to believe this was a horror of WW II the same has happened and is still happening.

[@Traveler516]

Im sad, looking for records in family search from, Colombia, there is nothing from Boyaca and Cundinamarca, so I can not find my ancestors. Can someone help me?

[@adele865]

This is so heartbreaking. I have no words.😢

[@adele865]

I read a book about Treblinka years ago and knew immediately that name was mentioned. what had become of those poor people. My late mother who had Jewish ancestry, visited Auschwitz once and was so shaken that she never got over that experience, just the knowing of it.....

[@jaroslaval9159]

I am a bit confused. How did Mandy's grandparents get out? Did they emigrate before 1942?

[@vickie30]

1942..80 yrs ago..Just 80 years ago! this happened to Jewish people

[@RandomStranger246]

Thankfully they're still trying those responsible for their crimes.

[@tbreezy543]

Gone for now, but gratefully, not forever. All those that were killed are safe in God's memory awaiting his promise of a resurrection into a new world free of wickedness (Psalm 37:10,11,29 and Rev 21:3,4)

[@mrs.8816]

He is such a wonderfully emotion good human being.

[@AncestryUS]

We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed this story from Finding your Roots, thanks so much for stopping by!

[@JDouble07]

I cried with him.

[@brandonchristopher2493]

Just wow

[@MissMarchHare]

He was not told because what happened was heartbreaking...soul destroying...and those that loved him wanted him to grow up without that horror weighing down his childhood. It was never mentioned out of love. His parents were giving him the gift of a "normal" childhood.

[@judybertagna4527]

We are now repeating history

[@randalllaue4042]

Everyone should be tested. This will finally document everyone being linked and one people. This is why you have to fix all our histories. There has to be healing.

[@amywantland5359]

Heartbreaking

[@mtio2807]

Oh damn, his cry made me cry 💔

[@elisemiller13]

My Jewish ancestors escaped Russia & Austria, I too as a child asked many questions and was given no answers. Too painful? trying to protect us? both...will never know

[@SlavicChic3]

And it’s crazy to think how we live in a world where everyone shares everything that a lot of us grew up with family members that didn’t talk about the holocaust or World War II or Vietnam just think of what we don’t know from them

[@dijaworldworld3895]

God Bless him! ❤

[@cornellwaters8969]

🐄 Thank you