Waitman Wade Beorn - Podcast Details

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Historians At The MoviesEpisode 129: Defiance and the Holocaust in Belarus and Ukraine with Dr. Waitman BeornThis week Dr. Waitman Beorn drops in to talk about Defiance (2008) and his work researching the Holocaust in Europe during World War II.About our guest:Dr. Waitman Wade Beorn is an associate professor in History at Northumbria University in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. Dr. Beorn was previously the Director of the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond, VA and the inaugural Blumkin Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. His first book, Marching Into Darkness: The Wehrmacht and the Holocaust in Belarus (Harvard University Press) Dr. Beorn is also the au...2025-05-081h 25

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 53- Hitler’s Mein Kampf and the Holocaust with Michael S. Bryand and John J. MichalczykSend us a textAmong the books that many people talk about but few have read, certainly Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf is one. But it IS a difficult read. How do we interpret this book? How significant is it? And what does it tell us about the Holocaust? These are some of the questions we tackled in this episode with the editors of a new volume on the subject.In this episode, I talked with Michael S. Bryant and John J. Michalcayk about this important book and how to understand it.Mi...2025-04-211h 19

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 52- Mengele in South America with Betina AntonSend us a textMany Nazis including Josef Mengele, Adolf Eichmann, Franz Stangl, and Klaus Barbie escaped Europe and fled to South America in an attempt to evade prosecution for their crimes. We know quite a bit about their lives and crimes during the Holocaust but much less about the network of people that supported them in their new lives in South America.I spoke with Betina Anton about her work researching the people who helped Josef Mengele and her personal connection to this case.Note: You may want to listen to Ep. 26...2025-04-141h 18

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 51- Klaus Barbie and his Trial with Richard J. GolsanSend us a textKlaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyon, led a terrible and fascinating life, from Nazi torturer to advisor to brutal South American dictatorships. However, unlike many, he was eventually brought to justice for his crimes. In this episode, I talk with Richard J. Golsan about the sensational trial of Klaus Barbie and its effect on the memory of the Holocaust in France. Richard J. Golsan is University Distinguished Professor and Director of the French Institute at Texas A&M University.Golsan, Richard J. Justice in Lyon: Kla...2025-04-071h 13

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 50- Digital Humanities and the Holocaust with Todd PresnerSend us a textHow can the digital humanities address and explore the Holocaust? In these days of Chat GPT, we may be rightly wary about the use of computers to analyze the past. However, today’s episode shows how an ethical approach to using computational methods can expand our understanding of the past often by showing us new questions that we hadn’t considered before. In this episode, I talk with Todd Presner about his fascinating and impressive work with the “big data” of recorded Holocaust testimony. Todd Presner is...2025-03-311h 19

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 49- Reframing Holocaust Testimony with Noah ShenkerSend us a textMany of us have seen or listened to recorded Holocaust survivor testimony. But have we thought about HOW that testimony was created? And what role that process of eliciting testimony might play in the kinds of things survivors talk about it? In this episode, I talked with Noah Shenker about how three different archives approached gathering testimony but also about what this means for our understanding of the Holocaust and the ways that survivors remember and recount their experiences. Noah Shenker is an Associate Professor of J...2025-03-241h 31

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 48- War Criminals in Australia with Jayne PersianSend us a textAmong the flood of displaced persons that washed across Germany after WWII were a large number of perpetrators, particularly from Eastern Europe. They mostly passed unnoticed (and unbothered) by occupation authorities to start new lives elsewhere. A large number of these Holocaust perpetrators arrived in Australia where they not only remained unrepentant but established new fascist networks. In this episode, I talk with Jayne Persian about these fascists in exile in Australia. Persian, Jayne. Fascists in Exile: Post-War Displaced Persons in Australia (2023)Follow on Twitter @holocaustpod.2025-03-171h 22

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 47- A Nazi in the Family with Kai HoessSend us a textWhat is it like to have a Nazi in the family? What if that Nazi was Rudolf Hoess, the commandant of Auschwitz? One of the least studied areas of Holocaust history is the ways in which the families and descendants of former Nazis engage with their family history.I am very grateful to be joined on this week’s podcast by Kai Hoess, grandson of Rudolf Hoess, to talk about his family history and his own journey to coming to terms with his past. As always, this podcast does not endorse any...2025-03-101h 00

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 46- Nazi Architecture with Paul JaskotSend us a textArchitecture (and architects) played a critical role in not just the Third Reich, but also the Holocaust. Nazi architects helped embody the Nazi worldview in their monumental work but also in the designs of concentration camps. They were willing collaborators in the use of slave labor and, ultimately, in the construction of the apparatuses of genocide. In this episode, I talk with architecture and Holocaust historian Paul Jaskot about all these facets of architecture in the Third Reich. Paul Jaskot is Professor of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies and...2025-03-031h 15

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 45- Jewish Resistance in Germany with Wolf GrunerSend us a textHow did Jews in Germany resist the Nazis? What were the choices that they made to stand up against the regime where its authoritarian power was greatest? In this episode, I talk with Wolf Gruner about his research on this topic and his surprising discovery of the extent of resistance by Jewish Germans in the heart of the Nazi state. Wolf Gruner is the Shapell-Guerin Chair in Jewish Studies and Professor of History and director of the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research at the University of...2025-02-241h 16

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 44- The Fate of Jewish Sites in Poland with Yechiel WeizmanSend us a textThe Holocaust in Poland left hundreds of towns and villages that had previously had large Jewish populations empty. However, important Jewish sites like synagogues and cemeteries remained. Polish communities were then confronted with what do with these places. In this fascinating conversation with Yechiel Weizman, we talk about his work in researching this and how some communities attempted to destroy these places and how some were were quite literally haunted by their Holocaust past. Yechiel Weizman is a lecturer in the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Depar...2025-02-031h 13

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 43- Geographies of the Holocaust with Anne Kelly Knowles and Tim ColeSend us a textUltimately, the story of the Holocaust is one centered in places: where something happened, where someone was from, where someone wanted to go. In this episode, I talked with two scholars about the role of geography in the Holocaust but also about how we use geographical approaches and methodologies to ask (and answer new important historical questions. Anne Kelly Knowles is the McBride Professor of History at the University of Maine. Tim Cole is a professor of social history at the University of Bristol. 2025-01-271h 21

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 42- Interviewing Holocaust Survivors with Hank GreenspanSend us a textHow does one talk with a Holocaust survivor about their experiences? What is the role of survivor testimony in understanding the Holocaust? In this episode, I talk with psychologist, Holocaust scholar, and playwright Hank Greenspan about his lifetime of talking with survivors and what he has learned from that experience.Henry “Hank” Greenspan is an emeritus psychologist, oral historian and playwright at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor who has been interviewing, writing about, and teaching about Holocaust survivors since the 1970s. Greenspan, Henry...2025-01-201h 24

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 41- Nazi "Euthanasia" and its aftermath with Dagmar HerzogSend us a textThe Nazis first targeted mentally and physically disabled Germans for mass killing, before they targeted Jews. However, discrimination and ableist thought predated the Nazis and followed them into the postwar era.In this episode, I talk with Dagmar Herzog about both the Nazi “euthanasia” campaign, but also the larger context of discrimination against disabled people. We also talk about those who tried to care for these vulnerable people as well as those who lobbied for their recognition as Nazi victims and for their rights in general in the postwar era.2025-01-131h 20

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 40- The Spatial History of Treblinka with Jacob FlawsSend us a textIn this episode, I talked with Jacob Flaws about the spaces of Treblinka. His work analyses this extermination camp from a spatial perspective, focusing on the physical and ideological boundaries of the camp. His work shows that the fences of the camp did not contain the truth of its existence and he details the ways in which the local population from the surrounding area interacted with the Nazi killing process and its victims.Jacob Flaws is an assistant professor of history at Kean University.Flaws, Jacob. Spaces of...2025-01-061h 10

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 39- Philosophy and the Holocaust with John K. RothSend us a textPhilosopher Theodore W. Adorno famously said that “To write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric.” Here he gives an example of the way that many thinkers and philosophers struggled with the post-Holocaust world. In this episode, I talked with philosopher and Holocaust scholar John K. Roth about the ways that philosophy approaches the Holocaust and how Nazi genocide challenges our understanding of the world. John K. Roth is Edward J. Sexton Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Claremont McKenna College.Follow on Twitter @holocaustpod.Email the podcast...2024-12-301h 21

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 38- The Einsatzgruppen with Jürgen MatthäusSend us a textAt least 2 million Jews were murdered by mass shooting in the Soviet Union. The perpetrators responsible for most of these killings were the men of the Einsatzgruppen. In this week’s episode, I talk with Jürgen Mathäus about the history of these units, their evolution from 1938 on, and the role they played in the Holocaust. Jürgen Mathäus is the director of the Applied Research Program at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The views expressed in this segment are those of the speaker; they do not neces...2024-12-161h 19

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 37- The Nazis and Christianity with Richard Steigmann-GallSend us a textWhat was the relationship between Christianity? Could one be both a Nazi and a Christian? What was the relationship between religious antisemitism and other forms of Jew hatred? On today’s episode, I talked with Richard Steigmann-Gall about these difficult but important questions. Richard Steigmann-Gall is an associate professor of history at Kent State University.Steigmann-Gall, Richard. The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919-1945(2009)Follow on Twitter @holocaustpod.Email the podcast at holocausthistorypod@gmail.comThe Holocaust History...2024-12-091h 40

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 36- Visiting Holocaust sites with Stuart Bertie, Mary Brazier, and Lesley MooreSend us a textWhat is it like to visit a Nazi extermination camp or even a Holocaust site in general? Last year, I was fortunate enough to travel to Poland with three friends to a number of camps and Holocaust-related sites and museums. I thought I would do something different in this episode and invite them to talk about their experiences.Stuart Bertie is an architect and photographer with strong family connections to WW2. He has photographed for the National WW2 Museum, and is currently working on the Band of Brothers Currahee to Normandy do...2024-11-251h 21

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 35- The Trials of Ilse Koch with Tomaz JardimSend us a textThe wife of Nazi camp commandant Karl Koch, Ilse, became a lasting symbol of the evil and depravity of the Nazi state. She was accused of a variety of crimes and underwent three trials, including one by the Nazis themselves. However, there is more to the story.In this episode, I talk with Tomaz Jardim about the real Ilse Koch and he unpacks the three trials as well as how the Ilse Koch ascended as the mythic epitome of Nazi evil.Tomaz Jardim is a professor of hi...2024-11-181h 21

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 34- The Holocaust in Belarus with Franziska ExelerSend us a textHistorian Timothy Snyder wrote that, between 1941 and 1944, Belarus was the deadliest place on earth. And he was right. The population there, both Jewish and non-Jewish suffered under the full weight of the Nazi genocidal project from the Holocaust by Bullets to the Hunger Plan.In this episode, I talked with Franziska Exeler about the Holocaust in Belarus as well as its aftermath in postwar justice and its place in postwar memory. Franziska Exeler is an assistant professor at the Free University Berlin and a research fellow at the...2024-11-111h 29

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 33- The Bełżec Extermination Camp with Chris WebbSend us a textThe Bełżec extermination camp was the first of the so-called Operation Reinhard camps to open. In some ways, it provided the model for the other Reinhard camps of Sobibor and Treblinka. In this episode, Chris Webb provides a detailed history of the camp and a detailed discussion of the important role that Bełżec played in the Final Solution. Chris Webb is an independent researcher who has written multiple books on the Operation Reinhard camps. He is also the creator of three important web resources on the Holocaust: the Holo...2024-11-041h 01

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 32- Lanzmann's Shoah with Dominic WilliamsSend us a textIn 1985, the nine-hour film Shoah by Claude Lanzmann hit theaters. This powerful production featured survivor testimony as well as secretly filmed interviews with Nazi perpetrators. It’s length and the way it was shot challenges our understanding of what a Holocaust film is. Is it a documentary film or something else? How has it impacted both our understanding of the event as well as the ways in which others have made films and movies about the Holocaust? In this discussion with Dominic Williams, we dive into all these questions and more! ...2024-10-281h 24

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 31- Decoding the Holocaust Codes with Christian JenningsSend us a textWhen the Einsatzgruppen began reporting that they were murdering Jews, the British code-breakers at Bletchley Park intercepted and decoded the messages. Throughout the Holocaust, these men and women deciphered the reports of the SS and documented the crimes of the Nazi state.On this episode, I talk with journalist and researcher Christian Jennings about the Holocaust Code and what we can learn about the Holocaust from decoded Nazi transmissions. Christian Jennings is a British author and foreign correspondent, and the author of ten non-fiction books of modern hi...2024-10-211h 11

World War II Daily PodcastEpisode 7 Pt 2 - Dr. Waitman Beorn, historian and former US cavalry officer who specializes in Holocaust studies.Today, we completed the second part of our series about the myth of the German soldier and the Wehrmacht's "clean hands" with an amazing interview with Dr. Waitman Beorn. He talked about a lot of things and even gave us some advice on how to identify possible N@zi propaganda and beyond. It was an honor and a pleasure to learn so much with someone like Dr. Beorn: Waitman Wade Beorn is an American historian and former US cavalry officer who specializes in Holocaust studies, focusing on the Holocaust in Eastern Europe. He is currently...2024-10-151h 19

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 30- Nazi Eugenics with Marius TurdaSend us a textThe first victims were not Jews per se, but Germans. That is to say, that the Nazis first murdered mentally and physically handicapped Germans that they considered to be unworthy of living. In so doing, they drew on the long history of the eugenics movement. In this episode, I talked with Marius Turda about the role eugenics played in the Nazi state, its connections to the larger global eugenics movement, and the echoes of this history today. Marius Turda is a professor and historian of eugenics and the H...2024-10-141h 15

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 29- German Resistance to the Nazis with Mark RosemanSend us a textThe topic of resistance during the Holocaust is always a controversial one. What is resistance? What did it take to stand up to the Nazis when the vast majority of Germans did not.In this episode, I talk with historian Mark Roseman about a remarkable group of socialists in Nazi Germany who made the difficult choice to stand up in ways both big and small. We also talk about nature of resistance and what makes a resister or rescuer.Mark Roseman is a distinguished professor of history and the Pa...2024-10-071h 35

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 28- The International Tracing Service with Dan StoneSend us a textIn addition to the massive loss of life, the twelve years of Nazi rule in Europe created one of the largest demographic disasters in human history with millions of people scattered across the continent. For Holocaust survivors, one of the most pressing tasks after liberation was attempting to discover the fates of relatives and friends. A variety of international organizations worked to help these people, This also resulted in one of the most interesting archives: the archives of the International Tracing Service. In this episode, I talk with Dan Stone...2024-09-301h 23

New Books in Military HistoryWaitman Wade Beorn, "Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv" (U Nebraska Press, 2024)Waitman Wade Beorn's book Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv (University of Nebraska Press, 2024) tells for the first time the history of the Janowska camp in Lviv, Ukraine. Located in a city with the third-largest ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe, Janowska remains one of the least-known sites of the Holocaust, despite being one of the deadliest. Simultaneously a prison, a slave labor camp, a transit camp to the gas chambers, and an extermination site, this hybrid camp played a complex role in the Holocaust.Based on extensive archival research, Between the Wires explores the...2024-09-271h 28

New Books in Genocide StudiesWaitman Wade Beorn, "Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv" (U Nebraska Press, 2024)Waitman Wade Beorn's book Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv (University of Nebraska Press, 2024) tells for the first time the history of the Janowska camp in Lviv, Ukraine. Located in a city with the third-largest ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe, Janowska remains one of the least-known sites of the Holocaust, despite being one of the deadliest. Simultaneously a prison, a slave labor camp, a transit camp to the gas chambers, and an extermination site, this hybrid camp played a complex role in the Holocaust.Based on extensive archival research, Between the Wires explores the...2024-09-271h 28

New Books in Ukrainian StudiesWaitman Wade Beorn, "Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv" (U Nebraska Press, 2024)Waitman Wade Beorn's book Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv (University of Nebraska Press, 2024) tells for the first time the history of the Janowska camp in Lviv, Ukraine. Located in a city with the third-largest ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe, Janowska remains one of the least-known sites of the Holocaust, despite being one of the deadliest. Simultaneously a prison, a slave labor camp, a transit camp to the gas chambers, and an extermination site, this hybrid camp played a complex role in the Holocaust.Based on extensive archival research, Between the Wires explores the...2024-09-271h 28

Behind the BookWaitman Wade Beorn, "Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv" (U Nebraska Press, 2024)Waitman Wade Beorn's book Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv (University of Nebraska Press, 2024) tells for the first time the history of the Janowska camp in Lviv, Ukraine. Located in a city with the third-largest ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe, Janowska remains one of the least-known sites of the Holocaust, despite being one of the deadliest. Simultaneously a prison, a slave labor camp, a transit camp to the gas chambers, and an extermination site, this hybrid camp played a complex role in the Holocaust.Based on extensive archival research, Between the Wires explores the...2024-09-271h 28

New Books in Polish StudiesWaitman Wade Beorn, "Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv" (U Nebraska Press, 2024)Waitman Wade Beorn's book Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv (University of Nebraska Press, 2024) tells for the first time the history of the Janowska camp in Lviv, Ukraine. Located in a city with the third-largest ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe, Janowska remains one of the least-known sites of the Holocaust, despite being one of the deadliest. Simultaneously a prison, a slave labor camp, a transit camp to the gas chambers, and an extermination site, this hybrid camp played a complex role in the Holocaust.Based on extensive archival research, Between the Wires explores the...2024-09-271h 28

New Books in German StudiesWaitman Wade Beorn, "Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv" (U Nebraska Press, 2024)Waitman Wade Beorn's book Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv (University of Nebraska Press, 2024) tells for the first time the history of the Janowska camp in Lviv, Ukraine. Located in a city with the third-largest ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe, Janowska remains one of the least-known sites of the Holocaust, despite being one of the deadliest. Simultaneously a prison, a slave labor camp, a transit camp to the gas chambers, and an extermination site, this hybrid camp played a complex role in the Holocaust.Based on extensive archival research, Between the Wires explores the...2024-09-271h 28

New Books in Jewish StudiesWaitman Wade Beorn, "Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv" (U Nebraska Press, 2024)Waitman Wade Beorn's book Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv (University of Nebraska Press, 2024) tells for the first time the history of the Janowska camp in Lviv, Ukraine. Located in a city with the third-largest ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe, Janowska remains one of the least-known sites of the Holocaust, despite being one of the deadliest. Simultaneously a prison, a slave labor camp, a transit camp to the gas chambers, and an extermination site, this hybrid camp played a complex role in the Holocaust.Based on extensive archival research, Between the Wires explores the...2024-09-271h 28

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 27- The Catholic Church and the Holocaust with David KertzerSend us a textThe behavior of the Catholic Church and Pope Pius XII is one of the most hotly debated controversies in the history of the Holocaust. And for a long time much of the evidence about that has been locked away in the Vatican Archives. Now, historians are finally able to access these documents.In this episode, I talk with one of those who has access to those Vatican archives, David Kertzer, about the response of the Catholic Church to the rise of the Nazis and to the Holocaust. David Kert...2024-09-231h 20

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 26- Josef Mengele with David MarwellSend us a textDr. Josef Mengele, the so-called Angel of Death, has achieved an almost mythical status as a supervillain. Yet this stereotype obscures the history of a man who was, in many ways, a product of both pre-war racial pseudoscience and the Nazi state.I am joined in this episode by David Marwell an historian who remarkably also worked with the US government to track down Dr. Mengele after the war. We talk about Mengele’s origins, what made him who he was, and the hunt for him after the end of World War...2024-09-161h 31

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 25- The Holocaust and the German Genocide in Namibia with Jürgen ZimmererSend us a textWas the Holocaust a unique event or did it have its roots in earlier historical events? How do we put earlier colonial genocides in context and conversation with the Holocaust? On this episode, we talk about the connections between the German genocide of the Herero and Nama in Namibia and its occupation of eastern Europe. On this episode I talked with Jürgen Zimmerer about this topic. We also looked at the role that the colonial genocides play in German popular memory as well as the fierce current debate over German offic...2024-09-101h 11

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 24- The Counterfeit Countess with Joanna Sliwa and Elizabeth WhiteSend us a text The story of Countess Janina (Mehlberg) Suchodolska is something that would be rejected by Hollywood as too far-fetched, but it is a true story. Janina was a Jewish Pole hiding in plain sight as a Polish noblewoman who then went on to rescue prisoners from one of the deadliest concentration camps.In this episode, I talk with historians Joanna Sliwa and Barry White about their incredible new book about Janina Mehlberg. We talk about her incredible story, but also what it means for our understanding of rescue and Polish-Jewish relations.2024-09-021h 20

Battling with BusinessEpisode 82 - Rerelease of Why people do bad things with Waitman BeornIn this episode, we are privileged to be joined by Dr. Waitman Wade Beorn. He is an author and historian and one of the preeminent academic experts on the Holocaust and the events that led up to the most heinous and barbaric episodes in human history. He is also a previous Tank Commander from the US Cavalry and as such has a tactical appreciation of small team management. In this facinating discussion, we explore the combinatorial factors of bad individuals, bad organizations, and bad systems. Why do good people stand by when bad things happen? What is the role of...2024-08-081h 12

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 23- The Genocide of Soviet POWs with Dallas MichelbacherSend us a textThe second largest Nazi victim group after the Jews was Soviet POWs. The experience of these people has been documented in part by the latest volume of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos.In this week’s episode, I talked with Dallas Michelbacher, one of the researchers on this project and a scholar of the Nazi genocide of Soviet POWs. Dallas Michelbacher is an applied researcher at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.Follow on Twitter @hol...2024-06-241h 31

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 22- Nazi Perpetrators and Disgust with Ditte Marie Munch-JurisicSend us a textHow did Holocaust perpetrators feel about what they did and how were they able to keep doing it? The question of perpetrator motivation has been one that scholars of the Holocaust have been interested in from the beginning.But what about the phenomenon of perpetrators who seem to have been disgusted by what they were engaged in? What does this signify? Is it some deep moral objection or something else.In this episode, I talked with Ditte Marie Munch-Jurisic about her truly thought-provoking work on interpretating these expressions of di...2024-06-171h 31

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 21- The Zone of Interest with Barry LangfordSend us a text Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest (2023) is a haunting film focused on the domestic life of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his family. The family lived in a villa directly next to the Auschwitz I camp. In this podcast, I talk with film scholar and screenwriter Barry Langford about the history of Holocaust film as well as The Zone of Interest. We cover a lot of ground from technical choices to the nature of the so-called “banality of evil.” The Zone of Interest is available for free on Amazon Prime UK and for purchase o...2024-06-101h 29

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 20- Polish Jewish Relations in the Holocaust with Jan GrabowskiSend us a textThe story of Polish-Jewish relations during the Holocaust is an incredibly complex and difficult one. On the one hand, Poles and Jews both suffered horribly under the Nazis. On the other, however, the general climate in Poland was inhospitable to Jews and many Poles took advantage of the Nazi occupation to victimize their Jewish neighbors for a variety of reasons.In this episode, I talked with Jan Grabowski about the history of Polish-Jewish relations during the Holocaust. We talked about the role of the Blue Police in hunting down and killing the...2024-06-031h 05

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 19- The Jasenovac Camp with Stipe OdakSend us a textSomewhere between 70,000 and 100,000 Jews, Roma, and ethnic Serbs were murdered in the Jasenovac concentration camp in what is now Croatian. This camp was run by Croatians without Nazi involvement. Yet few outside of the Balkans have heard of it.In this week’s episode, I talk with Stipe Odak about the incredibly complex history of the camp as well as the Holocaust in region. We also delve into the difficult memory politics of the camp and its use during the 1990s Balkan genocides.Stipe Odak is a post...2024-05-271h 24

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 18- Treblinka with Chad GibbsSend us a textThe Treblinka extermination center was responsible for the murder of approximately 925,000 Jews during the Holocaust. It was the deadliest killing site after Auschwitz. Yet few people know that it was also the scene of a successful uprising and mass escape by the prisoners there. In this conversation with Chad Gibbs, we talked about the history of the camp as well as the work he has done in recreating the vital social networks among prisoners that enabled the prisoner revolt. Chad Gibbs is an Assistant Professor in J...2024-05-201h 35

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 17- The Kindertransport with Amy WilliamsSend us a textFrom the earliest days of the Third Reich through the end of the war, there were organized efforts to rescue Jewish children from the Nazis. Perhaps as many as 10,000 were rescued in this way, but without their parents. They ended up in a variety of countries and had diverse set of experiences. In addition, the story of the Kindertransport has worked its way into the cultural memory of the Holocaust, particularly in the United Kingdom. In this episode, I spoke with Amy Williams about the incredibly complex history of these...2024-05-131h 37

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 16- Dwight Eisenhower and the Holocaust with Jason LantzerSend us a textGeneral Dwight Eisenhower’s visit to the Ohrdruf concentration camp in April 1945 fundamentally changed his outlook on the war and on his enemy, the Nazis. It also changed the way he carried out his duties later as US Military Governor in charge of both caring for former concentration prisoners as well as dealing with former Nazis, and, later, as President of the United States.In this conversation with Jason Lantzer, we talk about all of this and more.You can see some wartime footage of Eisnehower’s visit to Ohrdr...2024-05-061h 24

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 15- Holocaust Education with Irene Ann ResenlySend us a textWe talk a lot about learning from the Holocaust and lessons from the Holocaust, but we don’t talk nearly enough about HOW to TEACH the Holocaust. Understanding how to present this complex and often difficult material to students at a variety of different grade levels (as well as to the public at heritage sites) is a critical task.In this episode, Dr. Irene Ann Resenly talks about the pedagogy of teaching about the Holocaust, challenges of working with this material in the classroom, and the ways in which heritage sites eng...2024-04-291h 18

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 14- The Romani Experience during the Holocaust with Ari JoskowiczSend us a textSome historians have argued that the experience of Romani people during the Holocaust most closely approximated that of the Jews in terms of policy and execution. Of course, there were also important differences. But, Jews and Romani also went through the Holocaust together. In this, really fascinating discussion, I talked with Ari Joskowicz about the Nazi genocide of Romani, their interactions with Jews, and the difficult challenge of preserving these histories. Ari Joskowciz is an associate professor of history at Vanderbilt University. Joskowicz, Ari. Rain of Ash...2024-04-221h 34

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 13- Drunk on Genocide: Nazi Perpetrators, Alcohol, and Violence with Ed WestermannSend us a textWhat motivated Nazi perpetrators? How do we explain the apparent ease with which so many Germans carried out acts of extreme violence? These are some of the most enduring questions raised by the Holocaust. And they are questions that scholars still grapple with today. In this episode, I talked with Prof. Ed Westermann about these questions including issues such as alcohol abuse, sexual violence, and the role of toxic masculinity. Warning: this does contain some disturbing content. Ed Westermann a Regents Professor of History at Texas...2024-04-151h 17

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 12- The Auschwitz Jewish Center and Holocaust Education in Poland with Tomek Kuncewicz and Maciek ZabierowskiSend us a textThis episode covers a lot of ground with my guests from the Auschwitz Jewish Center, Tomek Kuncewicz and Maciek Zabierowski. We talk about the history of the Jewish community in Oświęcim, Poland as well as the challenges of educating the Polish non-Jewish community about the Holocaust. We close with a discussion of the ways in which the Holocaust is used in Polish politics today. To learn more about the valuable work of the Center, click here! Tomek Kuncewicz is the director of the...2024-04-081h 22

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 11- Hunger and Starvation in Ghettos with Helene SinnreichSend us a textThe Nazis pursued a variety of strategies in their attempts to murder all the Jews of Europe. One of these was starvation, particularly within ghettos where they could control the flow of food to captive populations.In this episode, I talk with Professor Helene Sinnreich about the experience of hunger in the Warsaw, Łodz, and Krakow ghettos. She tells us about the ways in which the Nazis used hunger as a weapon, the effects it had on ghetto populations, and the diverse ways in which different Jewish communities confronted this assault.2024-04-011h 22

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 10- Why We Fight- The Band of Brothers Holocaust Episode with John Orloff and Ross McCallSend us a textIt’s been over 20 years since the HBO television series Band of Brothers appeared, but it continues to shape the popular understanding and conception of World War II. The series is full of powerful episodes but one that viewers consistently single out as particularly moving is Episode 9: Why We Fight. In this episode, the soldier of Easy Company stumble across a Nazi concentration camp.Ever since I started this podcast, I have wanted to talk with those involved about the choices made in this episode and what it was like to be i...2024-03-251h 32

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 9- The Persecution of Transgender and Gay Communities during the Holocaust with Laurie Marhoefer.Send us a textThe Nazi state was built on persecution and multiple groups in addition to Jews were victimized and killed during the Holocaust. Today’s podcast looks not only at Nazi persecution of gay and transgender people along with Nazi homophobic thought, but also explores the history of LGTBQ communities in Germany before the war.We also look at the challenges to doing this historical work as well as the recent assaults on Holocaust history by those aiming to use that past to justify current intolerance.Laurie Marhoefer is a history pro...2024-03-181h 36

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 8- Topf and Sons- The Family Who Engineered the Holocaust with Karen BartlettSend us a text The story of the Topf brothers is one of the most chilling examples of corporate complicity in the Holocaust. Topf and Sons was the company who designed, built, and installed the ovens used to burn corpses in the concentration camps. Far being disinterested bureaucrats, the company’s employees were actively involved in problem-solving and helping the Nazis to destroy the bodies of their victims. This really enlightening conversation with author Karen Bartlett lays bare the ways in which Topf engineers knowingly enabled Nazi mass murder. It exp[lores the complexities of perpetrator choic...2024-03-111h 11

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 7- Holocaust Survivors in the US Military with Mike RugelSend us a text Did you know that a Holocaust survivor who served in the US Army in the Korean War won the Congressional Medal Of Honor? Did you know that there were thousands of Holocaust survivors who fought the Nazis during WWII or served in the US military afterward? Today’s discussion with Mike Rugel looks at the fascinating stories of some of these individuals but also explores issues such as the liberation of concentration camps by Jewish soldiers and the various ways in which Jews fought the Nazis as well as how their experiences in...2024-03-0457 min

Battling with BusinessEpisode 59 - Small team Leadership with Waitman Beorn Part IIIn the second part of our discussion with Waitman Wade Beorn, a veteran of the first squadron of the 10th United States Cavalry Regiment, we learn more about his time as an M1 Abrahams commander and we reflect further on the skills required to successfully lead small teams. We explore with Waitman how he and the other members of the team adjusted to each other's personalities as well as addressing the critically important lesson of not eating Peaches in a tank! We then look at the challenges and opportunities around developing team members and how the military d...2024-02-2952 min

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 6- Holocaust Archaeology with Caroline Sturdy-CollsSend us a textHow do we uncover new evidence about the Holocaust? In this podcast episode, we look at the fascinating topic of Holocaust archaeology. Our guest, Professor Caroline Sturdy-Colls has investigated over 50 Holocaust sites including the Treblinka extermination camp where she first identified the location of the gas chamber buildings. Our conversation ranges from the Soviet Union to the Channel Islands and also touches on issues of ethics, memory, and commemoration. Professor Caroline Sturdy-Colls is a professor of Conflict Archaeology and Genocide Investigation and director of the Cent...2024-02-261h 21

Battling with BusinessEpisode 58 - Leadership lessons from a tank commander with Waitman BeornIn this week’s episode we welcome back Waitman Wade Beorn, this time not wearing a historian’s hat, but instead a very natty stetson reflecting his time as a US Army Cavalry officer, commanding an M1 Abraham main battle tank. We explore with him the complexities of commanding a small team whilst also having to manage a much broader and fast-paced battle space outside of his small metal box with tracks. We also investigate the challenges that an officer fresh from training faces, when stepping into his tank with his new team for the first time. We a...2024-02-2244 min

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 5- The Sobibor camp photo album with Martin CüppersSend us a text The Nazis murdered at least 167,000 Jews in the small extermination center of Sobibor located today in far-eastern Poland on the border with Ukraine. In 2020, an album belonging to the Deputy Commandant, Johann Niemann, surfaced and was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by his family. This album contains never before seen images of Sobibor and the lives of its SS, but also its prisoners. Martin Cüppers joins the podcast to talk about the history of the camp and what these photos tell us about its history. ...2024-02-191h 04

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 4- America's Rescue of Jews during the Holocaust with Rebecca ErbeldingSend us a text What did the US do to rescue Jews from the clutches of the Nazis? This week we talk with Rebecca Erbelding about the War Refugee Board and American efforts to help those targeted by the Nazis. In this discussion, we touch on a lot of important topics including American immigration policy as well as what the US government and public knew about the Holocaust and when. But, most importantly, we talk about the War Refugee Board and the remarkable ways in which it sought to fight for refugees and against the Nazis.]2024-02-121h 13

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 3- The Fourth Reich with Gavriel RosenfeldSend us a textHow do you write the history of something that never happened? What were the chances of Nazis creating a Fourth Reich? And what do our fears of a Nazi resurgence tell us about the past and present. In this wide-ranging conversation with Gavriel Rosenfeld, we talk about the history of the Fourth Reich, both as a rhetorical device but also as a very real political reality that former Nazis tried to engineer. We also discuss the challenges postwar Germany faced in coming to terms with the very real Third Reic...2024-02-051h 08

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 2- Romania and the Holocaust with Grant HarwardSend us a textApproximately 220,000 Romanian Jews died during the Holocaust, but their story is much less well-known. In this conversation with Grant Harward, we talk about the history of the Holocaust in Romania. He leads us through a really informative survey of both the history of Romania and the impact it had on the later unfolding of Romania’s attack on Jews in the region. We look at the history of antisemitism and the rise of fascism there as well as the ways in which Romanian authorities Jews under their control. The discus...2024-01-291h 12

The Holocaust History PodcastEp. 1- History, Fiction, and Truth with Omer BartovSend us a textIn his latest book, Omer Bartov notes that “Indicating where the line between truth and fiction lies is difficult, if not impossible, because in certain cases there may be more truth in fiction that in the mere retelling of facts.” In this our first episode of the podcast, we take a look at what happens when an historian turns to writing fiction about the past. This was a really great conversation with Omer Bartov about his new book, the Butterfly and the Axe which is a fictionalized account of two fam...2024-01-221h 13

The Holocaust History PodcastWelcome to the Podcast!Send us a textWelcome to the podcast!Follow on Twitter @holocaustpod.Email the podcast at holocausthistorypod@gmail.comThe Holocaust History Podcast homepage is hereYou can find a complete reading list with books by our guests and also their suggestions here.2024-01-2202 min

Battling with BusinessEpisode 43 - Why people do bad things: Exploring the systemic and institutional failures that led to the Holocaust with Dr. Waitman Beorn In this episode, we are privileged to be joined by Dr. Waitman Wade Beorn. He is an author and historian and one of the preeminent academic experts on the Holocaust and the events that led up to the most heinous and barbaric episodes in human history. He is also a previous Tank Commander from the US Cavalry and as such has a tactical appreciation of small team management. In this facinating discussion, we explore the combinatorial factors of bad individuals, bad organizations, and bad systems. Why do good people stand by when bad things happen? What is the role of...2023-11-021h 11

WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You TalkA Philosopher Goes To WarAl Murray chats to Dr Waitman Wade Beorn about one of the most fascinating ruminations on fighting during the Second World War - Warriors by J. Glenn Gray.J. Glenn Gray entered the army as a private in May 1941, having been drafted on the same day he was informed of his doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University, years after the end of war - the philosopher reread his war diaries and began to write eloquently on warfare does to soldiers, especially our understanding of cruelty in war.A Goalhanger ProductionProduced by Joey...2023-10-3158 min

CEU Press PodcastSeries Spotlight: Perpetrators of Organized ViolenceEpisode 4 of the CEU Press Podcast Series introduces one of the Press’s new series, entitled Perpetrators of Organized Violence: Eastern, Central and South-Eastern Europe. The series editors, Waitman Wade Beorn, Weronika Grzebalska and Iva Vukušić talk about the aims of the series, ethical considerations when researching perpetrators of organized violence, and about the book proposals they are interested in.This new series aims to publish work contributing to the burgeoning field of Perpetrator Studies, with a focus specifically on the East, Central and Southeast Europe region. You can read more about the series on the CEU...2023-09-2828 min

New Books in Genocide StudiesSeries Spotlight: Perpetrators of Organized ViolenceEpisode 4 of the CEU Press Podcast Series introduces one of the Press’s new series, entitled Perpetrators of Organized Violence: Eastern, Central and South-Eastern Europe. The series editors, Waitman Wade Beorn, Weronika Grzebalska and Iva Vukušić talk about the aims of the series, ethical considerations when researching perpetrators of organized violence, and about the book proposals they are interested in.This new series aims to publish work contributing to the burgeoning field of Perpetrator Studies, with a focus specifically on the East, Central and Southeast Europe region. You can read more about the series on the CEU...2023-09-2828 min

New Books in Military HistorySeries Spotlight: Perpetrators of Organized ViolenceEpisode 4 of the CEU Press Podcast Series introduces one of the Press’s new series, entitled Perpetrators of Organized Violence: Eastern, Central and South-Eastern Europe. The series editors, Waitman Wade Beorn, Weronika Grzebalska and Iva Vukušić talk about the aims of the series, ethical considerations when researching perpetrators of organized violence, and about the book proposals they are interested in.This new series aims to publish work contributing to the burgeoning field of Perpetrator Studies, with a focus specifically on the East, Central and Southeast Europe region. You can read more about the series on the CEU...2023-09-2828 min

Historians At The MoviesEpisode 38: Fury with Waitman BeornEvery now and then we get the chance to talk to a scholar with a little extra knowledge on a particular subject. In this case, Dr. Waitman Beorn drops in to talk about Brad Pitt's tank film, Fury. Waitman knows the film well, especially since he commanded a tank prior to becoming a historian. Listen in now to hear him talk not only about WWII, but his experiences serving in the Tank Corps and how the lessons learned transcended his time there. It's a fun and fascinating talk.About our guest:Dr. Waitman Wade Beorn is a...2023-08-161h 23

WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You TalkWHWF - Berlin 45The final year of the war saw savage fighting and horrific civilian suffering, nowhere more than in Berlin. Experts onthe period Alex Ritchie, Waitman Wade Beorn, and Bastiaan Willems describe the horrors of the German capital in 1945.Recorded live at We Have Ways Fest 2022A Goalhanger Films productionProduced by Paul KingExec Producer: Tony PastorTwitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPodWebsite: www.wehavewayspod.comEmail: wehavewayspodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2022-10-181h 03

WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk392. The Eastern FrontWhat common mistakes do people make about the Nazis and the Red Army? Alex Richie, Katja Hoyer and Waitman Wade Beorn talk about the atrocities that happened on the Eastern Front during the Second World WarA Goalhanger Films productionProduced by Vasco AndradeExec Producer Tony PastorTwitter: #WeHaveWays@WeHaveWaysPodWebsite: www.wehavewayspod.comEmail: wehavewayspodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices...2021-11-181h 06

Reel History UKS03EP02 Denial (with guest Dr.Beorn)In the week of Holocaust Memorial Day, we look at the 2016 drama DENIAL, and its version of the court case brought against historian Professor Deborah Lipstadt by odious Holocaust denier David Irving. Joining us is guest Dr. Waitman Wade Beorn, himself an expert in the field of Holocaust Studies as well as Digital Academic Studies, to discuss the facts behind the fiction and the fiction behind the 'facts'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2021-01-281h 31

WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk227. Crimes of the WehrmachtOne of the enduring myths arising from the war is that the extreme violence in the east was carried out by the Waffen SS, not the Wehrmacht. Historian and former US serviceman Waitman Wade Beorn tells Al Murray and James Holland about the atrocities committed by Wehrmacht soldiers on the Eastern Front. Waitman discusses their crimes and what psychological factors create extreme levels of violence.We Have Ways has a membership club which includes a live version of the podcast streamed on the internet each Thursday evening. There are also five free audiobooks on t...2020-12-291h 06

Evoking HistoryThe Wehrmacht, the Holocaust, and the Janowska Concentration Camp with Dr. Waitman Wade BeornThis week I am joined by Dr. Waitman Wade Beorn, Senior Lecturer in History at Northumbria University in Newcastle, UK. We discuss his career path that bridges the gaps between the public and academic history spheres. Dr. Beorn provides an excellent debunking of the "clean Wehrmacht" myth and goes into detail about his current project, a combination monograph digital history project on the Janowska Concentration Camp, an urban camp located in the city of Lviv. We also discuss how to frame historical questions/projects and the ethical issues that arise when doing digital history projects on topics like the...2020-09-151h 02