Hundreds of thousands of Jewish families were displaced when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union during World War II. Those who evaded Nazi death camps were faced with a perilous journey eastward in order to survive.
This podcast is the true tale of one of those families, told by the son who lived through it all. His Russian nickname is Yasha, and this is his story.
About Yasha
The Boy From Petrikov
Yakov "Yasha" Gendelman was born on June 15th, 1930 in Petrikov, a small town in what is now Belarus. He was the youngest of six children, raised by his mother Itka after his father's early death.
When Nazi Germany invaded in June of 1941, 11-year-old Yasha and his Jewish family found themselves in the path of certain annihilation. What followed was an odyssey spanning thousands of miles across the Soviet Union, fleeing the advancing Nazi forces into the bowels of Stalin's brutal wartime regime.
Decades later, Yasha sat across from his grandson, Jeremy, and told his whole story for the first time.
Yasha is more than just a survival story. It's a coming-of-age tale about finding hope in darkness, the enduring power of family, and the strength of human resilience.
About Jeremy
The Grandson With the Camcorder
Jeremy Gendelman is a writer, producer, and audio storyteller based in Colorado. Home from college one summer, he set up an old camcorder in front of his grandfather on a whim, expecting a story or two.
What he got was hours of firsthand testimony about a childhood on the run during one of the most visceral human dramas of the twentieth century. He put the tapes in a drawer and went back to his life.
It would take some growing up of his own to realize what he was holding. By then, Yasha was gone. This podcast is Jeremy's attempt to make sure his grandfather's story doesn't disappear with him.
Why This Story, Why Now
The Last Voices of the GREAT Flight East
Most Jewish history from World War II relays what happened after the Nazis arrived. Yasha's story centers on those who escaped in the nick of time, and the harrowing tour of survival that followed.
As the last voices from that era fade, stories like Yasha's become more important than ever. Somewhere in the world, another grandfather or grandmother, another great-uncle, another witness, is running out of time. Yasha is one attempt to listen, before there is nothing left to hear.