usc shoah foundation

In this episode of The Memory Generation, Rachael Cerrotti talks with author Elizabeth Rosner about her book Survivor Cafe: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory. Both of Elizabeth’s parents were Holocaust survivors and she has carried their stories from the day she was born.  Some stories she was told and others she learned through the silences that threaded their way through her childhood. She began writing about her family history from a young age through poetry and fiction and now explores the topics of inherited trauma and epigenetics through non fiction. Her books teach us that it is our sensitivities that will save us and highlights how we are all connected through very intrinsic human experiences. 

Rachael and Elizabeth recorded this conversation on October 10, 2022. Elizabeth was at her home in Berkeley, California and Rachael was in Portland, Maine.

For more: www.memorygenerationpodcast.com/12-elizabeth-rosner

In this episode of The Memory Generation, we have a story that starts with two girls – best friends who grew up in Berlin in the 1930s. Together, they experienced rising antisemitism and in 1939, each of their families fled. At just 9-years-old, they said a tearful goodbye to each other and promised to keep in touch, but neither knew where the other one went or if they even survived. One of these girls, a woman named Betty Grebenschikoff, who is now in her 90s, never stopped looking for her best friend. And amazingly 82 years later, thanks to the testimony Betty gave to USC Shoah Foundation in 1997, the two women were reunited.  In this conversation, Rachael and Betty discuss how memories of our past can change as life unfolds.

Betty & Rachael recorded this conversation on April 7, 2022 at Betty’s home in St. Petersburg, Florida.

For more: www.memorygenerationpodcast.com/11-betty-grebenschikoff

In this special two-part episode, we will hear stories from documentarians from two different periods of history who shed light on the repercussions of generations-long denial and silence. The first part of the episode is a short narrative piece about the life and legacy of Armin Wegner, a German humanitarian who was witness to the genocide of the Armenians during the First World War and then stood up to Hitler about the persecution of the Jews in 1933.  That piece is narrated by Stephen Smith (from episode 3). The second part of the episode is a conversation with Armenian filmmaker Naré Mkrtchyan whose grandparents survived the Armenian Genocide. She sits down with host Rachael Cerrotti to discuss how coming from a family history that is narrated by denial and debate has impacted her identity and the stories she has chosen to explore in her work. Her film, The Other Side of Home, was the first film about the Armenian Genocide to have been shortlisted for an Oscar.

For more: www.memorygenerationpodcast.com/7-nare-mkrtchyan

In this episode of The Memory Generation, Rachael sits down with Aziza Hasan to talk about how to navigate  difficult conversations, specifically in context to Israel and Palestine. Aziza grew up in Amman, Jordan to a Palestinian father and an American mother. She is an experienced mediator and conflict transformation practitioner and is the executive director of NewGround, a community-building organization based in Los Angeles that creates, connects and empowers Jewish and Muslim Change-makers in America. She was named an influencer by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, earned the “President’s Volunteer Service Award” in 2006 under President George W. Bush and served on President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

For more: www.memorygenerationpodcast.com/aziza-hasan

Rachael Cerrotti sits down in Los Angeles with oral historian Stephen D. Smith who co-created The Memory Generation for a conversation about testimony and the retelling of war-torn memories. For 12 years, Stephen served as the Finci-Viterbi Executive Director of USC Shoah Foundation, the archive founded by Steven Spielberg to document the Holocaust and genocide. He recently left  that role to be the Executive Chairman and co-founder of StoryFile, the world’s first AI conversational video platform that brings video alive. In addition, Stephen founded the UK Holocaust Centre in England, cofounded the Aegis Trust for the prevention of crimes against humanity and genocide and was the project director responsible for the creation of the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Rwanda. He is a theologian by training, has authored several books, produced several documentary films and was the inaugural UNESCO Chair on Genocide Education.

Rachael & Stephen recorded this conversation for The Memory Generation on February 24, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. 

For more: www.memorygenerationpodcast.com/stephen-smith

**To Note: ALONG THE SEAM was formerly named The Memory Generation. In this first season, you will hear Rachael use that title in the intro and outro.**

On the first episode of The Memory Generation, Rachael Cerrotti sits with Lois Lowry in her home in Falmouth, Maine to discuss writing about memory and keeping close relationships with those we have lost. Lois Lowry is a beloved American author. She has written more than 50 books throughout her career and has twice been awarded the Newbery Medals which is a literary award for “the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children". She won for her books Number the Stars in 1990 and The Giver in 1994.  She discusses both books on this episode of The Memory Generation.

For more: www.memorygenerationpodcast.com/lois-lowry

The bridge always burned or was destroyed. There was no way to go back again. Once you made another step, you couldn't step back.