hmTv at HMTC Podcasts Ep 269: Raised by Survivors with Bernie Furshpan and guest Steven Ludsin on hmTv
Ep 269: Raised by Survivors with Bernie Furshpan and guest Steven Ludsin
In this powerful episode of Raised by Survivors on hmTv, host Bernie Furshpan sits down with Steven Ludsin—a whirlwind of energy, a relentless advocate, and the only second-generation Holocaust survivor appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the President’s Commission on the Holocaust.
Steven shares his family’s remarkable story: his father’s narrow escape from Latvia, his mother Sonia’s survival of the Holocaust, and the legacy of grief, resilience, and responsibility that shaped his life. From childhood memories in a survivor household, to his years at Cornell and beyond, Steven reflects on how trauma, luck, and persistence guided him to play a pivotal role in creating the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C.
With humor, candor, and deep conviction, Steven describes what it means to be raised by survivors, the challenges of carrying that inheritance, and why vigilance and upstanding are more urgent today than ever before.
This is not just a conversation about history—it’s a call to action against hate, apathy, and bystander silence.