Did any of my family survive the holocaust? | DNA Family Secrets - BBC 

It’s a shame that the technology is coming too late for so many survivors but at the very least there is a chance for those still living to have answers…

I am Sicilian...my grandfather helped liberate Auschwitz... This brought tears to my eyes... I am happy for you

There is a story of a man that saved 669 Jewish kids, by taking them to England and placing them with English families, but there was one train that didn't make it through, it was stopped and all the kids were taken to a concentration camp. His name is Sir Nicholas Winton, maybe this guy was on that train.

What is crazy is that I've met people online who dont believe in the holocaust and think its a conspiracy. The world needs to never forget what happened.

In a roundabout way, this reminds me of so many American Jews whose elders protected us from the reality that we had lost family in the Holocaust, and that the few survivors were trapped in harrowing lives in the Soviet Union. Doing my genealogy, I discovered Yad Vashem (Holocaust death) reports filled out my great-grandfather, who had immigrated to America in 1903. He knew who in our family had been murdered, but he never told his children and grandchildren, so we all believed that, being American, we hadn't been touched by the Holocaust. So many American Jews think this way. They're wrong. So far, I have found 50 relatives murdered in the Holocaust, and this is just on my grandfather's side of the family. Fifty! I've also found the descendants of survivors, almost all of whom were trapped in the Soviet regime for decades. Most amazingly of all though, I've found a closely related, *living* Holocaust survivor! He was a young adult when he was thrown into Dachau, so he remembers everyone who was murdered, and everything he endured. He tells me I look exactly like all the women in our family. And his name is exactly the same as my great-grandfather's, the American uncle he never met.

So glad to see his "closure" on his Dad. I can't imagine the feeling thinking your whole life that you're Dad was a Nazi & then someone telling you he wasn't. That was probably a big weight off his shoulders.

The happy story here is that he had lovely adoptive parents who loved him. I bet he made their world.

All these years later and they are still affected by this tragedy. I’m glad that he was able to find more family. Never be a bystander … never forget … never again …

I have been researching Displaced Person's in post-WW2 Europe - my parents were there and eventually came to Australia. However, my mother was adopted in her country of origin, as a baby. She knew very little about her biological mother and nothing about who her father was and it plagued her life. My father, I knew until age three and then buried him many years later with a huge gap in between. I know nothing about him. In researching, I have come to understand a little more about my mother, in particular; she has now passed. I have also read 7 books written by Holocaust survivors in a short space of time to the point that I could not read any more about the darkest of human behaviour and how the world treated Jewish survivors after liberation. Only Jackie and his cousin will truly know the deep value of finding each other. My love to them both.

Bless Jackie. I'm happy his Father wasn't a Nazi but what a shame that he will never know who his birth Father was. It's awesome that he found cousins living so close to him and his wife.

My dad survived Terezin. He arrived the week before his 7th birthday and was liberated by Russian forces about 2 years later. He was able to find a first cousin and other close relatives about a year before he died in May 2021. It's amazing how important these stories are. ❤❤❤

Just watched both episodes with my husband and we're blubbering wrecks. Stacey is the perfect host for this wonderful show. Beautifully done. I hope their news brings the guests peace and happiness in their lives. 🥰

Breaks my heart and soul to think of what all the children had to go through and all the families. So so sad. God bless them all.

as soon as she said they found some of his family I started tearing up

Can't stop the tears on this one. I'm so happy he's found some family after so much tragedy.

It hurts for me to watch this as a Korean. Although its specifics are not well known to the west, so many Koreans were separated, tortured, and killed during the Japanese occupation of Korea and it still haunts many families. A lot of Koreans were forced to work for Japanese companies who used them as slaves with little to no payments. They would just bury the bodies in a hole when they died and they destroyed the records. So there are people who have never had the chance of this kind of closure. It’s the truly horrendous parts of human history.

This is heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. If you’re not in tears, after watching this, you have no soul.

What an amazing gift of happiness and connection. A gift of peace for this man...

I am just so happy that he was able to get the information before it was too late........I am thankful he did not have to go to his grave not knowing.

I'm so happy he met his tribe! Amazing 👏🏼 work of the ENTIRE TEAM & for Mr. Jackie to open up his life to find the answers he was searching for. 🙌🏽Thank God!

As an adoptee (not Jewish), I was able to trace my birth mother's family, but she would not give me any identifying information about my birth father. It is so very important to know our roots, more so in Jackie's case. So pleased for him.

As someone that knows very little about my father's family, I'm so happy for them and am now saddled with unexpected tears.

This is beautiful. I am so happy for all of them. My family was scattered. Records were lost. I was able to find some of my dad's first cousin's in Israel, but for many, we have no idea what happened to them. I have found DNA cousin's but we cannot figure out how we are connected, just that we are. These kinds of things are so common for Eastern European Jews, so it's really gratifying when we get to see someone find out the truth and to be reunited.

As a young nurse I worked with many who were Holocaust survivors in a Jewish hospital in Toronto. The women who were young in the concentration camps were at that time 75 and 80s. So much love and stories to tell me and hugs to give. Showing me their tattooed numbers as evidence and saying the wanted people to never forget. I've nevr forgotten them. They all begged me to become Jewish so they could marry me to their grandsons. Such laughter. I also received a few punches from the demented older men who no longer knew where they were and I could only imagine where their minds thought they were as they shouted oy! Gevalt a d started swinging. Still we cared for them tenderly.

Absolutely fabulous!!! I understand his situation because Dads cousins husband went through exactly the same thing.

My house is over 100 years old, in the US. The town where I live had the orphan train roll through in the late 1910's early 1920's. One of the previous owners was an unmarried lady who plucked a child off the train, and he grew up in my house. Occasionally when digging in the yard or working to remodel a room, I will find one of his small tin toys, a crayon, something. I hope he had a good life.

Tears for this reunion - I'm so happy for them all.

I'm so happy you found your family My step-grandparents were both born in Romania, 1887 & 1890. My grandfather lived on the border of Romania and Russia with his village always under the wrath of the Czar's soldiers. My grandmother lived directly west about 3/4 across the country, her mother died when she was born or soon afterward and her older sister raised her. Aunt Ida married an Hungarian man and they emigrated to the US prior to WWI. My grandfather came over in 1900 or 1910 old enough to join the U S army and obtain his US citizenship which was also granted upon my grandmother upon their marriage. The papers grandpa completed at Ellis Island state he came here to get away from the Czar. Grandpa came over with 1 or 2 brothers, married, raised families. He never talked about Romania nor did my grandma. It's my understanding that they are not sure if family lived through the Holocaust but my uncle and aunt did go to Israel for a wedding of their cousin. I do have a photo but no names on the back. I didn't realize how important genealogy would be to me and should have asked more questions than I did. My grandma lived a very full 98 years the last 50 with my parents several years after my grandpa's death on the way home from their 49th Anniversary dinner. I was in the car with them when he did. Such a shock that could have been avoided

I believe there was a lovely bit of family resemblance and recognition... very sweet.

I was crying, it is such a touching story.

Oh my goodness, what a wonderful story. For Jackie, and Lita, to get this outcome is astounding. Happy tears.

There are miles of German records that have not been released. That information is out there, finding it is an entirely different story.

Beautiful story. So grateful people are still finding opportunities to answer questions, find family, and heal.

A beautiful ending to a tragic story.

It warms my heart to know he found family.

That's beautiful, just absolutely beautiful. God bless this new found, family and self identity.

Love to you all who had been effected by this horrific history xx

I understand why they couldn't talk about it. I've had serious trauma in my life and I couldn't talk about it for years. It was the only way I could get up in the morning, the only way to survive. I'm sure my trauma was nothing like what holocaust survivors endured. So I get it. 😥❤

This made me bawl like a baby.... So happy for you, sir.

I’m sorry I’m not forgetting all my life especially one of the best forever BBC channels thanks for everything

I was very much touched watching this 🥺

Welp, l NEVER EVER weep yet here l am 🥺😰😭 What an absolute delight this story brings to a world of sombre atm. Oh my....how breathtakingly beautiful ❣

The family resemblance is incredible. You would think they were siblings, not cousins! So glad that this man has found some blood relatives

This gave me chills….awful what happened to so many ppl.

So glad this man was adopted by a loving Jewish family so at least that part of his heritage was preserved. So many were not. As to not being told he was adopted, sadly, that was the norm. Adoptive parents were told it was best for the child not to know, a belief that was still prevalent in the late 50s, to the extent that when l was adopted, my adoptive parents had to sign declarations that they would not try and trace my birth parents. A friend of my mother's found out she was adopted when her husband, who had seen her original birth certificate when he married her, threw names at her during an argument. She was so distressed by 50 years of lies from her parents that she never spoke to them again. Things have changed now and most adoptions are "open" but it's not easy to trace one's birth parents at the best of times, especially without a father's name.

Okay, damn those onion ninjas! So happy he found family. Maybe somewhere, he may even find out more about his father. A slim chance but it's nice to hope.

This made me cry.

Ah, sweet mercy! May their reunion be comforting and splendid❤️🌹🌞

It had me in tears too. Such a wonderful conclusion for them all.

Thank you for uploading this video.

So emotional 😢 wonderful and so sad at the same time. Happy for this lovely couple and adorable man❤

How wonderful that he found his family before it was too late! So happy for him!

Wonderful! Thank you for sharing. History needs to be treasured and passed on.

Blessings to this wonderful man and his family🙏🏼

What a relief, and such a miracle and joy. Who could imagine that one's entire outlook and life might change at this age?

OMG what a beautiful blessing! I am so happy for your family. This is a beautiful story 🤗😘

To know who you are and where you come from is so important ❣️❣️ I am so happy for this man and so sad that this technology didn't exist back then, because so many want to know.. need to know.

So so lovely. All the best to you ❤.

So heartwarming to see this family find each other...

Wow bless all those innocent people. Thank goodness for dna xx

Lovely human being,no matter.....no matter who,what,where........makes today's rigid,moronic atmosphere so heart breaking...✌️

After the tragedy, came they rainbow in for of a family. I'm happy for them.

DNA doesn’t lie and provides answers for so many.

Really happy for him. 🥺❤️

I love these stories about ordinary people. And their real family Histories.

❤️❤️❤️so happy for them that this was made possible

This made me cry

Wonderful story. Genocide... all come from the dark, ALL of them. As members of the human race, we should always stand up against genocide and ... war.

Beautiful ❤️❤️. I’m soooo happy for these families 👏👏🤩🤩

BBC, this is a beautiful thing you are doing.

God bless them all. I’m so happy they were able to find each other.

God bless all those who have been affected. I hope you all find peace and happiness in your lives.

This is a lesson in hope, and joy, and the undefeatable human spirit. It's also a lesson in why we must educate our youth about the evils of totalitarianism and what did, and could happen again. God bless these people.

Naaaah im in tears 😭😭😭😭

So happy for him!!!!! ❤❤❤❤

Bless him, reunited with family at last.

I am so grateful for him and his wife. We all need a connection with where we came from

Made me cry.

I am so very pleased, that they were able to find surviving family for him.❤

I am so happy he found surviving family.

Family is so precious.

Wonderful story. Happy and sad for him.

What a beautiful story! Thank you for sharing. Do you think we'll get any better as human beings and someday have respect for life and each other?

What a nice story. Finding family is everything. ❤️

This is so sad to think the lifelong suffering these people have endured. May they have peace in their lives

Heart rendering report. The horror of the concentration camps is not even seen as reality by many these days. But it was and still causing pain for many. We must never ever forget what mankind is capable of lest it threaten to return.... ..and it can happen.

BARUCH HA~SHEM & TODA RABA TO ALL!!!!! MAY HA~SHEM CONTINUE TO BLESS Y'ALL!!!!! MUCH LOVE FROM A NOAHIDE MAMA 😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘

So sad but so amazing at the same time

WOW an you imagine? that information is life-changing I am so happy for them.

Bless you Jackie I am ashkenazi as well.

So wonderful!

It would have been nice if how the relationship of the cousins were connected through.

I hope everyone can find reatives after the horrors of the Holocaust. I'll always get tears. ❤️

so happy for them 🥺

God Bless You All!

Wonderful story and so glad Jackie gets to meet his family! BTW: To help with Turi Kings agonizingly slow cadence, that she seems to want to torture the guest with, hit the settings and play at increased speed and she sounds normal, though others will speak faster.

My great aunt and uncle left Vienna in early’39 with two children, a few suitcases and pockets full of coins and jewelry to pay their way. They found their way to a displaced persons camp in Morocco and waited out the war there. I’m sad and sorry for those who didn’t make it out. Never forget.

Bless them all.

I'd like to see the whole episode.

This is great