Mandy Patinkin Learns He Had Family in the Holocaust 

Anyone else also teared up with Mandy? 😢

As a child, no one in my family ever talked about this. As an adult, I found out that my maternal grandmother's family and my paternal grandfather's family had all been killed in the Holocaust. I can definitely understand how difficult this is for Mandy (and others) to process.

Mandy Patinkin is the most tender hearter human. That's what makes him such a great actor. He was probably shook for weeke after.

Mandy is one of the most eloquent and wise folks around.

I will never be able to understand how a person's mind could conceive such evil, and put it into practice.

I’ve watched Mandy, his wife and son on his channel ... he can laugh but to see him weep like this breaks my heart. He feels so deeply ... that is why I admire him so much as an actor. Bless you Mr Patinkin. May your heart be lifted out of this deep deep hole of inhumanity towards your forbears. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🇳🇿🇳🇿🐑🐑

I got on an elevator at our local hospital and on the way up I looked over at the short silver haired woman next to me who was gesturing with her hands. Something caught my eye. It was numbers tattooed on her arm. Her accent gave her away as did her features. I realized I was standing next to a Holocaust survivor. In that one moment the trajectory of my life was turned on end. Even now, just thinking about that moment, I begin to cry. By the way, over the years I learned who she was and indeed, my assumption was correct.

My heart broke for him when he read that

Thank you Henry Louis Gates!

Ahhh how can I jump through the screen and hug him!? 😣

Oh my goodness I just sobbed for him.

He is a fine person. A deeply considered, empathetic fine man. It is what makes him a remarkable artist and a good human being.

This broke me. The way his voice got high pitched

This was the hardest to watch as Dr. Gates explained the story of Mandy’s relatives.

When Mr. Patinkin broke down in tears, you could feel his sorrow. How heartbreaking for him to find out that a large number of his family members perished in the Holocaust. I never knew I had a Jewish ancestor until I had a DNA test done by Ancestry. I discovered her through my maternal side of the family, and I had no idea she had married a man and came to America with him, leaving her family behind in Poland. I'm sure with further genealogical study, I would discover that her family had not been so lucky. It frightens me that I see the beginnings of this nightmare again here in America. One ideology taking over the media, controlling speech, banning books and destroying the livelihood of anyone that doesn't conform. Mr. Patinkin asked, "How did this happen?" Exactly the same way it's beginning to happen here in America. One political party controls the mainstream media, people are being fired from jobs because they refuse to conform, people's voices are being extinguished from social media. Certain people in this country are being persecuted for what they believe--some are beaten in the streets for it. This isn't the America that my ancestor found refuge in anymore. I am amazed that others, people of Jewish decent don't see it. Did we learn nothing from Hitler's Germany? Young people are turning on their parents in the exact same way that Hitler's youth turned their own parents in if they didn't fall in line. I am amazed each and every day that others don't see it.

Bless his soul. All of his ancestors have been lifting him up so he could help the world remember...and so he could be free. Bless all of their souls.

I love Mandy! Such a sweet and eloquent man. I felt his pain and cried with him.

Merciful heaven, this is One of the most moving moments I have ever witnessed. A potent reminder that we must actively and vehemently care for one another and oppose any sort of cruelty or discrimination.

Oh Mandy, your pain and sorrow is excruciating. I understand not being able to imagine this horror. Your reaction is how every living soul should react, now and then and forever.

I was starting to weep in anticipation, poor Mandy. Poor World that events like the Holocaust and ethnic cleansing occurred and still occur.

We love you Mandy Patinkin. We love you Louis Gates. Never forget. Bless us all

This made me tear up when I watched it Tuesday night. He and Scarlett Johannsen's reactions were heart wrenching

Mandy is one of the most down to earth actors ever, When he cried so did I. This is news that would rock ANYONE'S world. Bless you Mandy, now you know the truth and you are stronger for it. You are a wonderful actor but above all you are 10000000000% HUMAN. We all love you.

Ripped my heart out! Buckets of tears! I am so sorry, Mandy.

One of my first memories of Mandy Patinkin is an interview where he spoke of the injustices committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. I remember being surprised because it's not common for Hollywood figures, particularly Jewish ones, to speak up about the matter since it's so taboo. It's both heartbreaking and heartwarming to discover his roots and how it ties into his humanitarian beliefs. I like to think his family is looking down on him with immense pride.

The saddest thing is that we did not learn. It still happens, in a smaller scale in other countries, for religious, political, tribal, sexual orientations, reasons.

To see a grown man cry like that, just goes to show how horrible the Holocaust really was! I am fortunate enough to have my family leave Ukraine and come to the U.S before Hilter and his Camps, but that doesn't mean I am not affected by what happen. As a Jew, I can only carry on and hope for a better life and better outcome than my ancestor and my people!

My father and his parents fled Austria. Some were able to follow. Others did not make it. I've spent many years looking, & as with so many survivors my father did not recall much - did not speak of it much - he had been a child when they fled - and I didn't know what questions to ask. His parents were long gone. To see records in black and white, as Mandy did, is shocking - esp. when you see photos. Never forget. Thank you, Mandy, for your humanity.

My god I immediately started crying

I cried with him...so sorry for him and especially the poor souls who were murdered.

What a heartbreaking thing to find out!

I cried with him, just heartbreaking

Poor guy. What a tragic time in history.

I love Mandy and his acting and singing abilities. My favorite show he was in was Criminal Minds. I watched the full episode of this show. I cried so much for him when he found out about his family.

Heart wrenching - and, to think there are those who deny it ever happened - - -

I cried with you, you tender soul.

I found myself crying as well. This week I found out my Paternal Grandmother left 13 brothers & sisters behind in Nicolayev , Russian Empire when she immigrated as an orphan to Canada. My cousin checked with Russian and Ukrainian Embassies and was told the area they lived was decimated . I just found out several days ago and like Mandy never thought the Holocaust touched my family personally. My Father liberated the Concentration Camps and thank God he didn’t live to hear this news.

What a shock for him to discover this! It would have to change a person's life forever! Oh, my...

God bless him. I cried right along with him

Very difficult to hear him cry. Wow...

"The unthinkable happened." Oh, Mandy, you were so close to saying the inconceivable happened.

I still remember him. "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepared to die." in The Princess Bride.

I will be watching this episode tonight.

I feet his pain in my soul, as many of my ancestors suffered the same fate. God rest there souls.

My mothers family had family in the Holocaust being Polish. After learning about in school then finding out we had family and learning things that were not told in books - I was horrified. My grandmother never talked about it . Never told me . Her family hid people. And after awhile her house was taken over by soldiers in and they fled into the forest . They watched the bombs being dropped and their whole town in France being attacked. While their families in Poland were suffering in the Holocaust. Nobody can still stomach the stories and horrible things/ experiments done to these innocent people to this day. I feel for Mandy and can understand where he is coming from. God Bless him 🙏❤️

How one takes this information for the first time, a part of ones history & knowing what happened, will bring anyone to their knees. Grieve, remember, live & move on.

Thank you for sharing.

The entire time I am watching this, I was looking at the faces of those men, women and children and I'm am trying to understand what about those faces caused so much hate? And as a black person I ask myself the same question, slavery and apartheid, what about those faces is...? :'(

Heartbreaking moment.

I cried too...

I understand his emotion. I was in his shoes once.

God bless u

Touching.

Wow. My heart hurts for his ancestors 💔

I honestly think he should probably be grateful that he went most of his life without knowing. To grow up knowing is traumatic. To live with the guilt that so many died and you...what did you do to deserve to live? How did your great uncle, who was a medical researcher or a playwright or a rabbi, somehow die, and you, who watched 4 episodes of True Detective instead of going to your cousin's graduation, somehow deserve to live? It's very difficult to not let that break you.

this one still rips me apart...

God the feeling of dread when he started bawling hit me like a freight train

Incredible episode!! 😪😪😪

God I wanted to give Mandy a hug throughout this. You can hear his voice wavering throughout as he’s reading this. Like he knows what’s coming, but the truth still hurts.

I can't imagine having that scar on my family tree the pain must be intense

Bless his soul!

I watch. I cry. There’s a whole in my heart. I’m sick to my stomach. Too many of my friends have the same story. 😢 Oh my God! There can’t be anything worse! All I can think about is we weren’t Jewish, but my family was scared shitless because it involved other people and other countries too. My family have horror stories having to leave their homes and countries, with very little in their bags. They were afraid of being caught, then put on a train to one of those places, or shot right then and there. My Father had a purpose for fighting this terrible evil that nobody understood. We really are not learning much from our mistakes. “When will we ever learn”.

I loved this actor in Chicago Hope.

Oh God, to hear him cry was heartbreaking :'(

i cry too, that's so sad.

What a horrible discovery! I have relatives that died in the holocaust to so I understand Mandy's pain here. 🙏🙏😢😢

Mandy I am so sorry.

I cried together with Mandy. I understand him. I was born in Odessa, Ukraine 70 years ago. I never seen my grandfather, he was killed by nazi. He was a soldier. His immediate family,my grandmother,my aunt and my future mother were evacuated to Uzbekistan. Although, my mother was only15 at that time, she worked 16 hours a day @ factory,where workers, some of them as young as 10-12 yo, produced ammunition for army. The rest of the family,the majority,who had not been evacuated were killed. All, including small and very small children. My mother-in- law was 17 ,just graduated from school , when fascists came to small Ukrainian town Nemirov.

The Holocaust is hard to imagine because it was the apocalypse. These children, adults, families, all entering the gates of hell. When you know that you and everyone, everything you love are about to be tortured and wiped out. Senselessly decimated by your neighbors and fellow beings. Can you imagine being there, when it breaks your heart 6 million times?

This broke my heart

It’s true feelings for human beings

That's the reaction of someone who just had a complete emotional bomb hit them. That's an incredible finding about your family history.

I can't imagine how it must feel to discover an entire branch of your family had been stolen from you.

I reconnected with my fathers side and found out we are Spanish Jews from Bucharest from community called De Rit Spaniol and everyone survived the holocaust and moved to Israel

Finding out something like that...

I always find it so odd when someone only discovers later in life that his relatives were murdered by the Nazis. My father lost his first wife and children and almost all his immediate and extended family.

I have always assumed the same, that I have no relatives that perished in the Holocaust,. Watching this I now know it could be true and it horrifies me in the same way.

I don't know Mandy, never saw his work (as far as I know of), but I do know quite a few family members of his here in Israel, sweet sweet people. as far as I remember, at least some of them new they had connections in the holocaust. so so sad

The universe was showing off when Mandy was made. Australia.

Is there any website to access the full episiode with Mandy Patinkin for free online? I'm in New Zealand and PBS isn't available?

So sad. IT MUST NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.

Es tut mir so endlich leid für das Leid

I weep with you.

ah I'm crying.

💔💜 I'm sorry, Mandy. 💜💔

I can't stop crying. #neveragain

The atrocities… no words

Oh my gosh that's so sad

😥💔

Omg I'm so sorry for all the sad, and bad things people learn. But I know their family history infact doesn't define them. But can be very painful to learn.

Mandy Patinkin is a Really Talented actor I like them in the Princess bride the TV show Chicago Hope in Homeland he played the villainous Huxley In the amici’s called Elmo in grouchland

I still find it horrifying that so many beautiful families were led to horrific untimely deaths. Now however we have technical advances in surveillance which surely gives advance warnings. Evil flourishes when good people do nothing and when they do not do enough, it seeps insidiously. May goodness always prevail.

Its so sad..

😢

I'm really sorry about the past horrors. However, we are still witnessing same in different versions against civilians in Ethiopia against Tigrians and no one taking actions.

Wow

My great grandparents were killed in the Kaunas Ghetto. I had no idea that Mandy lost family, too.

I will never understand how people could (and I'm afraid it can happen again) this to eachother. And for what?? I don't get it.

We can join in Shiva

Ironic. I just watch the story of Irena Sendler. So Mandy is the grandson of one of the moms that gave her child to Irena? The son of one of those children?