Who Do You Think You Are: With Jerry Springer
American chat show host Jerry Springer embarks on a personal and emotional journey in Who Do You Think You Are?
Jerry was born in Golders Green in 1944 after his Jewish parents had escaped to London from Nazi Germany just three days before the outbreak of the Second World War. Jerry’s grandmothers did not escape and both were murdered in the holocaust. He does not know what happened to them after his parents’ escape, or where they died, but with their death all knowledge of his family’s roots were lost.
Jerry sets out to discover if he can trace the Springer family. He discovers that his great-grandfather, Abraham Springer, came from the small town of Neustettin. Now in Poland, in the 19th century the town was in the German kingdom of Prussia. Documents reveal that Abraham, too, had to struggle against, but ultimately overcame, an anti-Semitic hate campaign.
Jerry then undertakes a painful and disturbing investigation into the fate of his grandmothers. Nazi documents provide shocking detail and Jerry traces their journeys, first to the ghettos and ultimately to their deaths.
Tonight: 9.00-10.00pm BBC ONE
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I was absolutely stunned while watching Jerry Springer trace his grandmothers during WWII, because I could relate to all the anguish and anger he experienced. I took a similar trip to Poland/Germany last year, visiting where my family’s shtetl had been, looking for cemeteries that no longer existed (my ancestors were dug up, bones ground into “Jewish cement” and made into pavement) and eventually visiting Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. I never realized this man Mr. Springer had such a heart and soul! I am so glad his ancestors’ stories have been broadcast as they represent so many millions of stories that can never be told. Thank you for this program, truly impressed with Jerry and your portrayal of his search.