The 21st Show

Illinois Holocaust survivor recounts escape from Nazis

 
Holocaust survivor Bill Gingold talks with The 21st show.

Holocaust survivor Bill Gingold talks with The 21st show. Jose Zepeda/Illinois Public Media

Among the small numbers of Holocaust survivors who made it to American shores is Bill Gingold of Urbana. We talked about his birth in the Warsaw, Poland ghetto in 1939, his family's escape to Siberia and his evenutal move to America. Gingold spent decades in Central Illinois, where he became a clinician, a husband, father and grandfather.

Bill's visit with us coincides with PBS' airing of a multi-night documentary examining America’s role in the Holocaust. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany slaughtered more than 6-million people who were Jewish, Romani, disabled, gay and a number of other ethnic or religious minorities. Although it happened in Europe, filmmakers Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein make it clear that anti-immigrant sentiment in the US cost lives.

Guest:

Bill Gingold

Holocaust Survivor | Clinician