In this episode, Tim and Louisa speak to Ilana Metzger, daughter of the late Henry Wermuth. Henry survived Plaszow, Auschwitz-Birkenau and Nordhausen before being liberated at Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria.

In 1942, Henry attempted the unimaginable – the assassination of Hitler. Henry tried to derail the train he knew Hitler would be travelling on, and so tried to change the course of history. Although his effort was unsuccessful, years later he was awarded with a resistance medal by the German government, in recognition for his act of bravery.

This was the final episode of Series 1, we hope you’ve enjoyed listening. If you have an object you’d like to share with us, please email info@het.org.uk – we’d love to hear your story.

Objects of the Holocaust is brought to you by the Holocaust Educational Trust, a charity that works to ensure that people from every background are educated about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today.

Find us on X, Instagram, Linkedin and TikTok.

Presenters: Professor Tim Cole, Louisa Clein

Producer: Sarah Peters, Tuning Fork Productions https://tuningforkproductions.com/

Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews www.moving-air.com

Composer: Iain Chambers https://www.iainchambers.com/

In this episode, featuring Michael Attenborough CBE, we learn about the Attenborough family’s connection to the Holocaust. The Attenborough’s fostered two sisters, Irene and Helga Berjach, who came to the UK from Nazi Germany via the Kindertransport. They were welcomed into the family and lovingly cared for - the Attenborough boys (Richard, John and David) referred to them as their “little sisters.”

The object featured in this episode is a brochure from a production of A Chorus Line - from a reunion which took place years later, and which brought back memories of the family’s time together during the Second World War, when Helga and Irene were far from home.

Clip from Helga Waldman, © 2025 USC Shoah Foundation.

Objects of the Holocaust is brought to you by the Holocaust Educational Trust, a charity that works to ensure that people from every background are educated about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today.

Find us on X, Instagram, Linkedin and TikTok.

Presenters: Professor Tim Cole, Louisa Clein

Producer: Sarah Peters, Tuning Fork Productions https://tuningforkproductions.com/

Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews www.moving-air.com

Composer: Iain Chambers https://www.iainchambers.com/

This episode features Judy Russell speaking about her father Ernest Levy OBE. On a Death March to Bergen-Belsen towards the end of the war, Ernest picked up a sardine tin which had been discarded by a guard. Instead of drinking the oil which would have given him a little sustenance, he fashioned a wick. Later, in a freezing cold barn, Ernest and his fellow prisoners lit this candle and sang Maoz Tzur, a traditional Chanukah song.

This is an important and powerful story of spiritual resistance.

Objects of the Holocaust is brought to you by the Holocaust Educational Trust, a charity that works to ensure that people from every background are educated about the Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today.

Find us on X, Instagram, Linkedin and TikTok.

Presenters: Professor Tim Cole, Louisa Clein

Producer: Sarah Peters, Tuning Fork Productions https://tuningforkproductions.com/

Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews www.moving-air.com

Composer: Iain Chambers https://www.iainchambers.com/