Our Freedom: Then and Now

In this bonus episode of Our Freedom: Then and Now, Mikaela Agranati reflects on the life of survivor Miriam Freedman, who spent more than a year hiding in an impossibly confined space with her family. Mikaela explores how Miriam later turned to meditation to face the shadows of her past, and how knowing her has profoundly shaped Mikaela’s own journey of self-discovery. Through Miriam’s resilience...

In this bonus episode of Our Freedom: Then and Now, Josh Rocker reflects on meeting survivor Leon Greenman when he was just seven years old, an encounter that shaped him in ways he only fully understands now. Josh traces Leon’s extraordinary post-war life, shaped by a promise he made in the camps: to warn the world about the dangers of fascism, no matter the cost. Leon’s fierce commitment made him...

In this bonus episode of Our Freedom: Then and Now, Jack Nicholls reflects on the life of Rebecca Groen from the Netherlands,  a relative whose story has long been defined only by her death in Auschwitz. With so few details surviving, Jack sets out to rediscover who Rebecca was during her 71 years of life, hoping to bring back some of the everyday colour and humanity that has been lost over time....

  In this bonus episode of Our Freedom: Then and Now, Eitan reflects on his art piece and the life of Rudy Kennedy, whom he has chosen to commemorate. As a child, Eitan never felt able to ask the questions he wished to ask about Rudy’s past. Returning to the story now, as an adult, and reading Rudy’s unpublished memoirs has given him the chance to understand his life in a deeper, more personal way...

In this bonus episode of Our Freedom: Then and Now, Noa Geras reflects on the life of Lea Deutsch, the celebrated child actress from Zagreb whose brilliance was extinguished by the Holocaust. Noa threads Lea’s story together with her own family history, including the shadows cast by the war in the 1990s and the ways her mother tried to shield her children from the harshness of that time. Through L...

In this bonus episode of Our Freedom: Then and Now, Marta Rybarczyk takes us to Zofiówka in Otwock;  a place that holds layers of memory, loss, and unanswered questions. Through her reflection, Marta uncovers how landscapes can carry the echoes of those who once lived, suffered, and disappeared, and how returning to such a place becomes an act of quiet remembrance. This is Marta’s story of honouri...

In this deeply personal episode on freedom from fear, the group reflects on growing up with silence, discovering their identity and heritage, and what it means to claim a story that was never fully spoken. They imagine what their ancestors might say if they were all gathered in the same room,  a conversation across generations about fear, courage and belonging.

In this episode, the group explores the freedom to act, speak and think — from the joy of eating two puddings for breakfast to the responsibility to use our voices with courage. Through humour and honesty, they reflect on what it means to speak up, challenge injustice, and carry forward the moral clarity of the survivors they commemorate.

In this episode, the group explores freedom as belonging ; the freedom to feel at home, to stand in your identity without fear, and to choose the communities that shape you. Through the stories of the survivors they commemorate, they reflect on what belonging meant during and after the Holocaust, how it is inherited across generations, and how questions of safety, identity and privilege continue t...

This episode looks at freedom from imprisonment, through the stories of survivors who endured camps and hiding. The group reflects on physical liberation, psychological healing, and the inner resilience that allowed people to hold onto their humanity.

Freedom Then and Now is a JW3 podcast marking eighty years since Liberation, exploring what freedom means today for a generation living in the long shadow of the Holocaust. Across intimate conversations, participants reflect on fear, survival, identity, and moral courage, discovering how the past shapes their sense of freedom in the present.