tachles Podcast
The Finkelstein Foundation supports the podcast series tachles, produced by the Jewish magazine of the same name. The new podcast, part of the existing “Future Thought” and “Pages from the Present” series, is called “Echo from the Archive” and spotlights the past.
© tachles
Between 1980 and 2010, broadcast journalist David Dambitsch interviewed leading figures in contemporary history, including Judith Kerr and Hans Sahl. These interviews will be expanded to include current authors.
One episode of the podcast is dedicated to Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. In May 1944, Wiesel and his family were deported to the main concentration camp at Auschwitz. A short time later, he and his father were transferred to Auschwitz camp III Monowitz. After further transfers, Elie Wiesel finally was liberated from the Buchenwald concentration camp by American troops on April 11, 1945. His father had died shortly before. Elie Wiesel is the author of numerous publications about the Holocaust.
The camp in Monowitz is closely linked to I.G. Farben. In 1941, the company had a factory built in the immediate vicinity of the Auschwitz concentration camp for the purpose of producing synthetic rubber. Starting in 1942, I.G. Farben housed prisoners, prisoners of war, and forced laborers in its own concentration camp, Buna-Monowitz. Some 25,000 people died at the construction site alone, while others who were no longer able to work were murdered in the nearby gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Elie Wiesel survived.
The podcast aims to ensure that the experiences of the people interviewed are not forgotten and to reflect on the present. The content focuses on the diverse ways in which society in Germany addresses and comes to terms with the Shoah, as well as on the emergence of new Jewish communities in Europe.
Of the over 120 interviews that David Dambitsch conducted, the first series to be published will initially consist of 12 episodes. The podcast is available on tachles.ch, Spotify, iTunes, and all current podcast platforms. The episode with Elie Wiesel will be published on January 24 on the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27.
