Ep 349: Raised by Survivors with Bernie Furshpan and guest Howard Meier on hmTv

Ep. 349: Raised by Survivors

Guest: Howard Meier
Host: Bernie Furshpan | hmTv / HMTC

In this powerful episode of Raised by Survivors, Bernie Furshpan sits down with longtime HMTC leader Howard Meier to explore the quieter side of Holocaust legacy—the side carried not in history books, but in homes, accents, foods, silences, and the unspoken resilience of families rebuilding their lives in America.

Howard shares deeply personal memories of growing up in a German-Jewish household on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where German was the language of survival, the deli was the heart of the community, and the stories of the past lived between the lines. He reflects on parents who rarely spoke of their war-time trauma, an aunt who revealed the truth years later, and the impossible choices families had to make—Kindertransport separations, lost childhoods, scattered siblings, and the relentless decision to endure.

Bernie and Howard also discuss the enduring mission of the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center, the urgency of combating rising antisemitism, and the hope they find in educating tens of thousands of young people every year. Together, they honor the strength of their parents’ generation and the responsibility to carry that legacy forward.

A conversation filled with history, humanity, and hard-won wisdom—this episode is a reminder that resilience isn’t inherited by accident; it’s passed down with love, courage, and truth.

Tune in to Raised by Survivors and be part of the story.

Transcript

Ep. 349

Raised by Survivors
Host: Bernie Furshpan
Guest: Howard Meier
HMTC / hmTv

Bernie: Humanity matters.
Hello, and thank you for joining me today. I’m your host, Bernie Furshpan, and this podcast is a production of the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County.

On today’s episode of Raised by Survivors on hmTv, my special guest, Howard Meier, joins me for a conversation about what it was like growing up as the child of Holocaust survivors. Howard, thank you so much for being here.

Howard: Thank you, Bernie.

Bernie: You’ve been involved with HMTC for a long time—you were one of the guiding forces behind transforming the center from a small memorial space into a modern, state-of-the-art museum and educational institution known throughout Long Island. Under your leadership, the center expanded its exhibits, broadened its outreach to students and communities, and strengthened its mission of confronting hate through education. Even now, as chairman emeritus, your impact is still felt every day. Thank you, Howard, for everything you’ve done.

Howard: It’s been over 25 years. Not quite 30—but close.

Bernie: For those meeting you for the first time, how would you describe your family’s Holocaust story?

Howard: Truthfully, my parents didn’t talk about the Holocaust much—if at all. Aunts and uncles did in later years, but growing up, most of my awareness came from simply knowing we were different.
I’ll give you an example: I went to kindergarten speaking only German. Our grandparents lived with us, my parents ran a deli, and most of the customers were German Jews. So at home, and even downstairs in the deli, German was the language.

Going to school expanded my world—and only later did I learn why different members of the family had emigrated from Germany at different times. The real stories didn’t fully surface until years later.

Bernie: You know, we have parallel lives. Both my parents were survivors too, and they didn’t speak about it either—not for a long time. I learned by watching them watch films about the Holocaust and seeing their reactions. That’s how I sensed there was this enormous, unspoken history behind them.

They spoke Yiddish at home… until I started understanding Yiddish. Then they switched to Polish. Very strategic.

When was the first time you realized your family was different?

Howard: Probably around age eight, nine, ten. You start noticing your parents have accents. You ask them to speak English because “we’re in America now”—and years later, you feel guilty even remembering you said it.

And then there were the economic differences. We were the “have-nots.” Other kids had new bicycles; mine barely worked. You just knew life in your home was not the same as in the homes of your classmates.

Bernie: My mother raised us on Polish food—stuffed cabbage, chopped liver, the classics. Many Holocaust survivors assimilated and fed their kids American food. We did not. What did you eat?

Howard: A lot of wurst. Bologna, salami… and I’ve got a story you’ll appreciate.

There was a delicatessen on the Upper West Side called Bloch and Falk. When I was two, my grandfather took me there one morning—and left without me. Just walked out with his bag of wurst.

The owners sat me down and fed me bologna until my mother finally came to rescue me. To this day, I still remember it—and we still laugh about it in my family.

Bernie: Well, at least you were fed!

Howard: Oh yes—we grew up on wurst. Even after we moved upstate, whenever we visited New York we’d stop at Bloch and Falk, buy a big supply, pack it on dry ice, and drive it back.

Bernie: Most people today know the term “deli,” but not “delicatessen,” which is actually a German word—delikatessen, meaning delicate or fine food. Essen—“to eat.” Many Jewish survivors brought that culture and business model from Germany and opened delicatessens just like your family did.

Howard: What always fascinated me was how survivors gravitated to different neighborhoods—the Upper West Side full of German Jews, the Lower East Side mostly Polish Jews. We were all children of survivors, but in very distinct pockets, with different languages, foods, and customs. A lot of similarities, but a lot of differences too.

Bernie: My brother and I had front-row seats to two people with PTSD. My father would wake up crying at night. I didn’t know why until my mother told me how he survived in the forest in minus-20 degrees. Did you ever see your parents cry?

Howard: Not my parents—but my Aunt Gertrude, yes. She became very emotional as she got older and opened up more. She experienced Germany, then France. She was a freedom fighter. What she endured, what happened to her family… a lot of my understanding came through her.

My grandfather, who was incarcerated in Dachau during Kristallnacht, also shared bits and pieces. But in our home, the conversations focused more on what it meant to be in America—the freedoms, the privilege of voting, the importance of democracy. Becoming American meant everything to them.

Bernie: We live in a great country. Imperfect? Absolutely. But still the greatest. My wife and I travel all over the world, and we’re always happy to come home.

Howard: My wife says the same thing.

Bernie: My parents had two very different stories. My mother’s family fled the moment Germany invaded Poland. My grandmother got off the train to find food—the train left without her—and it took her five years to find all four of her children.

My father, on the other hand, lived in a small village of 1,500 Jews. Only thirty survived—he was one of them. Two completely different stories, but the suffering and resilience were universal.

What about your family? What did they endure?

Howard: When I visited Yad Vashem about 25 years ago, they talked a lot about the impossible decisions parents had to make. In my mother’s family, they sent the youngest daughter on the Kindertransport. Imagine making the decision to separate your children. My mother was slightly too old but they still sent her—to work as a domestic in England, not knowing if they’d ever see her again.

Her schooling ended after eighth grade. She wasn’t allowed on park benches. Her bike was confiscated—as were all Jewish bikes. And this was before the war officially began.

Germany’s Jewish population was less than one percent, yet Hitler used Jews as the scapegoat for everything—economic problems, political problems, even the coming war. Book burnings began in 1935. Kristallnacht in 1938. The cleansing started long before the world realized what was coming.

Bernie: As we wind down—if you could speak directly to your parents today, what would you want to tell them about how you’re carrying their legacy forward through the center?

Howard: I would tell them that we are influencing young people and even police officers—helping them understand that when they see injustice, they must stand up. Because the Holocaust didn’t start with killing. It started with degrading people—stripping them of dignity.

We see similar patterns today, not only against Jews but against many groups. And we stand against all of it. We remember not only the six million who were murdered but the survivors—their lessons, their courage. And through this center, we pass those lessons forward. I think that would make my parents proud.

Bernie: In the last two years, our education department has grown dramatically. More educators, more docents, more outreach. Do you feel hope—for Long Island, for the U.S., for the world?

Howard: Absolutely. Forty thousand young people come through here annually. Our podcasts reach thousands more. Our virtual programs reach beyond New York. We are influencing lives. And yes—we are living our parents’ legacy.

Bernie: My parents would be proud too—and probably horrified by what’s happening today. The level of antisemitism in recent years has been shocking. The attacks on Israel, the hatred on campuses—none of this would make sense to them. But they’d recognize our resilience. Jews have endured thousands of years of persecution, and we’re still here. We’re diamonds forged under pressure.

Howard: We are. And we shouldn’t have to smile about it—but resilience is built into us. And thank God we have Israel.

Bernie: And thank God for you, Howard. Thank you for everything you’ve done for this center.

Howard: Thank you, Bernie. And thank you for everything you’ve brought here—your creativity, your passion, your energy. You’ve built something extraordinary. This podcast studio alone—350 episodes in under a year—that’s remarkable.

Bernie: Humanity matters.

Howard: Very well said.

Bernie: Thank you again, Howard, for joining me today, and thank you to all our listeners. If you enjoyed today’s conversation, explore our other podcasts on hmTv. Please subscribe, share, and stay connected for more engaging discussions.

Until then—take care and be well.