Ep 360: Inheriting Memory with Rebecca Sparacio and guest Aaron Sokolov on hmTv

Ep. 360: Inheriting Memory

with Rebecca Sparacio & guest Aaron Sokolov**

In this powerful episode of Inheriting Memory, host Rebecca Sparacio sits down with high school student Aaron Sokolov — a young voice learning what it means to inherit trauma, resilience, and responsibility from a Holocaust survivor in his own family.

Aaron recalls the moment he first learned his great-grandmother survived the camps — a moment of shock that reshaped how he thinks about history, antisemitism, and identity. He shares how participating in the “Names Not Numbers” oral history program deepened his awareness, why October 7th was a turning point in his understanding of vulnerability, and why speaking out matters now more than ever.

Together, Rebecca and Aaron explore the silence many families carry, the gaps in memory young people struggle to fill, and the urgent role of education in confronting today’s rising antisemitism. Aaron’s honesty — about confusion, pride, fear, and determination — gives listeners a raw, heartfelt view of what it means to grow up Jewish in this moment.

This episode is a reminder that memory is not just inherited — it must be learned, asked for, carried, and spoken aloud so history is neither forgotten nor repeated.

Transcript

Ep. 360 – Inheriting Memory
Host: Rebecca Sparacio
Guest: Aaron Sokolov
hmTv / Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center

Speaker 1 (Rebecca):
Welcome back to Inheriting Memory here on hmTv — where humanity matters, and where we learn how stories echo across generations. Today, we’re diving into personal legacy, inherited trauma, and the responsibility young people carry in passing truth forward.

My guest is Aaron Sokolov, a high school student whose family story traces back to the Holocaust. Aaron, thank you for being here.

Speaker 2 (Aaron):
Thank you for having me.

Rebecca:
So let’s begin where memory often starts — childhood. You mentioned earlier that the first time you heard your great-grandmother’s story came from your grandmother. Do you remember that moment?

Aaron:
Yeah. I called my great-grandma “Bubby Row,” but she passed away when I was around five or six. I didn’t know her story at all until my grandma sat beside me one day with a paper folder. She started telling me what happened, and I remember being completely shocked.

I knew the Holocaust existed. I knew people were killed. But the brutality — the human rights violations — that part had never reached me until then.

Rebecca:
So it landed as shock.

Aaron:
Totally. I remember thinking, Wait — they treated them like that? And I just kept thinking, Thank God she survived.

Rebecca:
Do you remember the details your grandmother shared?

Aaron:
Honestly, not many. I just know she survived a camp. I don’t know if she hid, escaped, or made some deal to get out — I don’t know most of the story. What I do know is she immigrated to New York, to Brooklyn, while she was still a teenager. New York and Poland… worlds apart. She adapted, but life was definitely different.

Rebecca:
Did your grandmother ever talk about growing up with her mother — your great-grandmother?

Aaron:
Not really. It hasn’t been a topic that comes up much.

Rebecca:
Let’s move into the impact. How has knowing that you’re descended from a Holocaust survivor shaped your life today?

Aaron:
It changes the way I think about everything. It’s one thing to hear history, it’s another to realize your bloodline lived it.

Take October 7th. Watching that unfold — it hurt. I volunteered, helped raise money. But the shock came from realizing how close it felt because my family has lived through persecution before.

One of the survivors in the Names Not Numbers program — her son was involved in the attacks. That really hit me.

Rebecca:
You brought up Names Not Numbers — can you tell us about that?

Aaron:
It’s a program in my school. You apply, write reflections on how the Holocaust affected your life and why you want to participate. My mom helped — she knows the family story better than I do.

I didn’t get in during ninth grade. I tried again in tenth, got accepted. We interviewed a survivor — she was in her late 80s or 90s. She was six when the Holocaust began.

She remembered hiding, imagining chocolate — literally imagining piles of chocolate waiting for her after the war because it kept her sane. Things like that stick.

The program taught us before, during, and after — so we could ask smarter questions.

Rebecca:
Has Holocaust education always mattered to your mom?

Aaron:
Yes. She knows it matters to me and always pushes me to learn more. Growing up, we didn’t talk about it much — but Zoom classes during quarantine did, friends talked about it, and then the program really deepened it.

Rebecca:
Has there been a moment in your young adulthood where you realized Holocaust memory affects how you respond to today’s world?

Aaron:
Yeah — October 7th. My friend slept over, we woke up, phones blowing up — we didn’t believe what we were reading.

People always said antisemitism was over, that no one would attack Jews again. And then it happened — and suddenly everything felt real.

That shock is connected to the Holocaust — because you realize the world isn’t as far from that kind of hate as you hoped.

Rebecca:
Is there something you wish people understood about antisemitism?

Aaron:
How it affects someone.

Imagine Christianity was a tiny religion and every day you heard people saying, “We hate Christians. We want to attack them.” Imagine religious buildings constantly being threatened. That’s scary.

We have freedom of religion here — yet people try to take that away from Jews.

Rebecca:
Do you feel compelled to educate others?

Aaron:
Yes — 100%. People need to learn that this is not normal. Just because loud voices preach hate doesn’t mean it’s okay. If no one is educated, horrible events repeat.

Rebecca:
How does it feel to tell your story here?

Aaron:
It feels good.

Even though I know so little of my great-grandmother’s story, it’s important to talk about it. So many people are uneducated — they stereotype Jews without knowing the trauma we carry, the murders we’ve survived, the threats we still face.

Talking about it matters.

Rebecca:
What keeps you motivated when the world feels discouraging?

Aaron:
Honestly — anger and confusion.

I’m proud to be Jewish — I wear my star everywhere — but it makes me angry that we’re constantly targeted. Online, in the news, on college campuses — antisemitism everywhere.

I’m safe most of the time because of where I live — but people in Israel or areas without Jewish communities? They aren’t. And that scares me for them.

Rebecca:
Do you hope to learn more about your great-grandmother’s story and pass it on?

Aaron:
Definitely.

This conversation makes me want to ask questions, learn more, not let her story disappear. It actually hurts knowing I don’t know much about her — but now I want to.

Rebecca:
That’s incredibly common. Trauma silenced many survivors. They didn’t want to pass the pain on.

Aaron:
Right. I think she had PTSD, like many survivors. They didn’t want to talk about it.

Rebecca:
Before we close — do you have a message for listeners?

Aaron:
Yes — learn people’s stories before judging them.

A lot of prejudice starts with kids being taught hate before they can think for themselves. I’m not excusing it — but people repeat what they’re raised on.

So hear people’s stories first. Don’t assume Jews are “bad” because someone said so. Many of us are incredible people who’ve done nothing wrong — yet we still get backlash. And that’s unfair.

Rebecca:
Thank you, Aaron. Your honesty, emotion, and clarity matter — especially right now. Thank you for sharing your voice and your legacy.

Aaron:
Thank you for having me.