Yasha

Experience the harrowing true story of a Jewish boy and his family's 6-year flight across the Soviet Union during World War II. When the Nazi invasion threatens their small town in Belarus, 11-year-old Yasha's mother makes a decision that will save the lives of generations to come: the decision to flee. What follows is an odyssey spanning thousands of miles across a war-torn nation, caught between Hitler's advancing forces and Stalin's iron rule. Built from testimony recorded by his grandson on an old camcorder, Yasha brings to life a childhood defined by upheaval, scarcity, and war, where growing up meant never standing still.

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Yasha

Official Trailer

August 18, 2026 • Jeremy Gendelman • Season 1

0:00 | 3:30

TRAILER -- When Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union during World War II, eleven-year-old Yasha and his Jewish family must flee to survive. Built from testimony recorded by his grandson on an old camcorder, Yasha brings to life a childhood in the shadow of Hitler and Stalin, where growing up meant never standing still.

Follow the limited series podcast today. All five episodes of Part I premiere September 1st. Written and produced by Jeremy Gendelman, with sound design by Carter Wogahn.

Learn more about the show and Yasha's story at www.yashashow.com, or follow us on Instagram and Facebook @yashapodcast.

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SPEAKER_00 0:04

In June of 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Within weeks, rumors of atrocities against Jews began to spread. Most stories from this time are about what happened after the Nazis arrived. This one is about those who fled just before they did.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

A rumor starts that the Germans killed Jewish people. My mom said we need to run away.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

In my new limited series podcast, I follow the story of my grandfather, Yasha. He was just 11 years old when Hitler's troops stormed into Belarus. And when his mother made the decision to flee the horrors that were coming, it meant leaving everything behind.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

We took our belongings and just go.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

But getting out was just the beginning. For Yasha and his family of seven, staying alive came to mean a new life on the run.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

They put us in a train. We spent in this train almost three months. The people became like animals.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

By rail, river, and sea, they fled thousands of kilometers across the Soviet Union, consumed by war, forced to take refuge wherever they could along the way.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

We need to spend nights in the stations, sleeping on the floor. They brought us to a collective farm and said, But here you will work.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

In Yasha, I take my grandfather's memories, captured decades later on an old camcorder. Okay, now for Cordon.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Your voice is there, too.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

And bring them to life inside of one of World War II's least-told chapters. The Jewish families who managed to escape East, only to find themselves caught between Hitler's advancing forces and Stalin's iron rule.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Germans killed Jewish people. Russians, they didn't allow you to live, to survive, to breathe.

SPEAKER_00 2:29

What I find goes beyond history. It connects one of humanity's darkest chapters to the universal childhood moments that shape us all. It's about what holds the family together when everything is stripped away. The impossible decisions so many had to make to survive. And how one ordinary boy was forced to grow up in spite of it all.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

And now I'm sitting across my grandchild and telling him the story of my life.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Yasha launches September 1st, wherever you get your podcasts. Follow now to hear how the journey begins.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Well my friend, my giant friends that they build in the street.

People on this episode

Jeremy Gendelman

Host

Carter Wogahn

Editor