Who Do You Think You Are? (2010) s01e03 Episode Script
Lisa Kudrow
Male narrator: This season on who do you think you are? Seven of the world's most beloved celebrities Will embark on life-altering journeys Into their family history.
They will travel the world in search of their heritage.
- Ooh.
- Oh! Narrator: Family mysteries will be revealed.
I had always thought she was dead.
This is the only known picture of him? That's the only known picture.
How absolutely terrifying.
Narrator: And everything they thought they knew Will be rewritten.
Oh, my god.
What? This is a story that's getting good.
Yes.
- "gettysburg.
" - gettysburg.
- That's history right there.
- It sure is.
Narrator: Lives will be changed.
My name is lisa kudrow Uh-huh.
And--and I think we're related.
Narrator: Roots will be discovered.
Amazing.
This is incredible.
This is it.
This is where it all began.
It all started here.
Narrator: Because to know who you are [gasps.]
Narrator: You have to know where you came from.
It's like learning that there's something different In your being than what you always thought.
I have found what I was looking for.
So do you know who you are? Oh, I've always known who I am, but now I know more.
It's changed everything About who I thought I was, Everything.
Narrator: Tonight lisa kudrow Uncovers a tragic family story They killed all the jews in town.
My grandmother was one of them.
Narrator: And discovers a mystery.
He smiled.
He patted me on the head.
And that was the last I ever saw of him.
Narrator: Her journey will take her To the homeland of her ancestors This is exactly what I pictured.
Narrator: And reveal some devastating truths.
Oh, my god.
Narrator: And as the journey unfolds, Lisa will discover new clues We know that they had a son.
Narrator: That will solve a 60-year-old mystery And rewrite her family's history.
Yay.
[upbeat music.]
Narrator: Emmy award-winning actress lisa kudrow First shot to fame in 1994, Playing the eccentric phoebe buffay On the hit sitcom friends.
She lives in los angeles with her husband, michel, And son, julian.
Family is the most important thing to me.
My parents, brother, sister, and I are very close, And still live within a few miles of each other.
My father, lee, grew up in brooklyn, new york, In very poor conditions.
The world I grew up in Is a completely different world From the world he grew up in, completely different.
I grew up, you know, in a nice suburb of los angeles.
You know, and he grew up in poverty.
But he just worked so hard, And he finally became a doctor, And he is the one who pulled the family Out of hard times.
Hi, babe.
Hi.
How are you? Hi, dad.
Hi, mom.
Hi, sweetheart.
Hi, sweet.
My dad's parents were both eastern european jews.
Most american jews from eastern europe, You know, they have a holocaust story.
There were relatives that were left behind.
I want to find out my family's story.
I feel like I want some details.
To know what they went through, Not just for myself, for my father, For the whole family.
Oh, I know these pictures.
- You do? - Yeah.
My grandmother, gert, She came in 1921 for a better life, And, well, it's her family's history That my father and I want to look into further.
When I was very young, She was babysitting me, and we were playing cards, And I asked her, you know, "don't you miss your parents?" 'cause I was little.
And she started crying.
It was, like, you know, 40 years later, right? And she's crying, and she's saying, "yes.
" She said, "my mother was killed by hitler With a knife in the back.
" and, uh Oh, oh.
I know what she's talking about.
I'll tell you.
I'll tell you what she was talking about.
It was a story that we heard from a cousin.
It was 1947 or 1948.
Knock on the door, and the door opens.
I was there.
I remember it like it was yesterday.
I'm looking at the door opening, And there's this guy standing there, Young guy in a uniform That I had never seen before.
His name was yuri barudin.
He had just come from his ship, Which was the batory.
Uh, it was a polish ship, And, uh, yuri told our family That he was playing in the woods near their shtetl, And the shtetl was called ilya.
And he came to the edge of the forest, And he could see that they were shooting, And he was watching his family being cut down by the nazis.
They killed all the jews in town.
My grandmother was one of them, Your grandmother's mother, your great-grandmother, Meri mordejovich.
Ooh, this is tough, huh? [chuckles.]
So that's the story that yuri told? That's the story that yuri told.
He smiled.
He patted me on the head.
And that was the last I ever saw of him.
And then somehow we heard that he died.
Died doing what? - Honey, I don't- - I don't remember.
Okay.
Oh, god.
That story still haunts my father.
He was a child when this relative came over.
And what I know of young boys Is I don't know how much they pay attention To when the grown-ups are talking.
So, you know, we don't really have the full story, And so if I can find anything That he doesn't know and fill in gaps That are possible to fill in, Then that will be a huge success.
I know grandma gert's mother's name Was meri mordejovich.
And as far as our family knows, she and the other jews in ilya Were rounded up and murdered during the holocaust.
I want to find out Exactly what happened to my great-grandmother's family.
And if possible, if there is a final resting place, I want to see if I can find it.
And I still want to know more about yuri.
What became of him? I think that's the question.
Narrator: Lisa is traveling to ilya, Her great-grandmother's village near minsk, Which is now in belarus.
She's meeting tamara vershitskaya, A noted jewish historian and the curator Of the museum of history and jewish resistance.
- Lisa? - Yes.
Nice to meet you.
My name is tamara.
- Tamara, hi.
- Hi.
Thank you.
It will be amazing If I can find any documentation.
I'm worried that records Were either lost or destroyed in the war.
Narrator: Minsk, the capital of belarus, Is about 40 miles southeast of ilya.
Before world war ii, communities like ilya Had strong jewish roots going back hundreds of years, But world war ii forever changed the culture of eastern europe.
After the war, Jewish communities were reduced to 5% were left alive from the total community, 10% at most.
Yeah.
- Oh, my gosh.
Narrator: Tamara has brought lisa To the state archives outside minsk To see if they can find out What happened to her great-grandmother, Meri mordejovich.
Hello.
Is it possible to know-- Are there any documents if she were killed In ilya in that massacre? Yes, yes.
Oh, there are documents? They have copies of documents.
Yeah.
The originals of them are kept in moscow.
Wow.
Ugh.
Narrator: Coming up, lisa discovers the fate Of her great-grandmother.
Oh, my god.
Narrator: And later, she visits the village Where her grandmother grew up.
This is what I pictured.
This is exactly what I pictured.
Narrator: Lisa kudrow is trying to solve A 60-year-old mystery About her father's side of the family.
She knows her grandmother, grunia, Immigrated to the United States From belarus before world war ii, Leaving her mother, meri, behind.
It's the fate of meri and her family's holocaust story Told to her father by a mystery relative That have led her to belarus in search of the truth.
His name was yuri barudin, And he was watching his family being cut down by the nazi side.
My grandmother was one of them, Your grandmother's mother, Your great-grandmother.
Narrator: Now she's at the state archives outside minsk To find out the details Of what happened to her great-grandmother, Meri mordejovich.
Are there any documents If she were killed in ilya in that massacre? Yes, yes.
Oh, there are documents? Oh.
[clears throat.]
Oh, my god.
I knew my great-grandmother was murdered, But to hear the words "killed and burned," That's worse than I thought.
I'm heading to ilya To find out of there are any other details Of the massacre missing from yuri's story.
[goat bleats.]
That's the place Wow.
Where the mordejovich family lived.
That's where gertie grew up.
This is the view that she saw.
This is what I pictured.
This is exactly what I pictured.
It's unbelievable.
I feel connected to the smile that would come across her face When she'd say, "it was so beautiful.
" And I'm so happy that she got to grow up here.
And it's so pretty.
And I'm also so Happy that she, um, got out, And her sisters got out, And I'm sorry for everybody else.
My grandmother learned From yuri what happened here.
It's a huge loss.
It's--it's It's her whole family.
It's her mother, who she loved, and she'll never see her again.
She could have at least dreamt about seeing her one day Or coming back to visit And being able to, like, breathe in this air And be here again, And that's gone too.
Well, it would make sense for yuri's story.
He must have seen the germans Take them out of the house And take them away.
Narrator: Lisa and tamara are going to see a villager Who lived in ilya during the massacre And may have known lisa's family.
Thank you for talking to me.
My grandmother grew up here.
[speaking native language.]
Grunia? Grunia, grunia, grunia, grunia.
I'm sorry that she has to remember it.
I feel badly coming here and asking her to remember it, 'cause it's got to be really hard.
It's so Sad.
Ugh.
I-- Narrator: Coming up, Lisa visits the holocaust memorial in ilya, And later, she comes closer than ever To solving the mystery Of yuri barudin.
We know that they had a son.
[gasps.]
Narrator: Lisa kudrow is trying To solve a mystery for her father.
She's searching for details about what happened To her great-grandmother during the holocaust And is on the trail of the mysterious relative, Yuri barudin, who brought her father The tragic news of the massacre.
Her search has brought her from los angeles to belarus On that list, you can see "mordejovich, mera.
" It is stated here that she was killed and burned.
Oh, my god.
Narrator: And now to ilya, where lisa has tracked down Someone who knew her great-grandmother.
[speaking native language.]
Narrator: In 1941, two years after world war ii began With hitler's invasion of poland, Nazi murder squads occupied towns like ilya And created ghettos for the jews all over eastern europe.
The nazis then embarked on the systematic murder Of jews in a program of ghetto clearances Called actions.
So where are we now? This is the Uh, this is the center of ilya.
Uh-huh.
It used to be a market square before the war.
Mm-hmm.
And all the jews were collected here In the market square.
They were driven out of their houses, Out of their homes in March, 1942, And this is the place where the selection took place.
Selection? Selection.
I've got evidence translated into english, So you can have a look on it.
"as soon as the nazis arrived in ilya, "they showed extreme cruelty toward the jewish population.
"they soon started going from home to home, "searching for every man, woman, and child.
"they removed them from their homes "and forced them to run To the designated central locations in the market.
" That's where we are.
Yeah.
"during the soviet time, "they had established a huge freezer "for fruit and meat products, "and next to it was a deep hole in the ground To store the ice.
" "this ice-storage area "was used that day for the mass burial "of 900 jews from ilya-- "men, women, children, and babies alike.
"all the jews selected to be killed in the market "were taken to this site.
"on both sides of the entrance "stood s.
S.
Men armed with machine guns.
"as soon as the people arrived, "they were ordered to remove their clothes "and run inside, "where they were shot from all sides, "and fell directly onto the frozen pit.
"this was the last walk "of most of the jews of our town "on this day of slaughter.
"the murderers then poured oil onto the walls of the building And set it on fire.
" "the local christian population "later told us that for many hours, "they could hear from afar the screams "and anguished cries of the wounded "who did not die from the bullets.
"thus ended ilya, a jewish community With centuries of a glorious history.
" Huh.
[speaking native language.]
Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
How do you prepare for the last moment of your life, Knowing what's coming? You watch the people before you and know that's your fate, While you're naked and humiliated And waiting for your turn to get shot.
But those poor parents with their children, you know-- My great-grandmother, if she had grandchildren around.
[sighs.]
That's what is so hard.
I get so angry when I start Thinking about the children.
I mean, these people were no threat.
They were nothing.
It's just the ravings of a madman Who decided that jews didn't fit Into the way he saw the human race.
That's what fear can whip people into.
You make people afraid enough Of something completely manufactured, And you can drive them to become murderers, Cold-blooded murderers.
I'm glad that I got to see, Witness, acknowledge, What happened to my family here And pay my respects at their final resting place.
I am glad that I got to do that.
And that Moment is worthwhile.
Okay.
Narrator: Coming up, Lisa's journey takes her to poland, In search of yuri's fate.
"barudin.
" [gasps.]
What? Could he still be alive? Narrator: And later, Lisa returns home with incredible news For her father.
- Hi, my love.
- Hi.
Yay.
- Hey, baby.
Narrator: Lisa kudrow has finally found out What happened to her great-grandmother During the holocaust.
But she still wants to solve the mystery of yuri barudin, The man who brought the news of the massacre To her family in new york after world war ii.
He had just come from his ship, the batory.
Uh, it was a polish ship.
That was the last I ever saw of him.
Then somehow we heard that he died.
Narrator: Lisa knows yuri disappeared After visiting her father over 60 years ago, But what happened to him? If he was on a ship called the batory, Maybe there are records for that ship on ancestry.
Com.
Okay.
I'm gonna try batory and barudin.
"boleslaw"? Never heard that name before.
"barudin, gdynia.
" Batory.
Okay.
Okay, "list or manifest "employed on the vessel as members of crew.
" "barudin.
" I don't know if that's him, but it's--the The last name's right.
Poland, the batory.
He's crossed out.
What does that mean, I wonder? It says, "discharged February 4, 1950, gdynia.
" He's the only barudin.
Well, it's the only barudin.
Okay, the trail on ancestry stops here.
I'm betting there are more records in gdynia, So I'm heading to poland.
I've come to the state archives in gdynia To see if they have any information On boleslaw or yuri barudin.
- Good morning.
- Hello.
My name is chris, Krzysztof dzieciolowski in polish, But call me chris.
It's gonna be easier.
Okay, thank you.
I'm lisa.
- Follow me.
- Okay.
I mean, what we have found here-- This is, um- this is a registry card For the people who were coming to gdynia and settling down.
So as we can see, This is his surname, barudin.
This is his name, boleslaw.
Why change it to boleslaw from yuri? Or why did he- -why did his family in brooklyn Know him as yuri? When living in poland, You wouldn't like to be - Yuri.
- Yuri.
Oh, okay, he needs his name to be polish If he's living in poland.
Then we can read this document further on, And, uh, it says that he's married, and [gasps.]
where? Where? This is--this is the name of his wife.
Stefanie? And, uh, we know that they had a son [gasps.]
Andrezj, who was born On may the 16th of 1949, here in gdynia.
He'd be today, what? 59.
Oh, my gosh.
He could still be here.
Yeah, he could still be here.
Aren't there censuses or voter registration Or? Or look in a phone book.
"gdynia.
" Uh-oh.
"barudin"! [gasps.]
What? "boleslaw.
" It's him.
Could he still be alive? That's--he's old.
[gasps.]
that's him.
It's him.
Oh, no.
Okay.
You should call.
Actually, you should call.
If he doesn't speak english Well, I don't know.
I mean, let's put it that way.
He's old.
If he's there, he's old.
I don't want to But if he went to america Okay.
All right, so I should call.
You think it's okay for me to call? - Yes.
- Okay.
Oh, my gosh.
Boleslaw.
[line trilling.]
[gasps.]
it's ringing.
Hello? Hello, is this boleslaw? It's--it's tomek? Tomek barudin? Okay.
You're speaking with-- My name is lisa kudrow.
Yes, mm-hmm.
Is that your? Oh, that's your grandfather.
Okay.
Is he, um Is heHere? He is? Yeah.
That's his house.
Right.
And then you answered.
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my gosh.
Um, my father met your grandfather A long, long, long time ago.
And I think we're related.
So I wanted to meet him, 'cause my father-- The family wanted to know whatever happened to him.
I'm in gdynia.
Yes.
Okay, great.
All right.
See you soon.
All right, bye.
What? Oh, my gosh.
He's alive.
That's--I can't believe it.
I--I I was actually fantasizing that-- "wouldn't it be great if there was finally, like, A happy story in all of this, and he were alive?" But I thought, "it's impossible.
" It's so great.
[gasps.]
Narrator: Coming up, lisa finally meets Her elusive relative, Yuri barudin.
And later, she reveals to her father The surprise ending To a mystery 60 years in the making.
Narrator: Over 60 years ago, Lisa kudrow's father was visited by a cousin Named yuri barudin.
His arrival and story of her great-grandmother's murder During the holocaust Has always been a mystery to her father.
That was the last I ever saw of him.
He disappeared.
Narrator: She's just discovered that yuri survived And lives in gdynia, poland.
Now I'm going to find him And finally give my father a survivor story That he didn't know anything about.
I'm so excited to meet him.
I'm so happy I have something happy to tell my father.
This is beyond my wildest dreams.
It's too good to be true That we're actually going to his home.
Hello.
Hello.
What a surprise.
I'm lisa.
Hi.
I'm tomek barudin.
Oh, my--we're related.
Nice to meet you.
Yeah, come on.
Hi.
Let's have a seat.
- Okay.
- I prepared a wonderful Oh, my gosh.
I'm a little overwhelmed.
I'm excited.
I have to try not to get overwhelmed.
Wow.
- Here's the- -here's the boleslaw barudin.
Hello.
Oh, it's so nice to see you.
It's so good to meet you.
Oh, my gosh.
It's good to see you.
My father remembers meeting you.
He was about 14.
That's him.
That's, uh, my grandmother, grunia.
Oh, they took pictures? - Yeah, that was Oh, no.
Wow.
He only saw them one time, right? Only one time.
- Yeah.
Yeah, and then it was too dangerous to stay in contact.
You know, my father also remembers That you came, And you were the one who told them What happened in ilya, To meri and the mordejovich family.
My father thinks that you were a witness.
[speaking native language.]
Oh.
Oh, they--they murdered everyone.
Yeah.
But how did he escape or survive? [speaking native language.]
[speaking native language.]
Mm-hmm.
Siberia? - Siberia, yeah.
Awful.
[speaking native language.]
Wow, that's risky.
That's very brave.
Yeah, that was 15? You know, my father, For some reason, thought that he died.
No.
My father is gonna be so happy.
He won't stop crying.
I know it.
It's finally good.
It's finally happy.
It's so [sighs.]
it's such a relief.
Thank you.
Thank you.
It was so good to see him and his family, His beautiful family-- His son and his son.
And they're all nice.
Thank you so much.
Mostly, I'm just glad that he had a family.
And I got to meet him.
And now my father can call or email, And they can be in touch.
This journey's been more than worth it, Even the hard parts, Even--even before I knew that he was alive and well Alive and well And happy, yeah.
It's definitely worth it.
Yeah, I can't--I have to-- I can't wait to tell my father about it.
So, um, I can't wait.
I'm sorry.
Hi, dad.
Um You'll have to check your email.
I met yuri.
[laughs.]
Yeah And his whole family.
Narrator: Coming up, Lisa returns home And gives her father a surprise of a lifetime.
Hello, boleslaw.
Boleslaw send you the hello.
Narrator: Lisa kudrow has been on an emotional journey Into her father's family history.
She's found out about her great-grandmother Who was murdered by the nazis in the holocaust, And she's met the cousin who delivered the tragic news, Who the family believed was dead.
Hi, dad.
I met yuri.
[laughs.]
Narrator: Now she's heading back to los angeles To help her father reunite with the cousin he met More than 60 years ago.
It's really thrilling That I finally had something happy To deliver to my father And some details that he didn't know.
- Hi.
- Hi, my love.
My father is about to see boleslaw And speak to him.
Since 1947 or 1948-- That was the last time they laid eyes on each other, So this is really exciting.
[phone rings.]
- Hello? Hello? - Hello? - Yep.
Now you see me? - Yeah.
Hello, boleslaw.
Boleslaw-- Tell him that I remember him very well.
What I'd like to know is, does he remember me? Okay.
[speaking native language.]
Oh, my god, is that wonderful, wonder-- What a wonderful man.
You may not know the story, But when boleslaw came to the house And he met my mother, who is his aunt, He felt very sorry for her, Because, you know, we didn't have very much money, And he actually left $50 For my mother.
Tomek, look how a young sailor, Who was maybe 22 years old, had such a good heart.
[laughing.]
That's very good.
Okay, well, this has been a very wonderful-- Very touching for me.
And all the best from us as well.
Mwah.
- That's right.
- Okay.
Bye-bye.
How many years ago was that that you saw him? And then here he is, And you thought he was dead, and he's not.
It's too good to be true.
That's all right, dad.
Oh.
It was tough.
It was tough.
It was tough.
It's all right.
It's okay.
- All right.
It's all right.
I'm okay.
I just love that.
They both went through so much, And they're-- they came out the other end To share their good fortune and their beautiful families, And I--it's It's so fulfilling.
It's, um--it's, like, this full circle.
The kind of hardship and life-and-death struggles That my father, grandmother, great-grandmother had-- It just never ended.
In some ways, it changes me, 'cause I feel even more fortunate To be the recipient of all the sacrifices That were made by everyone before me.
and it's not a cry that you hear at night it's not somebody who's seen the light it's a cold, and it's a broken hallelujah I do feel really lucky that I got to take this trip And discover boleslaw for my father.
With all the tragedy and horror that I had to look at, Then you find boleslaw, Who went through a lot himself And is smiling and enjoying his son and his grandson And his great-grandchildren, And life goes on.
My sweetheart.
You did good.
You did good.
They will travel the world in search of their heritage.
- Ooh.
- Oh! Narrator: Family mysteries will be revealed.
I had always thought she was dead.
This is the only known picture of him? That's the only known picture.
How absolutely terrifying.
Narrator: And everything they thought they knew Will be rewritten.
Oh, my god.
What? This is a story that's getting good.
Yes.
- "gettysburg.
" - gettysburg.
- That's history right there.
- It sure is.
Narrator: Lives will be changed.
My name is lisa kudrow Uh-huh.
And--and I think we're related.
Narrator: Roots will be discovered.
Amazing.
This is incredible.
This is it.
This is where it all began.
It all started here.
Narrator: Because to know who you are [gasps.]
Narrator: You have to know where you came from.
It's like learning that there's something different In your being than what you always thought.
I have found what I was looking for.
So do you know who you are? Oh, I've always known who I am, but now I know more.
It's changed everything About who I thought I was, Everything.
Narrator: Tonight lisa kudrow Uncovers a tragic family story They killed all the jews in town.
My grandmother was one of them.
Narrator: And discovers a mystery.
He smiled.
He patted me on the head.
And that was the last I ever saw of him.
Narrator: Her journey will take her To the homeland of her ancestors This is exactly what I pictured.
Narrator: And reveal some devastating truths.
Oh, my god.
Narrator: And as the journey unfolds, Lisa will discover new clues We know that they had a son.
Narrator: That will solve a 60-year-old mystery And rewrite her family's history.
Yay.
[upbeat music.]
Narrator: Emmy award-winning actress lisa kudrow First shot to fame in 1994, Playing the eccentric phoebe buffay On the hit sitcom friends.
She lives in los angeles with her husband, michel, And son, julian.
Family is the most important thing to me.
My parents, brother, sister, and I are very close, And still live within a few miles of each other.
My father, lee, grew up in brooklyn, new york, In very poor conditions.
The world I grew up in Is a completely different world From the world he grew up in, completely different.
I grew up, you know, in a nice suburb of los angeles.
You know, and he grew up in poverty.
But he just worked so hard, And he finally became a doctor, And he is the one who pulled the family Out of hard times.
Hi, babe.
Hi.
How are you? Hi, dad.
Hi, mom.
Hi, sweetheart.
Hi, sweet.
My dad's parents were both eastern european jews.
Most american jews from eastern europe, You know, they have a holocaust story.
There were relatives that were left behind.
I want to find out my family's story.
I feel like I want some details.
To know what they went through, Not just for myself, for my father, For the whole family.
Oh, I know these pictures.
- You do? - Yeah.
My grandmother, gert, She came in 1921 for a better life, And, well, it's her family's history That my father and I want to look into further.
When I was very young, She was babysitting me, and we were playing cards, And I asked her, you know, "don't you miss your parents?" 'cause I was little.
And she started crying.
It was, like, you know, 40 years later, right? And she's crying, and she's saying, "yes.
" She said, "my mother was killed by hitler With a knife in the back.
" and, uh Oh, oh.
I know what she's talking about.
I'll tell you.
I'll tell you what she was talking about.
It was a story that we heard from a cousin.
It was 1947 or 1948.
Knock on the door, and the door opens.
I was there.
I remember it like it was yesterday.
I'm looking at the door opening, And there's this guy standing there, Young guy in a uniform That I had never seen before.
His name was yuri barudin.
He had just come from his ship, Which was the batory.
Uh, it was a polish ship, And, uh, yuri told our family That he was playing in the woods near their shtetl, And the shtetl was called ilya.
And he came to the edge of the forest, And he could see that they were shooting, And he was watching his family being cut down by the nazis.
They killed all the jews in town.
My grandmother was one of them, Your grandmother's mother, your great-grandmother, Meri mordejovich.
Ooh, this is tough, huh? [chuckles.]
So that's the story that yuri told? That's the story that yuri told.
He smiled.
He patted me on the head.
And that was the last I ever saw of him.
And then somehow we heard that he died.
Died doing what? - Honey, I don't- - I don't remember.
Okay.
Oh, god.
That story still haunts my father.
He was a child when this relative came over.
And what I know of young boys Is I don't know how much they pay attention To when the grown-ups are talking.
So, you know, we don't really have the full story, And so if I can find anything That he doesn't know and fill in gaps That are possible to fill in, Then that will be a huge success.
I know grandma gert's mother's name Was meri mordejovich.
And as far as our family knows, she and the other jews in ilya Were rounded up and murdered during the holocaust.
I want to find out Exactly what happened to my great-grandmother's family.
And if possible, if there is a final resting place, I want to see if I can find it.
And I still want to know more about yuri.
What became of him? I think that's the question.
Narrator: Lisa is traveling to ilya, Her great-grandmother's village near minsk, Which is now in belarus.
She's meeting tamara vershitskaya, A noted jewish historian and the curator Of the museum of history and jewish resistance.
- Lisa? - Yes.
Nice to meet you.
My name is tamara.
- Tamara, hi.
- Hi.
Thank you.
It will be amazing If I can find any documentation.
I'm worried that records Were either lost or destroyed in the war.
Narrator: Minsk, the capital of belarus, Is about 40 miles southeast of ilya.
Before world war ii, communities like ilya Had strong jewish roots going back hundreds of years, But world war ii forever changed the culture of eastern europe.
After the war, Jewish communities were reduced to 5% were left alive from the total community, 10% at most.
Yeah.
- Oh, my gosh.
Narrator: Tamara has brought lisa To the state archives outside minsk To see if they can find out What happened to her great-grandmother, Meri mordejovich.
Hello.
Is it possible to know-- Are there any documents if she were killed In ilya in that massacre? Yes, yes.
Oh, there are documents? They have copies of documents.
Yeah.
The originals of them are kept in moscow.
Wow.
Ugh.
Narrator: Coming up, lisa discovers the fate Of her great-grandmother.
Oh, my god.
Narrator: And later, she visits the village Where her grandmother grew up.
This is what I pictured.
This is exactly what I pictured.
Narrator: Lisa kudrow is trying to solve A 60-year-old mystery About her father's side of the family.
She knows her grandmother, grunia, Immigrated to the United States From belarus before world war ii, Leaving her mother, meri, behind.
It's the fate of meri and her family's holocaust story Told to her father by a mystery relative That have led her to belarus in search of the truth.
His name was yuri barudin, And he was watching his family being cut down by the nazi side.
My grandmother was one of them, Your grandmother's mother, Your great-grandmother.
Narrator: Now she's at the state archives outside minsk To find out the details Of what happened to her great-grandmother, Meri mordejovich.
Are there any documents If she were killed in ilya in that massacre? Yes, yes.
Oh, there are documents? Oh.
[clears throat.]
Oh, my god.
I knew my great-grandmother was murdered, But to hear the words "killed and burned," That's worse than I thought.
I'm heading to ilya To find out of there are any other details Of the massacre missing from yuri's story.
[goat bleats.]
That's the place Wow.
Where the mordejovich family lived.
That's where gertie grew up.
This is the view that she saw.
This is what I pictured.
This is exactly what I pictured.
It's unbelievable.
I feel connected to the smile that would come across her face When she'd say, "it was so beautiful.
" And I'm so happy that she got to grow up here.
And it's so pretty.
And I'm also so Happy that she, um, got out, And her sisters got out, And I'm sorry for everybody else.
My grandmother learned From yuri what happened here.
It's a huge loss.
It's--it's It's her whole family.
It's her mother, who she loved, and she'll never see her again.
She could have at least dreamt about seeing her one day Or coming back to visit And being able to, like, breathe in this air And be here again, And that's gone too.
Well, it would make sense for yuri's story.
He must have seen the germans Take them out of the house And take them away.
Narrator: Lisa and tamara are going to see a villager Who lived in ilya during the massacre And may have known lisa's family.
Thank you for talking to me.
My grandmother grew up here.
[speaking native language.]
Grunia? Grunia, grunia, grunia, grunia.
I'm sorry that she has to remember it.
I feel badly coming here and asking her to remember it, 'cause it's got to be really hard.
It's so Sad.
Ugh.
I-- Narrator: Coming up, Lisa visits the holocaust memorial in ilya, And later, she comes closer than ever To solving the mystery Of yuri barudin.
We know that they had a son.
[gasps.]
Narrator: Lisa kudrow is trying To solve a mystery for her father.
She's searching for details about what happened To her great-grandmother during the holocaust And is on the trail of the mysterious relative, Yuri barudin, who brought her father The tragic news of the massacre.
Her search has brought her from los angeles to belarus On that list, you can see "mordejovich, mera.
" It is stated here that she was killed and burned.
Oh, my god.
Narrator: And now to ilya, where lisa has tracked down Someone who knew her great-grandmother.
[speaking native language.]
Narrator: In 1941, two years after world war ii began With hitler's invasion of poland, Nazi murder squads occupied towns like ilya And created ghettos for the jews all over eastern europe.
The nazis then embarked on the systematic murder Of jews in a program of ghetto clearances Called actions.
So where are we now? This is the Uh, this is the center of ilya.
Uh-huh.
It used to be a market square before the war.
Mm-hmm.
And all the jews were collected here In the market square.
They were driven out of their houses, Out of their homes in March, 1942, And this is the place where the selection took place.
Selection? Selection.
I've got evidence translated into english, So you can have a look on it.
"as soon as the nazis arrived in ilya, "they showed extreme cruelty toward the jewish population.
"they soon started going from home to home, "searching for every man, woman, and child.
"they removed them from their homes "and forced them to run To the designated central locations in the market.
" That's where we are.
Yeah.
"during the soviet time, "they had established a huge freezer "for fruit and meat products, "and next to it was a deep hole in the ground To store the ice.
" "this ice-storage area "was used that day for the mass burial "of 900 jews from ilya-- "men, women, children, and babies alike.
"all the jews selected to be killed in the market "were taken to this site.
"on both sides of the entrance "stood s.
S.
Men armed with machine guns.
"as soon as the people arrived, "they were ordered to remove their clothes "and run inside, "where they were shot from all sides, "and fell directly onto the frozen pit.
"this was the last walk "of most of the jews of our town "on this day of slaughter.
"the murderers then poured oil onto the walls of the building And set it on fire.
" "the local christian population "later told us that for many hours, "they could hear from afar the screams "and anguished cries of the wounded "who did not die from the bullets.
"thus ended ilya, a jewish community With centuries of a glorious history.
" Huh.
[speaking native language.]
Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
How do you prepare for the last moment of your life, Knowing what's coming? You watch the people before you and know that's your fate, While you're naked and humiliated And waiting for your turn to get shot.
But those poor parents with their children, you know-- My great-grandmother, if she had grandchildren around.
[sighs.]
That's what is so hard.
I get so angry when I start Thinking about the children.
I mean, these people were no threat.
They were nothing.
It's just the ravings of a madman Who decided that jews didn't fit Into the way he saw the human race.
That's what fear can whip people into.
You make people afraid enough Of something completely manufactured, And you can drive them to become murderers, Cold-blooded murderers.
I'm glad that I got to see, Witness, acknowledge, What happened to my family here And pay my respects at their final resting place.
I am glad that I got to do that.
And that Moment is worthwhile.
Okay.
Narrator: Coming up, Lisa's journey takes her to poland, In search of yuri's fate.
"barudin.
" [gasps.]
What? Could he still be alive? Narrator: And later, Lisa returns home with incredible news For her father.
- Hi, my love.
- Hi.
Yay.
- Hey, baby.
Narrator: Lisa kudrow has finally found out What happened to her great-grandmother During the holocaust.
But she still wants to solve the mystery of yuri barudin, The man who brought the news of the massacre To her family in new york after world war ii.
He had just come from his ship, the batory.
Uh, it was a polish ship.
That was the last I ever saw of him.
Then somehow we heard that he died.
Narrator: Lisa knows yuri disappeared After visiting her father over 60 years ago, But what happened to him? If he was on a ship called the batory, Maybe there are records for that ship on ancestry.
Com.
Okay.
I'm gonna try batory and barudin.
"boleslaw"? Never heard that name before.
"barudin, gdynia.
" Batory.
Okay.
Okay, "list or manifest "employed on the vessel as members of crew.
" "barudin.
" I don't know if that's him, but it's--the The last name's right.
Poland, the batory.
He's crossed out.
What does that mean, I wonder? It says, "discharged February 4, 1950, gdynia.
" He's the only barudin.
Well, it's the only barudin.
Okay, the trail on ancestry stops here.
I'm betting there are more records in gdynia, So I'm heading to poland.
I've come to the state archives in gdynia To see if they have any information On boleslaw or yuri barudin.
- Good morning.
- Hello.
My name is chris, Krzysztof dzieciolowski in polish, But call me chris.
It's gonna be easier.
Okay, thank you.
I'm lisa.
- Follow me.
- Okay.
I mean, what we have found here-- This is, um- this is a registry card For the people who were coming to gdynia and settling down.
So as we can see, This is his surname, barudin.
This is his name, boleslaw.
Why change it to boleslaw from yuri? Or why did he- -why did his family in brooklyn Know him as yuri? When living in poland, You wouldn't like to be - Yuri.
- Yuri.
Oh, okay, he needs his name to be polish If he's living in poland.
Then we can read this document further on, And, uh, it says that he's married, and [gasps.]
where? Where? This is--this is the name of his wife.
Stefanie? And, uh, we know that they had a son [gasps.]
Andrezj, who was born On may the 16th of 1949, here in gdynia.
He'd be today, what? 59.
Oh, my gosh.
He could still be here.
Yeah, he could still be here.
Aren't there censuses or voter registration Or? Or look in a phone book.
"gdynia.
" Uh-oh.
"barudin"! [gasps.]
What? "boleslaw.
" It's him.
Could he still be alive? That's--he's old.
[gasps.]
that's him.
It's him.
Oh, no.
Okay.
You should call.
Actually, you should call.
If he doesn't speak english Well, I don't know.
I mean, let's put it that way.
He's old.
If he's there, he's old.
I don't want to But if he went to america Okay.
All right, so I should call.
You think it's okay for me to call? - Yes.
- Okay.
Oh, my gosh.
Boleslaw.
[line trilling.]
[gasps.]
it's ringing.
Hello? Hello, is this boleslaw? It's--it's tomek? Tomek barudin? Okay.
You're speaking with-- My name is lisa kudrow.
Yes, mm-hmm.
Is that your? Oh, that's your grandfather.
Okay.
Is he, um Is heHere? He is? Yeah.
That's his house.
Right.
And then you answered.
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my gosh.
Um, my father met your grandfather A long, long, long time ago.
And I think we're related.
So I wanted to meet him, 'cause my father-- The family wanted to know whatever happened to him.
I'm in gdynia.
Yes.
Okay, great.
All right.
See you soon.
All right, bye.
What? Oh, my gosh.
He's alive.
That's--I can't believe it.
I--I I was actually fantasizing that-- "wouldn't it be great if there was finally, like, A happy story in all of this, and he were alive?" But I thought, "it's impossible.
" It's so great.
[gasps.]
Narrator: Coming up, lisa finally meets Her elusive relative, Yuri barudin.
And later, she reveals to her father The surprise ending To a mystery 60 years in the making.
Narrator: Over 60 years ago, Lisa kudrow's father was visited by a cousin Named yuri barudin.
His arrival and story of her great-grandmother's murder During the holocaust Has always been a mystery to her father.
That was the last I ever saw of him.
He disappeared.
Narrator: She's just discovered that yuri survived And lives in gdynia, poland.
Now I'm going to find him And finally give my father a survivor story That he didn't know anything about.
I'm so excited to meet him.
I'm so happy I have something happy to tell my father.
This is beyond my wildest dreams.
It's too good to be true That we're actually going to his home.
Hello.
Hello.
What a surprise.
I'm lisa.
Hi.
I'm tomek barudin.
Oh, my--we're related.
Nice to meet you.
Yeah, come on.
Hi.
Let's have a seat.
- Okay.
- I prepared a wonderful Oh, my gosh.
I'm a little overwhelmed.
I'm excited.
I have to try not to get overwhelmed.
Wow.
- Here's the- -here's the boleslaw barudin.
Hello.
Oh, it's so nice to see you.
It's so good to meet you.
Oh, my gosh.
It's good to see you.
My father remembers meeting you.
He was about 14.
That's him.
That's, uh, my grandmother, grunia.
Oh, they took pictures? - Yeah, that was Oh, no.
Wow.
He only saw them one time, right? Only one time.
- Yeah.
Yeah, and then it was too dangerous to stay in contact.
You know, my father also remembers That you came, And you were the one who told them What happened in ilya, To meri and the mordejovich family.
My father thinks that you were a witness.
[speaking native language.]
Oh.
Oh, they--they murdered everyone.
Yeah.
But how did he escape or survive? [speaking native language.]
[speaking native language.]
Mm-hmm.
Siberia? - Siberia, yeah.
Awful.
[speaking native language.]
Wow, that's risky.
That's very brave.
Yeah, that was 15? You know, my father, For some reason, thought that he died.
No.
My father is gonna be so happy.
He won't stop crying.
I know it.
It's finally good.
It's finally happy.
It's so [sighs.]
it's such a relief.
Thank you.
Thank you.
It was so good to see him and his family, His beautiful family-- His son and his son.
And they're all nice.
Thank you so much.
Mostly, I'm just glad that he had a family.
And I got to meet him.
And now my father can call or email, And they can be in touch.
This journey's been more than worth it, Even the hard parts, Even--even before I knew that he was alive and well Alive and well And happy, yeah.
It's definitely worth it.
Yeah, I can't--I have to-- I can't wait to tell my father about it.
So, um, I can't wait.
I'm sorry.
Hi, dad.
Um You'll have to check your email.
I met yuri.
[laughs.]
Yeah And his whole family.
Narrator: Coming up, Lisa returns home And gives her father a surprise of a lifetime.
Hello, boleslaw.
Boleslaw send you the hello.
Narrator: Lisa kudrow has been on an emotional journey Into her father's family history.
She's found out about her great-grandmother Who was murdered by the nazis in the holocaust, And she's met the cousin who delivered the tragic news, Who the family believed was dead.
Hi, dad.
I met yuri.
[laughs.]
Narrator: Now she's heading back to los angeles To help her father reunite with the cousin he met More than 60 years ago.
It's really thrilling That I finally had something happy To deliver to my father And some details that he didn't know.
- Hi.
- Hi, my love.
My father is about to see boleslaw And speak to him.
Since 1947 or 1948-- That was the last time they laid eyes on each other, So this is really exciting.
[phone rings.]
- Hello? Hello? - Hello? - Yep.
Now you see me? - Yeah.
Hello, boleslaw.
Boleslaw-- Tell him that I remember him very well.
What I'd like to know is, does he remember me? Okay.
[speaking native language.]
Oh, my god, is that wonderful, wonder-- What a wonderful man.
You may not know the story, But when boleslaw came to the house And he met my mother, who is his aunt, He felt very sorry for her, Because, you know, we didn't have very much money, And he actually left $50 For my mother.
Tomek, look how a young sailor, Who was maybe 22 years old, had such a good heart.
[laughing.]
That's very good.
Okay, well, this has been a very wonderful-- Very touching for me.
And all the best from us as well.
Mwah.
- That's right.
- Okay.
Bye-bye.
How many years ago was that that you saw him? And then here he is, And you thought he was dead, and he's not.
It's too good to be true.
That's all right, dad.
Oh.
It was tough.
It was tough.
It was tough.
It's all right.
It's okay.
- All right.
It's all right.
I'm okay.
I just love that.
They both went through so much, And they're-- they came out the other end To share their good fortune and their beautiful families, And I--it's It's so fulfilling.
It's, um--it's, like, this full circle.
The kind of hardship and life-and-death struggles That my father, grandmother, great-grandmother had-- It just never ended.
In some ways, it changes me, 'cause I feel even more fortunate To be the recipient of all the sacrifices That were made by everyone before me.
and it's not a cry that you hear at night it's not somebody who's seen the light it's a cold, and it's a broken hallelujah I do feel really lucky that I got to take this trip And discover boleslaw for my father.
With all the tragedy and horror that I had to look at, Then you find boleslaw, Who went through a lot himself And is smiling and enjoying his son and his grandson And his great-grandchildren, And life goes on.
My sweetheart.
You did good.
You did good.