12 Years That Shook the World

The Shtetl Crumbles

12 Years That Shook the World

Show Notes

Zvi, Miriam and Leon are preparing to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, when suddenly, more armed men arrive in Eyshishok. Terror ensues, and Eyshishok begins to unravel. View Episode Transcript

More from 12 Years That Shook the World

Oct 9, 2025

Torn down, heartbroken, and losing hope, Zvi, Miriam and Leon face even more loss. Then in Spring 1944, Eyshishok is liberated. They return home and face the question, with their world destroyed, what happens now? View Show Transcript

Oct 1, 2025

The threat only grows: suspicious neighbors, ghetto massacres, and violent attacks. Miriam, Leon and Zvi go on the run — hiding, resisting, and fighting to stay alive. View Episode Transcript

Sep 25, 2025

Nazi killing squads have descended onto the shtetl, attempting to destroy all traces of Jewish life. Leon witnesses the terror, and Zvi comes face-to-face with a Nazi killer. View Episode Transcript

Sep 11, 2025

It’s June 1941. Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union, and German soldiers arrive in Eyshishok. Zvi, Miriam and Leon’s lives are flipped upside down. View Episode Transcript

Sep 4, 2025

From the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, welcome to 12 Years That Shook the World. This season is a six-part series: the true story of three young Jews who face the Nazi reign of terror in their hometown: Zvi Michaeli, Miriam Kabacznik, and Leon Kahn — three young Jews from a town called Eyshishok. Featuring historians from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum: Dr. Edna Friedberg, Dr. Lindsay MacNeill, and Dr. J. Luke Ryder.

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