Show Notes
At the dawn of the 1930s, Germany is a physics powerhouse, where great minds like Albert Einstein and Max Planck have revolutionized the scientific landscape. But a talented young physicist named Trude Goldhaber struggles to make her voice heard in a male-dominated field. Trude perseveres, despite the pressures of antisemitism and misogyny all around her. Forced to work in the shadow of her scientist husband, she contributes to research and discoveries that help create the most dangerous weapon known to mankind. Later, when Trude finally makes a name for herself, she does everything in her power to lift up the young women following in her footsteps. Thanks to a grant from the American Institute of Physics and funds from the German Foreign Office, LBI processed and digitized the approximately 19 linear feet of Trude’s papers, which consist of notes, graphs and diagrams, original data, and correspondence related to her research between 1930 and 2000. Maurice Goldhaber’s papers are awaiting processing. Learn more at lbi.org/goldhaber. Exile is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York and Antica Productions. It’s narrated by Mandy Patinkin. This episode was written by Clem Hitchcock and Rami Tzabar. Our executive producers are Laura Regehr, Rami Tzabar and Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Our producer is Emily Morantz. Research and translation by Isabella Kempf. Voice acting by Hannah Gelman. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson. Theme music by Oliver Wickham. Special thanks to the Physics World Weekly podcast, and to David Olson from the Oral History Archives at Columbia University. Please consider supporting the work of the Leo Baeck Institute with a tax-deductible contribution by visiting lbi.org/exile2025. This episode of Exile is made possible in part by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future.
More from Exile
Exile released its first episode in November 2022, but the tale of how it came to be started long before that. On this special episode, we’re pulling back the curtain to tell the story of how this podcast gets made. From its origins in the mind of a dedicated board member, to the months of research and planning to select and shape episodes, to the music and sound effects that bring listeners into a time and place long past, Exile is truly a labor of love.
This is part 2 of the remarkable story of Rabbi Leo Baeck.
Rabbi Leo Baeck looms large in German-Jewish history, but he began his career as a smalltown rabbi in present-day Poland. Baeck quickly earned a reputation for moral clarity and quiet resolve, even in the face of a powerful opposition. As World War I gave way to the rise of the Nazis, the pressures on German Jewry intensified, and Baeck was thrust into an impossible role: guiding a community through its most dangerous and devastating hour. This is the first chapter of a two-part story.
In 1933, German author Lion Feuchtwanger wrote the first ever novel about the experience of Jews under Hitler. The book became a global sensation. When he finally received an offer in 1938 to adapt his most popular book for the screen in Stalin’s Russia, he jumped at the chance. The film was a success, but the decision would come to haunt him when he lived in California during the Red Scare.
In the late 1930s, one of the few places in Berlin that still allowed Jewish visitors was the Zoological Garden, which was established with the support of many Jewish donors. As antisemitic laws took over elsewhere, the Zoo remained a space for community and childhood joy. Eventually, however, even the Zoo would betray the Jews. Sixty years later, one man with fond memories of the zoo realized that an injustice had occurred against his family, and did everything he could to right the wrongs of the past.