Can trauma be passed down and inherited by the second and third generation survivors of the Holocaust? That’s something we discuss on this week’s episode of Chosen For What?.
On this episode, host Tommy Schnurmacher sits down with Agneta Hollander, the daughter of two Holocaust survivors who chose to speak openly about their experiences. Agneta’s mother was deported to Auschwitz at just 14, and her father spent four and a half years imprisoned in labour and death camps. For Agneta, growing up in a home where these stories were part of daily life profoundly shaped her understanding of identity, resilience, and responsibility. In their conversation, Agneta reflects on how traditions, recipes, and rituals became a way to honour the grandparents she never met.
In an emotional moment, Agneta relates the story of how, even though she never experienced the horrors of the Holocaust directly, she found herself in the throes of a traumatic episode during a conference in Berlin in 1992.
She also shares why she chose to dedicate herself to Holocaust education, serving as a docent at the Montreal Holocaust Museum for more than a decade and helping The Foundation for Genocide Education carry its mission forward. Her parents’ most enduring message, “not to hate,” is one she continues to live by and teach to future generations.
