Dustin Hoffmans roots

dustin-hoffman

Genealogy is a very emotional thread. You could see it when Dustin Hoffman broke down in tears in the PBS TV Show “Finding the roots. In this show Harvard historican Henry Louis Gates is exploring the roots of famous people. Last week it was episode 10 of the 3rd season. In this TV show he has already explored the roots of stars like Richard Branson, Julianne More, Mia Farrow or Patricia Arquette.

In episode 10 on March 8th, 2016 Dustin Hoffman was learning about his family history. At this time, Dustin Hoffman did not know the names of his grandparents. During the show he learned that his Great grandmother survived a Russian concentration camp and emigrated to Argentina and finally to the US. When Dustin Hoffman heard this he broke down in tears.

Frank and Esther Hoffman, the grandparents of Dustin Hoffman, emigrated to Chicago from Belaya Tserkov, a region of the then-Russian empire that is now in Ukraine. When Frank Hoffman heard that Jews in that region were being killed in pogroms, he went back to find his parents. Unfortunately, he never found them. He was imprisoned and killed by the secret police. His father was also imprisoned and killed shortly after him. His Great grandmother Libba spend five years in a concentration camp and survived. In the age of 62 the woman that only had one arm and poor vision.

Heres a preview on the 10th episode of Finding your Roots.

YouTube

By loading the video, you agree to YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

This post is also available in: German