BBC TV "WDYTYA?" Series 5 Episode #3: Jerry Springer

[Matt R]

The programme last night was very sad, but Jerry Springer stated quite specifially that he knew why his grandmothers died, but not where, when, etc. Can you imagine what his parents thought when he or his siblings turned around and asked why their grany's were not still alive. I personally believe his parents told him nothing.

I visited Auschwitz earlier in the year and cannot contemplate how it must feel to know your family were involved, on either side - it beggars belief. If I am being honest I am wondering moreso how every single celebrity just happens to have a huge shock waiting for them.
If they got hold of a celeb who desended from farmers and coal miners, I wonder whether that episode would be shown at all...

[toni*]

i saw Tony Robinson at WDYTYA live his family weren't anything special, obviously i don't mean special as they were special to him i mean spectacular (admittedly i only saw part one)

[IgorStrav]

The programme Who Do You Think You Are is entertainment.

In the same way that any entertainment programme, or, indeed, film, play etc is constructed is to tell a story in an interesting and engaging way.  

I think this particular subject has proved, perhaps surprisingly to the BBC, a very popular and emotive one.  I am a member of the BBC Family History board, and you only have to see the increase in new members after the new series WDYTYA to see that many people are attracted to finding out about their families.

In the creation of the programme there are therefore planned surprises, and situations manipulated to appear simpler than they actually are.  However, to be fair, the programme does not claim to be (and indeed isn't) a guide to How To Do Your Family History.  If it were, I'd be the first to agree it fails completely.

I don't hold any brief for Jerry Springer - or indeed any of the other celebrities involved.  However, it is interesting to see them explore their families, and is also very informative, often, with regard to the history involved.

I am very moved, as I know a lot of Rootschatters are, by the hardships and evident determination of my ancestors, and following up my Family History is an absorbing hobby which has contributed much more to my life than I ever anticipated.

The Jerry Springer programme was watched by my partner and myself, who found it very moving and educational, and at the dinner table tonight, my 17 year old son, who watched it later last night, was telling his sister and stepbrother about the details which he had learned, and how he wanted to follow up the history about Stalin's treatment of dissidents.  We also discussed the Cultural Revolution in China and the casualties from that.

What more can you ask from an entertainment programme, watched on BBC 1 by millions of viewers, that an interest in history should be encouraged?

More power to its elbow is what I say.

If I want to find out how to do Family History and how complicated it is, then I have many friends (I hope I can call you all that!) on Rootschat to tell me how.

 

[meles]

Thank you Igor, for your thoughtful comment.

meles

[heywood]

Yes I thought it very moving. His cousin said to him something like 'they knew' meaning what had happened -but she just meant their fate I would imagine, not the specifics.
I accept that the series is 'entertainment' but I can't describe last night's programme as that.
I also think that no one watching would believe that anyone could just walk into these places and find the information immediately - we know that there must be lots of preparation. I would imagine, and hope, that for direct descendants of the victims, those records are readily available.
I was astonished at the detail in the records available- utility bills!

There are accusations being levelled here at his ignorance but we don't know why the family didn't pursue the details.
My own father never ever discussed his wartime experiences in Burma. My mum used to say that he had nightmares/bad dreams etc but never would he discuss it with her.
Similarly my father in law wouldn't discuss his experiences in Europe. We do have a letter he sent where he says how sorry he was for the 'poor Germans who have been left with nothing' just wandering the streets carrying a case with all their belongings in because everywhere has been destroyed. When he came home though - he would not talk about it.
Sometimes the knowledge of horror is enough- people didn't want to find out more.
I suppose as for Jerry Springer, the BBC approached him and for his own reasons he agreed. His emotions were though , I am sure, genuine. It is one thing doing a paper exercise and another actually being there.
heywood

[Nick29]

I'm amazed that someone can comment on a programme that they haven't seen 

[lesleyhannah]

It is possible that he didn't know, on a personal level, what happened to his grandmothers.

My great grandfather was a PoW in Germany/Poland. We know what camp he was in but other than that there is a lot we don't know because it wasn't spoken about.

I agree - my uncles never spoke of what they suffered in WW2, although one was taken prisoner, and another watched close mates dying. Both refused to discuss it. I think this is a natural defence mechanism for people who have suffered extreme atrocities.

And why do so many people feel they have to comment that they don't like Jerry Springer on a personal level (or last week that they had no time for Boris Johnson)? Presumably the people are chosen for their interesting family histories, not for their likeability! In any case, most of us know nothing about these 'celebrities' - just the media hype - so we could be surprised by the reality.

I think the quality of the programmes is improving each series - just hoping the rest of this series is as good as these first three.

[millymcb]

On every thread about WDTYA there are complaints that the research appears "as if my magic" - but (having watched every episode in all the series) I think that this series the BBC have been a lot more open about the pre-research being done.   

In the first couple of series they did try to create an exciting "discovery" to make the programmes more entertaining.  But since then and especially in the three programmes so far this series, I don't think they have pretended to film people going through papers and "discovering" the entries they are searching for. And the experts generally introduce themselves and say something like "I have been searching and have been able to find this for you".    So - no pretence, and an admission they have researchers doing the leg-work.


I think it makes the show more interesting rather than less - as it means they don't have to film the long build-up to the discovery and therefore have more time for the story itself.


I have loved all of the three programmes so far - and all for different reasons.   Patsy - because I learnt about some sources I didn't already know in relation to criminals and vicars.   Boris because he made me laugh, and now Jerry Springer. because - although it told us about the holocaust we think we know the details of - it looked at the early stages - the ghettos, the gas vans and the show camp- the detail of which is sometimes forgotten amongst the large scale horrors that came later.   Thinking about what was going through the minds of the first few soldiers/buerocrats etc when they were given those jobs - and then actually got on and did them....really makes me wonder.


Milly

[KateW]

When I started my family tree investigations a couple of years ago, my uncle who is in his mid 70s could not tell me his Grandmother's first or maiden name as she had died the year he was born (in England!) and he could not ever remember her being spoken about.  I get the impression that previous generations were very private about grief and a dead loved one was rarely mentioned especially to children.  So I can imagine that if relatives were lost through such tragic circumstances as Jerry Springer's grandmothers, it is quite likely that nobody would have ever spoken the words.

Kate.