BBC TV "WDYTYA?" Series 5 Episode #4: Esther Rantzen

[mongoose2]

he wouldnt be a Pardoe by any chance LOL

Bazza

[nanny jan]

The inscriptions on the stones in Warsaw looked like Hebrew to me, not Yiddish.


Nanny Jan

[Grothenwell]

I have followed this debate with interest. However, I, personally, do not think it is important, whether, Esther Rantzen (or the other celebrities' histories) knew some facts, all of it, or none at all. To me, the program was very interesting. I do not really understand this need to establish that each celebrity 'must have known', etc.
Frankly, I am not bothered one way or the other. The program was really interesting.

Good points well made Dave.

Hi Nanny Jan, You are both correct I think the language would be Yiddish written in Hebrew alphabet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_alphabet

[Roobarb]

Off topic for a minute but I just wondered ...........  Susan_131 has contributed a number of interesting posts, so why does her number of posts show as 0? 

[nanny jan]

Hi Roobarb,

I think posts on The Lighter Side and Totally Off Topic do not count towards the total.


Nanny Jan

[JenB]

Presumably posts on this board don't count towards your total.

[Roobarb]

Oh of course, silly me, I knew that in the back of my mind! Just ignore me!
                     

[linden]

I would have been really interested to hear more about Esther's mother's family . There can't be many celebs whose family are part of the very early British Jewish community . I would like to learn more about them .
And the newspaper archives ! I have found several of my own poorer ancestors recorded in these online archives - so far, none of them for wrongdoings .

Re the Warsaw ghetto :
If you have Irish ancestors who emigrated because of the Famine , most people would still feel a connection and would still try to find where they came from in Ireland . And there would likely still be a complicated emotional connection to those years . Would this be similar ?

I did learn from the programme that the Jewish community was invited to settle in Poland  -  did the anti-semitism begin with the Russian entry into the country ?

[stonechat]

I saw this quite late on iPlayer
Esther seemed ambivalent
When there was bad news she said she was shocked but she was smiling.

I enjoyed the show, and don't mind the contrived nature.

Though I feel terribly for Jewish people and the persecution suffered, I wonder if the program could move on to another ethnic group

Bob