History & Area Studies / Thematic History / Social & Cultural History

One family, three fates: America, Israel, and the Holocaust

The Family: Three Journeys Into the Heart of the Twentieth Century

David Laskin

David Laskin's "The Family: Three Journeys Into the Heart of the Twentieth Century" traces the descendants of Shimon Dov HaKohen, a 19th-century Torah scribe from Eastern Europe. His family split into three paths: one branch emigrated to America and built the Maidenform bra empire; another became Zionist pioneers in Palestine, founding a farming community; the third stayed in Europe and was wiped out in the Holocaust. Laskin, an American descendant, thought he had nothing in common with his distant relatives, but this book shows how history is written in the blood and suffering of ordinary people. This video breaks down the key discoveries: how Ida Rosenthal invented the modern bra, how Chaim and Sonia survived malaria and war to build Israel, and how 17 family members were murdered in Sobibor and Ponar. It's a story of survival, guilt, and the end of a 500-year-old Jewish civilization. Watch to understand how one family's journey mirrors the entire 20th century.