by Brittney Melton

July 13, 2025

Good morning. This week, a New Hampshire judge blocked President Trump’s birthright citizenship order nationwide, AI chatbot Grok started calling itself “MechaHitler,” and a former White House doctor declined to testify in the GOP probe of former President Joe Biden's mental acuity while in office.

Untold stories of Holocaust survivors

by Tom Dreisbach, NPR Investigations correspondent

When Andrew Roth and Jack Moran were just teenagers, they witnessed and endured horrors that are almost unimaginable.

In 1944, Roth and his family, like millions of other European Jews, were taken by the Nazis from their community in Hungary. They were deported first to a ghetto, then to the Auschwitz death camp, and finally to the Buchenwald concentration camp. Most of Roth’s family was murdered in Nazi gas chambers — among the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust. Roth managed to survive.

Andrew Roth (left), wearing a burgundy long-sleeve shirt and white baseball cap, stands up from his wheelchair to give Jack Moran, who is wearing a yellow sweater, a hug at the Shoah Foundation at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Grace Widyatmadja/for NPR

Moran, meanwhile, was serving in the U.S. Army as part of the Allied campaign to liberate Europe from Nazi control. On the front lines, he watched his closest friends — young men like himself — die on the battlefield. Moran’s journey ultimately took him to Buchenwald too, as Allied forces took control of the camp and began to uncover the full extent of the Nazi’s atrocities.

Roth and Moran are now almost 100 years old. They are among the last living witnesses to these events.

Last month, 80 years after the liberation of Buchenwald, the two men reunited, hugged and shared their stories. Our story includes some powerful photos of the two men meeting.

I learned about their meeting through the USC Shoah Foundation, which holds the world’s largest archive of audiovisual testimonies from Holocaust survivors and witnesses. My reporting on links between Trump administration officials and antisemitic extremists had led the Shoah Foundation to reach out and discuss their own work fighting antisemitism. When they mentioned that they were also bringing Roth and Moran together, and recording their meeting, I knew that it would be a rare opportunity to hear from the dwindling number of people who saw Nazi crimes first-hand.

There’s a common belief that the Holocaust and World War II have been so thoroughly documented that little remains to be discovered. But historian Rob Williams, who leads the USC Shoah Foundation, told me that’s just not true. Much of what happened in Eastern Europe during the war is still poorly understood — a “black box” to historians.

The Nazis silenced the voices of many millions, whose stories will remain untold. The Shoah Foundation is working to fill in those gaps by continuing to gather oral histories of survivors and witnesses, most of whom are now in their 80s and 90s. If you or someone you know has a story to share, the Foundation has a page where you can submit your information to give testimony. (The Foundation is seeking “Holocaust survivors, including those who fled Nazi persecution, liberators, rescuers, and other eyewitnesses.”)

In school, history can sometimes feel static, a distant recitation of statistics and events and dates — who, what, when, where and why. It can feel disconnected from our own lives.

Hearing directly from survivors like Roth and Moran, while we still can, helps bring that era into focus and connects us to history in a deeply personal way.

Check out more great reads from the NPR network you may have missed:

Many countries, including the U.S., are facing a rapidly aging population because families are having fewer or no children. In response, some U.S. politicians, researchers, and activists are advocating for policies to encourage higher birth rates.
The various videos posted online showing the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration across the U.S. reveal a pattern: masked agents in plainclothes. While the Department of Homeland Security cites safety as the reason why officers are concealing their faces, legal advocates argue it undermines public trust.
Elon Musk says he’s forming the America Party, a new political party aimed at centrist voters, or, as he says, the “80% in the middle.” However, qualifying to appear on a ballot as a third-party candidate is difficult and pricey in many states.
Over 5,000 items from Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim, including ideas for lyrics to Sweeney Todd and notes for Glynis Johns as she performed "Send in the Clowns," are now safely in a new Library of Congress collection. Take a peek at some of the papers.

Newsletter continues after sponsor message

URGENT: Ask your Senators to stand for public media.

In a few days, the Senate will vote on a rescissions package that would eliminate $1.1 billion in already-approved federal funding for public media. The NPR Network is in serious jeopardy, and some local newsrooms are at risk of shuttering entirely. But you can still speak out for an essential American service.

Urge your Senators to take a stand for public media. It takes 20 seconds at the link below.

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS NOW ➔

Podcast Club

An illustration showing “Planet Money Summer School” in text, with images of a pencil, palm trees, and an inflatable pink flamingo.

NPR

Thanks for tuning in last week to the Short Wave episode, “Why weed's signature scent has changed over time.” The episode discussed how the skunky smell of cannabis could be going out of style.

Today, we’re listening to Planet Money. “Summer School 1: A government's role in the economy is to make us all richer” starts this summer semester by exploring key economic ideas and important questions in an easy-to-digest format perfect for beach listening or learning on the go. The question of the week is: Why are some nations rich and others poor? The podcast captures stories from India, New York City and Peru, and looks at the ways in which government bureaucracy can help make or break an economy.

At the end of the summer school series, there will be a big test. What notes did you take from this episode to help you prepare? Let us know, and your response could be featured in next week’s newsletter.

In today’s episode of The Sunday Story from Up First, Planet Money explores how a battery factory sparked a political controversy regarding the types of factories we want in our communities. And what happens when the global economy meets small-town democracy.

Words ending in "AC"

The words "Sunday Puzzle" over a white background. The name "Will Shortz" is under the Sunday Puzzle title, etched into red dice.

NPR

It's time for the Sunday Puzzle! For today's on-air challenge, every answer will be a word that ends with the letters A-C, as in air conditioning. For example, if NPR Puzzlemaster Will Shortz asks, "What do you call a person who stays awake all night?" the answer would be "insomniAC." Test your skills here. Check this page later to hear the answers, or catch them live on Weekend Edition at 8:41 a.m.

This coming Thursday through Sunday, Shortz will be at the 185th convention of the National Puzzlers' League, which is taking place in Minneapolis. He brought a puzzle by Ben Bass, of Chicago, who will also be in attendance, for the online challenge. Take two different articles of clothing and place them one after the other. The result will spell something seen at a baseball game. What is it? Submit your answer here and you could win a chance to play next Sunday's on-air puzzle.

Stream your local NPR station.

Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here.

Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Health and more!

You received this message because you're subscribed to Up First emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002

Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy