Against All Odds

GATES: I'M HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.

WELCOME TO "FINDING YOUR ROOTS".

IN THIS EPISODE, WE'LL TRACE THE FAMILY TREES OF TALK SHOW HOST ANDY COHEN AND JOURNALIST NINA TOTENBERG, TWO PEOPLE WHOSE ANCESTORS HAD TO BATTLE SIMPLY TO SURVIVE.

COHEN: MY HEART BREAKS FOR THEM A LITTLE BIT FOR ALL THAT THEY WENT THROUGH.

I FEEL EMOTIONAL.

I FEEL HEAVY.

GATES: YEAH.

COHEN: I FEEL IMMENSE GRATITUDE TO THEM.

TOTENBERG: HE WAS SEEING HIS HISTORY AND HIS FRIENDS AND HIS LOVED ONES EVAPORATE AND IT WAS A DEEP WOUND IN HIS SOUL.

GATES: TO UNCOVER THEIR ROOTS, WE'VE USED EVERY TOOL AVAILABLE.

GENEALOGISTS HELPED STITCH TOGETHER THE PAST FROM THE PAPER TRAIL THEIR ANCESTORS LEFT BEHIND.

WHILE DNA EXPERTS UTILIZED THE LATEST ADVANCES IN GENETIC ANALYSIS TO REVEAL SECRETS HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD.

COHEN: IT GIVES ME GOOSE BUMPS TO SEE THIS.

TOTENBERG: IT JUST MAKES ME SO CURIOUS.

COHEN: WOW.

GATES: AND WE'VE COMPILED IT ALL INTO A BOOK OF LIFE.

TOTENBERG: OH MY GOODNESS.

GATES: A RECORD OF ALL OUR DISCOVERIES.

COHEN: IT'S LIKE YOU'RE AMONG THESE GHOSTS THAT, YOU KNOW, PAVED THE WAY FOR YOU.

TOTENBERG: I PROMISED I WOULDN'T CRY.

GATES: NINA AND ANDY ARE ABOUT TO CONFRONT A PROFOUND QUESTION: WHAT DO WE INHERIT FROM ANCESTORS WHOSE LIVES WERE UNIMAGINABLY MORE CHALLENGING THAN OUR OWN?

IN THIS EPISODE, THEY'LL FIND THE ANSWERS WITHIN THEIR FAMILY TREES.

HEARING STORIES OF WOMEN AND MEN WHO OVERCAME ENORMOUS ODDS TO LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR THEIR SUCCESS.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYS).

♪ ♪ (OVERLAPPING CHATTER) GATES: ANDY COHEN IS A MULTI-FACETED.

MULTI-MEDIA SUPERSTAR.

AN EMMY-AWARDING WINNING TV EXECUTIVE.

BEST SELLING AUTHOR.

AND GROUNDBREAKING TALK SHOW HOST.

OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES, ANDY HAS TRANSFORMED AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE BY ELEVATING REALITY TELEVISION.

BRINGING MOVIE STARS AND SUBURBAN HOUSEWIVES INTO THE SAME SPACE, CREATING A BODY OF WORK THATS OUTRAGEOUS, EGALITARIAN, AND ABOVE ALL, ENTERTAINING.

BUT IN PERSON, ANDY IS FAR MORE RESTRAINED THAN YOU MIGHT IMAGINE.

AND IF YOU'RE EXPECTING THAT THE MAN WHO'S PRESIDED OVER SO MUCH ON AIR DYSFUNCTION IS HIMSELF THE PRODUCT OF A CHAOTIC CHILDHOOD WELL, YOU'RE IN FOR A SHOCK.

ANDY GREW UP IN SUBURBAN ST LOUIS IN A FAMILY THAT WAS AN ABSOLUTE MODEL OF STABILITY.

COHEN: THERE WAS NO BIG, THERE WAS NO BIG TRAUMA, I HAVE TO SAY.

GATES: UH-HUH.

YOU'RE LUCKY.

COHEN: ALL REALLY NICE.

I WAS VERY LUCKY.

GATES: WHAT WERE YOU LIKE AS A KID?

COHEN: I WAS A LITTLE HYPER.

UH, I LIKED TO MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH.

I WAS A HAM.

GATES: UH-HUH.

COHEN: I GOT IN TROUBLE FOR TALKING TOO MUCH, A LOT.

BUT MY, MY PARENTS WERE ALWAYS AROUND.

THEY WERE ALWAYS THERE FOR ME.

AND I WAS ALWAYS VERY SECURE IN WHO I WAS AND, AND CONFIDENT, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU, THAT'S PROBABLY THE GREATEST GIFT THAT YOU CAN GIVE A CHILD IS CONFIDENCE AND SECURITY.

GATES: ANDY HAS PUT HIS "CONFIDENCE" TO GOOD USE BUILDING A CAREER ALMOST ENTIRELY OUT OF HIS OWN INSTINCTS.

STARTING OUT AS AN INTERN AT CBS NEWS, HE ROSE TO RUN ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING FOR THE BRAVO NETWORK WHERE HE CREATED A SLEW OF HIT SHOWS GUIDED LARGELY BY HIS OWN MERCURIAL TASTES.

INCLUDING THE "REAL HOUSEWIVES" FRANCHISE WHICH HAS BECOME A CULTURAL PHENOMENON.

WHETHER YOU LOVE THE "HOUSEWIVES" OR HATE THEM (OVERLAPPING CHATTER) (GLASS SHATTERING) THEY'RE COMPELLING TELEVISION.

AND IN THEIR BEST MOMENTS, THEY REFLECT THE INTELLIGENCE OF THEIR CREATOR.

COHEN: PEOPLE LOVE JUDGING HUMAN BEHAVIOR, AND THERE'S A LOT OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR TO JUDGE, AND THE SHOW IS ABOUT BEING A FRIEND, A WIFE, A SISTER, A MOTHER, AND EVERYTHING THAT GOES INTO THAT, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S RELATABLE, ULTIMATELY.

IF IT WASN'T RELATABLE AND IT WAS, AND IT, AND IT WAS JUST WINE TOSSES, PEOPLE WOULDN'T STILL BE TALKING ABOUT IT.

GATES: THE HOUSEWIVES OF COURSE WERE ALSO THE LAUNCHPAD FOR ANDY'S SIGNATURE SERIES.

"WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE" THE LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW THAT PUT HIM IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA AND MADE HIM A HOUSEHOLD NAME.

THE SHOW IS A COMPULSIVELY WATCHABLE MIX OF WILDLY DIFFERENT ELEMENTS.

IT'S THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF THE RANGE OF ANDY'S SEVERAL TALENTS.

AND THE CULMINATION OF A JOURNEY HE'S BEEN ON SINCE CHILDHOOD.

EVEN IF HIS OWN PARENTS DON'T ALWAYS SEE IT THAT WAY.

GATES: WHAT MAKES YOU GOOD AT THIS?

COHEN: I THINK, UH, FIRST OF ALL IT'S A TOTALLY AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE.

IT'S A HALF HOUR.

IT'S LIVE.

IT'S THE ONLY LIVE SHOW IN LATE NIGHT, AND ALSO WE DON'T PRE-INTERVIEW OUR GUESTS.

THEY JUST COME IN LIKE I'M COMING IN WITH YOU TODAY.

GATES: RIGHT.

COHEN: THIS IS ALL COLD.

WE'RE JUST HAVING A CONVERSATION, AND WE'RE GOING WITH IT.

SO, ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN, AND THAT'S HOW I AM ON MY SHOW.

IT'S JUST A TOTAL ORGANIC EXPERIENCE.

GATES: WHAT DID YOUR PARENTS THINK OF THE SHOW?

COHEN: UH, THEY THINK, THEY LOVE IT.

THEY'RE AMUSED BY IT.

THEY SOMETIMES THINK IT'S TOO DIRTY, AND MY MOM WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS FILTHY, STOP, THAT GAME WAS GROSS.

SOMETIMES THEY'LL TEXT ME AND SAY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, NOT OUR DEMOGRAPHIC.

GATES: DO YOU APOLOGIZE TO YOUR MOTHER?

COHEN: SOMETIMES.

GATES: AND YOU SAY I'M SORRY.

COHEN: OR I SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, IT WAS FUNNY, LIKE GET OVER IT.

GATES: MY SECOND GUEST IS LEGENDARY JOURNALIST NINA TOTENBERG.

LIKE ANDY, NINA IS THE PRODUCT OF A STABLE, LOVING FAMILY.

BUT THAT FAMILY WAS ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY.

HER FATHER ROMAN TOTENBERG WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST VIOLINISTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY.

CELEBRATED AROUND THE GLOBE.

SO NINA GREW UP KNOWING THAT HER AMBITIONS WOULD BE MEASURED AGAINST HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

TOTENBERG: YOU CAN'T MISS IT WHEN YOUR FATHER IS STANDING UP THERE IN FRONT OF AN ORCHESTRA.

FIDDLING AWAY, AND EVERYBODY'S APPLAUDING HIM, AND HE'S COMING OUT AND BOWING.

I MEAN YOU, YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT HE'S SOMEBODY IMPORTANT.

GATES: DID YOU EVER FANTASIZE ABOUT BEING A VIOLINIST?

TOTENBERG: NO.

GATES: NO, NEVER?

TOTENBERG: NO, I, I, NO.

(LAUGHTER).

TOTENBERG: YOU KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE A PARENT WHO'S REALLY PRETTY CLOSE TO A GENIUS DOING SOMETHING AND IS COMPLETELY DEVOTED TO IT, THE IDEA OF COMPETING WITH THAT, NOT MY THING.

GATES: NINA'S "THING" IS JOURNALISM.

IT'S THE ONLY OCCUPATION SHE'S EVER SERIOUSLY PURSUED.

BUT GROWING UP IN THE 1950S AT A TIME WHEN WOMEN WERE ESSENTIALLY RELEGATED TO THE HOME HER CHILDHOOD GOALS WERE UNDERSTANDABLY A BIT FANTASTICAL.

TOTENBERG: I WANTED TO BE "NANCY DREW".

GATES: UH-HUH.

OF COURSE.

TOTENBERG: LIKE, UH, MOST WOMEN OF MY AGE WHO ENDED UP WITH A PROFESSIONAL CAREER, THE ONLY ROLE MODEL WE HAD WAS NANCY DREW, AND THEN I FOUND OUT THAT PROBABLY I COULDN'T BE A POLICE DETECTIVE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, AND THE NEXT THING I REALLY WANTED TO BE WAS A REPORTER, BECAUSE I WANTED TO GO FIND OUT WHAT WAS GOING ON.

I SORT OF WANTED TO BE A HIGH-LEVEL GOSSIP.

THAT'S WHAT REPORTING IS.

GATES: IT IS, INDEED.

TOTENBERG: IT'S, IT SOUNDS VERY UNINELEGANT, BUT THAT'S TRULY WHAT IT IS.

IT'S FINDING OUT THE TRUTH OF WHAT'S GOING ON AND SHARING THAT INFORMATION.

GATES: NINA HAS DONE MUCH MORE THAN "SHARE INFORMATION".

SHE'S BEEN BREAKING STORIES SINCE WATERGATE.

WINNING ALMOST EVERY MAJOR JOURNALISTIC AWARD ALONG THE WAY.

BUT EVEN SO, WHEN SHE LOOKS BACK ON HER CAREER, NINA IS STILL STRUCK BY THE FACT THAT SHE'S VIEWED DIFFERENTLY AT A FUNDAMENTAL LEVEL.

BECAUSE OF HER GENDER.

TOTENBERG: I NOW KNOW THAT I WILL MAKE DEADLINE AND I WILL BE ABLE TO DO IT, BUT I STILL HAVE DAYS WHEN I AM SITTING THERE AND I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO FIND OUT YOU'RE A FRAUD.

UH, AND THOSE DAYS ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN NOW, BUT I WOULD SAY IT WASN'T UNTIL MY LATE 40S THAT I REALLY BELIEVED THAT I HAD DONE IT AND COULD CONTINUE TO DO IT, AND I DO THINK THAT'S FROM A CERTAIN LACK OF CONFIDENCE THAT WOMEN ARE INCULCATED WITH FOR THEIR LIVES, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE WONDERFUL TEACHERS WHO HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THEM, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE PARENTS WHO HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THEM.

MY FATHER, I THINK, ACTUALLY, MORE THAN MY MOTHER, THOUGHT I HAD A CHANCE OF MAKING IT, MAINLY BECAUSE HE HAD FEMALE COLLEAGUES IN THE MUSICAL WORLD.

GATES: UH-HUH.

UH-HUH.

TOTENBERG: AND MY MOTHER, WHO WAS INCREDIBLY SMART, BEFORE SHE MARRIED HIM, HAD BEEN AN ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO SOMEBODY, PROBABLY RUNNING AN OFFICE AND RUNNING THAT GUY'S LIFE AND NEVER THOUGHT THAT SHE COULD ASPIRE TO SOMETHING BEYOND THAT WHEN SHE WAS A YOUNG WOMAN, AND I THINK SHE FEARED THAT I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO, EITHER.

BUT I WANTED TO BE A REPORTER, AND THE FACT THAT I WAS A GIRL AND THAT APPARENTLY DISQUALIFIED ME WAS SOMETHING THAT REALLY INFURIATED ME, AND I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO PROVE THEM WRONG.

GATES: WHILE MY GUESTS MAY SEEM DIFFERENT ON THE SURFACE NINA AND ANDY ACTUALLY HAVE A GREAT DEAL IN COMMON.

BOTH GREW UP IN COMFORT THANKS TO ANCESTORS WHO DID NOT.

AND BOTH CAME TO ME HOPING TO EXPLORE THE STORIES OF THOSE ANCESTORS.

I STARTED WITH ANDY WHO WAS WELL AWARE OF THE SOURCE OF HIS CHILDHOOD STABILITY.

HIS FAMILY OWNED A FOOD DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, WHICH HAD ITS OWN PRODUCT LINE KNOWN AS "LASCO".

BOTH HIS PARENTS WORKED THERE AND SO DID ANDY.

AND HE LOVED IT!

COHEN: I DID EVERYTHING.

I WORKED IN THE FACTORY.

I MADE DELIVERIES.

I MADE COPIES.

I WORKED AT CUSTOMER SERVICE.

I, I MEAN, I WORKED, IT, ALL OVER THE PLACE.

AND IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY ON THE SET OF "WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE," THERE'S A BOX, A YELLOW AND BLUE BOX OF TEA BAGS.

GATES: UH HUH.

COHEN: LASCO TEA BAGS, AND THEY'RE ON THE SET OF "WATCH WHAT HAPPENS LIVE" ON A SHELF JUST, THEY'RE A LITTLE PIECE OF MY FAMILY.

GATES: WHEN ANDY WORKED FOR HIS FAMILY'S COMPANY, IT WAS RUN BY HIS GRANDFATHER BENJAMIN ALLEN A LARGER THAN LIFE CHARACTER.

ANDY NAMED HIS SON AFTER BENJAMIN AND CLEARLY ADMIRES HIM EVEN AS HE RECOGNIZES THAT HE COULD BE A CHALLENGING BOSS.

COHEN: I THINK HE WAS REALLY GRUFF AND TOUGH ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT HE HAD A BIG HEART ON THE INSIDE, AND THAT WAS HIS REPUTATION.

LIKE, HIS BARK WAS WORSE THAN HIS BITE, BUT HIS BARK WAS REALLY, REALLY LOUD.

CERTAINLY, I COULD WALK INTO HIS OFFICE AFTER HE WOULD BE RIPPING SOMEONE'S FACE OFF AND HE WOULD TURN TO ME, JUST DELIGHTED, AND OFFER ME CANDY AND YOU KNOW?

SO, I, IT WAS ALWAYS GREAT FOR ME.

GATES: OKAY, BENJAMIN, WHAT DO YOU CALL YOUR SON, BENJAMIN?

COHEN: I CALL HIM BEN, YEAH.

GATES: OKAY, IF THERE WAS ONE QUALITY OF YOUR GRANDFATHER THAT YOU HOPE BEN INHERITS, WHAT WOULD THAT BE?

COHEN: HARD WORK.

GATES: HARD WORK?

COHEN: YEAH.

HE WAS A VERY HARD WORKER.

GATES: ANDY'S GRANDFATHER WORKED WELL PAST HIS 90TH BIRTHDAY!

AND AS WE DUG INTO HIS ROOTS, WE REALIZED THAT HE WAS ACTUALLY FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF A MAN WHO LIKELY WORKED EVEN HARDER.

A MAN WHO CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF THE ENTIRE ALLEN FAMILY.

BENJAMIN'S FATHER LOUIS ALLEN CAME TO AMERICA FROM RUSSIA AND ULTIMATELY STARTED A DRY GOODS STORE THAT BECAME THE FAMILY COMPANY.

WE PICKED UP HIS STORY IN A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE, PUBLISHED IN THE SMALL TOWN IN ILLINOIS WHERE HE FIRST MADE HIS MARK.

COHEN: "WHEN LOUIS ALLEN CAME TO THIS COUNTRY AS A POOR IMMIGRANT IN THE 1890S, HE WAS ABOUT 23 YEARS OLD.

HE LEFT HIS WIFE IN THE OLD COUNTRY, AND WHILE HE WAS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, HIS SON HARRY WAS BORN.

HARRY WAS 4 YEARS OLD WHEN MR. ALLEN SAW HIM FOR THE FIRST TIME.

MR. ALLEN BEGAN HIS CAREER AS A PEDDLER OF HOUSEHOLD GOODS AND WEARING APPAREL.

FOR THE FIRST FOUR YEARS HE WALKED FROM FARMHOUSE TO FARMHOUSE THROUGHOUT THE AREA.

HOWEVER, AFTER FOUR YEARS HE WAS ABLE TO BUY A HORSE AND WAGON AND STARTED HIS BUSINESS CAREER IN EARNEST."

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO READ THAT?

COHEN: IT'S AMAZING.

IT'S AMAZING.

I CAN'T BELIEVE HE CAME WHEN HE WAS TWENTY-THREE.

GATES: YEAH, AND HE LEFT BEHIND HIS PREGNANT WIFE.

COHEN: YEAH.

GATES: I WONDER HOW SHE FELT ABOUT THAT?

COHEN: I'M SURE SHE WAS THRILLED.

GATES: YOU'RE GOING WHERE?

COHEN: I KNOW.

WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHO HAD IT TOUGHER BECAUSE HE HAD TO FIGURE OUT WHERE TO GO AND START.

GATES: WITH NOTHING.

COHEN: TRYING TO, TRYING TO MAKE SOME MONEY.

GATES: YEAH.

COHEN: THAT'S WILD.

THAT'S REALLY COOL.

GATES: WE DON'T KNOW HOW LOUIS ALLEN FIGURED OUT SO MUCH SO FAST.

BUT HE WAS PART OF A LARGER TREND.

DURING THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF THE UNITED STATES, NEW HOMESTEADS NEEDED DRY GOODS AND HARDWARE, AND PEDDLERS MANY OF WHOM WERE RECENT JEWISH IMMIGRANTS PROVIDED THEM.

WORKING IN ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS INCLUDING RAIN AND SNOW...

CARRYING PACKS FILLED WITH POTS, PANS, TABLECLOTHS AND ANYTHING ELSE A FARMER MIGHT BUY.

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE PERIOD SUGGEST SOME OF WHAT ANDY'S ANCESTOR MUST HAVE ENDURED.

COHEN: WOW.

GATES: AND THAT PHOTO DOESN'T, EVEN CAPTURE EVERYTHING.

THOSE PACKS THAT YOU SEE.

COHEN: I CAN'T IMAGINE HOW HEAVY THEY WERE.

GATES: OVER 100 POUNDS.

COHEN: OH MY GOD.

GATES: AND THINK ABOUT THIS, THERE WERE NO MOTELS BACK THEN.

COHEN: RIGHT.

GATES: SO, PEDDLERS WOULD WALK OR DRIVE THEIR CARTS THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE HOPING A FARMER OR HIS WIFE MIGHT TAKE HIM IN FOR THE NIGHT.

COHEN: OH MAN.

GATES: AND IF THEY COULDN'T, THEY'D SLEEP OUTDOORS, YOU KNOW, UNDER THE CART, AROUND THE CART.

COHEN: MEANWHILE, I WONDER HOW HE LEARNED ENGLISH.

I MEAN HE CAME FROM RUSSIA.

GATES: ON THE CART!

COHEN: RIGHT.

GATES: YOU KNOW ON THE, ON THE JOB.

COHEN: RIGHT.

I MEAN IT'S INCREDIBLE.

I DON'T KNOW THAT I COULD DO THE SAME.

I MEAN IT JUST SHOWS INCREDIBLE STRENGTH AND FORTITUDE.

GATES: AND YOU HAD NO IDEA?

COHEN: NO.

I MEAN I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF MY PARENTS KNEW ABOUT THIS.

IT'S WILD.

GATES: ANDY WONDERED WHY LOUIS HAD BEEN WILLING TO FACE SUCH HARDSHIP IN AMERICA.

THE ANSWER, LIKELY, IS THAT LIFE IN HIS HOMELAND WAS EVEN HARDER.

WE BELIEVE THAT LOUIS WAS BORN IN A SMALL TOWN OUTSIDE THE CITY OF BIALYSTOK.

IN MODERN-DAY POLAND.

AT THE TIME, THE TOWN WAS PART OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE, LOCATED IN WHAT WAS KNOWN AS "THE PALE OF SETTLEMENT" THE REGION WHERE BEGINNING IN THE LATE 1700'S RUSSIA CONFINED AND SEVERELY RESTRICTED ITS JEWISH POPULATION.

JEWS IN THE PALE WERE BARRED FROM OWNING FARMLAND, FORCED TO PAY ADDITIONAL TAXES, AND GENERALLY DENIED ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION.

MOST ENDED UP AS TRADESPEOPLE, STRUGGLING TO GET BY.

AND LOUIS' FAMILY WAS NO EXCEPTION.

HIS FATHER A MAN NAMED MOSZEK JELE WAS THE CHILD OF A TANNER.

MEANING HE SPENT HIS DAYS TURNING ANIMAL SKINS INTO LEATHER.

GATES: WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

THIS IS A BIRTH RECORD FROM THE YEAR 1833.

COHEN: WOW.

GATES: THAT WE FOUND IN THE ARCHIVES OF BIALYSTOK.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSLATION?

COHEN: "APPEARED ISRAELITE ABRAM JELE , A 48-YEAR-OLD TANNER LIVING IN ZAMBROW, AND SHOWED US A MALE CHILD BORN IN ZAMBROW ON 24TH OF MARCH THIS YEAR AT 11:00 IN THE MORNING FROM HIS WIFE BASIA ZELKOWNA, AGED 30.

THIS CHILD WAS NAMED MOSHEK ARON."

GATES: MMM-HMM.

COHEN: SO, THIS IS A BIRTH RECORD OF LOUIS ALLEN'S FATHER?

GATES: YES.

COHEN: WOW.

48-YEAR-OLD LEATHERWORKER.

GATES: WHICH WAS A VERY COMMON JOB AT THE TIME FOR JEWISH PEOPLE IN THE PALE OF SETTLEMENT.

YOU KNOW THEY HAD JEWISH JOBS, AS IT WERE, RIGHT?

COHEN: YES.

OKAY.

GATES: AND ONE OF THEM WAS BEING A TANNER.

IT WAS LOW-PAYING AND LOW-STATUS WORK.

AND TANNERS WERE OFTEN RELEGATED TO WORKING ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN BECAUSE THE WHOLE PROCESS SMELLED SO HORRIBLE.

COHEN: YEAH.

GATES: CAN YOU IMAGINE HIS LIFE, ANDY?

COHEN: NO.

GATES: CAN YOU IMAGINE TANNING LEATHER?

COHEN: I CAN IMAGINE TANNING, BUT I CAN'T IMAGINE TANNING.

GATES: BUT NOT TANNING.

COHEN: YES.

GATES: THOUGH TANNING WAS CERTAINLY A DIFFICULT WAY TO MAKE A LIVING, WE WERE FORTUNATE TO HAVE LEARNED ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT THIS PART OF ANDY'S FAMILY.

RECORDS REGARDING JEWISH LIFE IN THE PALE OF SETTLEMENT ARE SCARCE BECAUSE, IN THE 20TH CENTURY THE REGION WAS RAVAGED BY BOTH THE SOVIETS AND BY THE NAZIS.

AS A RESULT, MANY JEWISH PEOPLE TODAY KNOW ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT THEIR ANCESTORS WHO LIVED IN THIS REGION FOR GENERATIONS.

IN ANDY'S CASE, HOWEVER, WE WERE JUST GETTING STARTED.

GATES: TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.

THIS IS A DRAWING OF THE WOODEN SYNAGOGUE IN WYSOKIE MAZOWIECKIE.

ANDY, IT WAS BUILT IN 1722.

COHEN: WOW.

GATES: AND IT WAS STILL STANDING WHEN YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS WERE MARRIED IN 1851.

COHEN: WOW.

YOU THINK THEY WERE MARRIED THERE?

GATES: WE DON'T KNOW, BUT IT'S A GOOD GUESS, AND IF THEY WEREN'T MARRIED THERE, IT'S LIKELY THAT THEY ATTENDED SERVICES THERE.

COHEN: WOW.

IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A SYNAGOGUE.

I MEAN IT'S SO PRIMITIVE.

THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

IT GIVES ME GOOSE BUMPS TO SEE THIS.

GATES: UH-HUH.

COHEN: I GOTTA TELL YOU, BECAUSE YOU DON'T, IT'S JUST A TOUCHPOINT, YOU KNOW?

GATES: UH-HUH.

COHEN: YOU DON'T THINK THAT, I MEAN IT, IT, IT CONNECTS, CONNECTS YOU TO THEM, AND TO THINK THAT THIS IS WHERE THEY WORSHIPPED, IT'S REALLY INCREDIBLE.

GATES: ANDY'S ANCESTORS MAY WELL HAVE WORSHIPPED IN THIS TEMPLE AT ITS INCEPTION.

THOUGH WE CAN'T BE CERTAIN, VITAL RECORDS FROM THE REGION ALLOWED US TO TRACE HIS FAMILY AROUND BIALYSTOK BACK TO THE LATE 1700S.

AND TO DISCOVER THE FIRST NAMES OF FOUR OF HIS FOURTH GREAT-GRANDFATHERS.

A FEAT WE CAN RARELY ACCOMPLISH FOR A GUEST OF JEWISH DESCENT.

GATES: ANDY, THAT'S SIX GENERATIONS BACK ON YOUR FAMILY TREE.

COHEN: WOW, AND THEY WERE ALL THERE.

GATES: THEY WERE ALL THERE.

COHEN: THEY ALL STAYED THERE.

GATES: THEY STAYED THERE, AND THEY HAVE A PAPER TRAIL.

COHEN: YEAH.

GATES: THEY HAD RECORDS.

COHEN: IT'S AMAZING.

I MEAN THEY ALL MUST'VE KNOWN EACH OTHER, AND I MEAN IT'S KIND OF... GATES: YEAH.

COHEN: I MEAN IT'S OBVIOUSLY, IT'S A DIFFERENT LIFESTYLE.

IT'S A DIFFERENT ERA.

IT'S SO COOL THAT THEY WERE ALL IN ONE PLACE, THOUGH, AND THEY KEPT, YOU KNOW, MARRYING PEOPLE THAT WERE AROUND FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD, I GUESS.

GATES: OH, WITHOUT A DOUBT.

COHEN: IT'S INCREDIBLE.

I MEAN IT'S, IT'S SO DEEP.

IT'S LIKE, IT'S LIKE YOU'RE AMONG THESE GHOSTS THAT, YOU KNOW, PAVED THE WAY FOR YOU.

GATES: MUCH LIKE ANDY, NINA TOTENBERG'S FAMILY'S FATE WAS FOREVER ALTERED BY THE ACTIONS OF A SINGLE ANCESTOR.

BUT IN HER CASE, THAT ANCESTOR WASN'T A PEDDLER FROM THE 19TH CENTURY, IT WAS SOMEONE WHOM SHE KNEW INTIMATELY: HER FATHER, ROMAN TOTENBERG.

ROMAN WAS BORN IN 1911 TO A MIDDLE-CLASS JEWISH FAMILY IN WHAT IS NOW POLAND, BUT THEN WAS PART OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE.

IN THE EARLY DAYS OF WORLD WAR I, WITH RUSSIA ON THE VERGE OF COLLAPSE, ROMAN MOVED TO MOSCOW WITH HIS PARENTS AND OLDER SISTER.

ROMAN WAS JUST A CHILD, BUT HIS LIFE WAS ABOUT TO BE UTTERLY TRANSFORMED IRONICALLY ENOUGH BY A BABYSITTER.

TOTENBERG: SOME DISTANT RELATIVE SAID SHE WOULD TAKE CARE OF HIS OLDER SISTER, BUT THAT PERSON DID NOT LIKE LITTLE BOYS, AND SHE WOULDN'T TAKE CARE OF HIM.

SO, THE GUY WHO LIVED DOWNSTAIRS, OR UPSTAIRS, I'M NOT SURE, SAID, WELL, I WORK AT NIGHT, UH, SO, I CAN TAKE CARE OF HIM, AND HE, TURNED OUT HE WAS THE CONCERT MASTER OF THE MOSCOW OPERA ORCHESTRA, I THINK.

AND HE, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A KID?

GATES: UH-HUH.

TOTENBERG: SO, HE TAUGHT HIM THE VIOLIN, AND WITHIN SIX.

GATES: WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A KID?

TOTENBERG: RIGHT.

GATES: I HAD A LOT OF BABYSITTERS.

THEY DIDN'T TEACH ME THE VIOLIN.

TOTENBERG: OH, THEY TAUGHT HIM THE VIOLIN, AND WITHIN SIX MONTHS, THEY WERE TOURING AROUND TOGETHER WITH MY FATHER PLAYING THE SIMPLER PART AND THIS GUY PLAYING THE MORE COMPLICATED PART, AND PRETTY SOON, WHEN HE WAS LIKE 7 OR 8 YEARS OLD, DURING THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION, UH, HE WOULD GO TO THESE HUGE HALLS FILLED WITH WORKERS, AND THERE WAS A FAMINE GOING ON.

GATES: MM HM.

TOTENBERG: AND THERE WOULD BE HUNDREDS, MAYBE EVEN MORE THAN 1,000 PEOPLE IN THERE, AND HE WOULD PLAY FOR THEM.

GATES: HUH.

TOTENBERG: BUT THEY PAID HIM IN BUTTER AND SUGAR AND BREAD, AND HE WAS BASICALLY THE SUPPORT OF HIS FAMILY IN TERMS OF FOOD BECAUSE THERE WASN'T ANY FOOD AVAILABLE.

GATES: ROMAN'S TALENTS HELPED HIM ESCAPE THE CHAOS THAT SURROUNDED HIM.

BY THE EARLY 1930S, HE HAD A FULL-FLEDGED CAREER TOURING EUROPE AND THE AMERICAS.

AND THEN, IN 1938, WITH WORLD WAR II LOOMING, HE IMMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES UNDER A VISA PROGRAM FOR ARTISTS.

ROMAN WAS SAFE.

BUT HIS FAMILY WAS NOT.

HIS FATHER ADAM PASSED AWAY IN POLAND IN 1934.

AND AFTER ROMAN CAME TO AMERICA, HIS MOTHER STANISLAWA FOUND HERSELF TRAPPED IN PARIS, UNABLE TO LEAVE, DUE TO AMERICAN IMMIGRATION QUOTAS.

HER PLIGHT IS CAPTURED IN A SERIES OF HEART-WRENCHING LETTERS PASSED BETWEEN ROMAN AND US OFFICIALS, AS HE DESPERATELY TRIED TO GET HIS MOTHER OUT.

GATES: AS A JOURNALIST, WHAT'S IT LIKE TO THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT EVEN THOUGH JOURNALISTS ACROSS THE GLOBE REPORTED THE ATROCITIES OF THE NAZIS, NOBODY DID ANYTHING TO STOP THEM?

TOTENBERG: WELL, YOU KNOW, I'VE GIVEN A LOT OF THOUGHT TO THIS BECAUSE JOURNALISTS ACTUALLY DID DO THEIR JOBS AND WERE BY AND LARGE BELIEVED BY ANYBODY WHO CARED TO PAY ATTENTION.

GATES: UH-HUH.

TOTENBERG: AND THE LATTER PART IS THE IMPORTANT PART.

GATES: UH-HUH.

TOTENBERG: I THINK PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT CERTAINLY KNEW, UH, AND WAS MAKING A CALCULATION, A POLITICAL CALCULATION, THAT HE COULDN'T CARRY IT OFF.

UH, THERE WERE VERY PROMINENT PEOPLE, LINDBERGH AND OTHERS, WHO WERE VERY MUCH FOR AMERICA FIRST.

THAT WAS THE SLOGAN, "AMERICA FIRST" NOT TO GET INVOLVED, AND IT REALLY WASN'T UNTIL PEARL HARBOR THAT HE, AND THE ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES THAT HE HAD THE AMMUNITION TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

GATES: UH-HUH.

TOTENBERG: UH, I'VE NEVER COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD, THOUGH, WHY THERE WASN'T MORE DONE TO LET JEWS IN.

I MEAN THEY TURNED AWAY BOATLOADS OF REFUGEES.

GATES: THAT'S... TOTENBERG: I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THAT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN DONE.

GATES: AND-AND THEY KNEW THAT THEY WERE SENDING THEM BACK TO CERTAIN DEATH.

TOTENBERG: YES.

I MEAN I'M A REALIST.

I UNDERSTAND THE POLITICAL CALCULUS THAT HE MADE.

I MAY NOT LIKE IT.

GATES: UH-HUH.

TOTENBERG: BUT I UNDERSTAND IT.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT.

GATES: UNLIKE THE VAST MAJORITY OF EUROPEAN JEWS, NINA'S GRANDMOTHER GOT LUCKY.

ON JUNE 23RD, 1940, THE DAY AFTER FRANCE SURRENDERED TO THE NAZIS, STANISLAWA CROSSED INTO PORTUGAL, WHERE HER PASSPORT WAS STAMPED BY A SYMPATHETIC OFFICIAL.

ALLOWING HER TO BOARD ONE OF THE LAST SHIPS CARRYING JEWISH REFUGEES TO AMERICA.

TOTENBERG: SO, SHE REALLY DID GET OUTTA DODGE JUST IN TIME.

GATES: JUST, THE CURTAIN WAS FALLING.

TOTENBERG: UH-HUH.

GATES: AND THAT, IN THE PHOTOGRAPH ON THE LEFT, YOU COULD SEE THE SHIP THAT ACTUALLY CARRIED HER TO SAFETY.

TOTENBERG: HMM.

GATES: IT WAS A GREEK SHIP, AND IT WAS CALLED THE S.S. NEA HELLAS.

TOTENBERG: I DIDN'T KNOW HOW SHE GOT OUT.

I JUST KNEW SHE GOT OUT.

GATES: UH-HUH.

SHE GOT OUT BY THE SKIN OF HER TEETH.

TOTENBERG: YEAH.

GATES: I MEAN REALLY.

TOTENBERG: YES, JUST.

GATES: THOUGH STANISLAWA HAD BEEN SAVED, THE FAMILY'S ORDEAL WASN'T OVER.

ROMAN'S OLDER SISTER NINA'S AUNT JANINA WAS STRANDED IN WARSAW, POLAND WHEN THE NAZI'S INVADED, ALONG WITH HER HUSBAND AND THEIR YOUNG CHILD.

ROMAN USED HIS CONNECTIONS TO SECURE VISAS FOR THE FAMILY FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC HE EVEN PURCHASED TICKETS FOR THEM TO TRAVEL.

BUT THIS TIME, HIS PLANS CAME TO NAUGHT.

IN THE FALL OF 1940, THE GERMANS ESTABLISHED A GHETTO FOR WARSAW'S JEWISH POPULATION AND WALLED IT OFF FROM THE REST OF THE CITY.

JANINA AND HER FAMILY WERE TRAPPED.

AND ROMAN WAS POWERLESS TO HELP THEM.

TOTENBERG: WHEN HE DIED, WE FOUND LETTERS THAT HE WROTE TO PEOPLE HE'D PERFORMED FOR ALL OVER SOUTH AMERICA WHO WERE, FOR EXAMPLE, AMERICAN AMBASSADORS.

GATES: YES.

TOTENBERG: AND THE PROBLEM WAS NOBODY WOULD, THEY COULDN'T SEND MONEY FOR THE BRIBES, ESSENTIALLY, TO GET HER OUT.

GATES: RIGHT.

TOTENBERG: AND THERE WERE PEOPLE WILLING TO SEND THE MONEY.

THE BANKS COULDN'T DO IT.

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO SEE THOSE TICKETS AND TO THINK HOW CLOSE THEY CAME TO ESCAPING?

TOTENBERG: IT'S HEARTBREAKING.

IT'S REALLY JUST HEARTBREAKING.

GATES: THE WARSAW GHETTO WAS THE SITE OF IMMENSE HORROR.

ROUGHLY 83,000 PEOPLE DIED OF STARVATION AND DISEASE ALONE.

FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS DESCRIBE SCENES THAT DEFY COMPREHENSION.

TOTENBERG: "FUNERALS WERE SEEN EVERYWHERE ONE WENT, CORPSES, PUSHED ON WHEEL BARRELS, WHICH WAS FOLLOWED BY SEVERAL COMPANIONS, DEAD BODIES, ONE CARRIED ON SHOULDERS, AND ALSO CARS, WHICH TOOK THE CORPSES FROM THE HOUSES.

ONE ALSO SAW DYING PEOPLE, WITH HALF-CLOSED EYES, LYING ON THE SIDEWALKS.

HOWEVER, NOBODY HAD THE MEANS TO HELP THEM."

GATES: AND YOUR, YOUR RELATIVES WERE, WERE THERE.

TOTENBERG: MM.

YEAH.

GATES: WAS THIS EVER DISCUSSED WHEN YOU AND YOUR SISTERS WERE GROWING UP?

TOTENBERG: UH, YOU KNOW, INTERESTINGLY, MY FATHER, I THINK THAT HE, IT WAS SO PAINFUL THAT HE REALLY RARELY TALKED ABOUT IT TO ME AS A YOUNG PERSON, A LITTLE BIT WHEN HE WAS OLDER, A LITTLE BIT.

UH, BUT YOU KNOW, HE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THE FAMINE THAT HE LIVED THROUGH, EITHER.

GATES: RIGHT.

TOTENBERG: I MEAN HE, SO, THAT WHEN HE READ, HE READ "DOCTOR ZHIVAGO," AND HE SAID, HE AND HE SAID, THAT HE COULD REMEMBER IN THAT FAMINE THAT IS TALKED ABOUT.

GATES: RIGHT.

TOTENBERG: HE COULD REMEMBER THAT WHEN A HORSE WOULD FALL DOWN, THEY, CROWDS WOULD DESCEND UPON IT AND TAKE ALL THE PARTS AWAY AND THAT HE COULD REMEMBER HIS MOTHER WITH A HORSE'S HEAD, KNOCKING THE EYES OUT TO COOK IT.

GATES: HUH.

HUH.

TOTENBERG: AND I MEAN THAT'S A PRETTY VIVID IMAGE.

GATES: YEAH.

TOTENBERG: I MEAN, HE REALLY WAS VERY GOOD AT MOVING ON, ALWAYS AND IT'S ONE OF THE TRAITS I'VE TRIED TO LEARN FROM HIM IS THAT IF YOU REALLY CAN'T STAND THE THOUGHT OF SOMETHING, JUST.

GATES: DON'T THINK ABOUT IT.

TOTENBERG: DON'T THINK ABOUT IT.

MOVE, MOVE ON.

GATES: YEAH.

IN NOVEMBER OF 1941, JANINA'S HUSBAND DIED IN THE WARSAW GHETTO.

MIRACULOUSLY, JANINA MANAGED TO AVOID HIS FATE.

SHE OBTAINED FALSE PAPERS AND ESCAPED TAKING HER YOUNG DAUGHTER WITH HER.

TWO OF JUST A TINY NUMBER WHO SURVIVED THE GHETTO.

BUT THE FAMILY'S STORY IS NOT ENTIRELY A HAPPY ONE.

ROMAN'S FATHER ADAM HAD FIVE SIBLINGS.

HIS MOTHER STANISLAWA HAD TWO.

ALMOST ALL OF THEM ALONG WITH THEIR SPOUSES AND THEIR CHILDREN FELL VICTIM TO THE NAZIS.

GATES: THE BOXES WITH THE ORANGE BORDER INDICATE ALL OF YOUR RELATIVES WHO PERISHED IN THE HOLOCAUST.

TOTENBERG: HMM, YEAH.

THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE.

GATES: AND YOU CAN SEE PHOTOGRAPHS OF ALL OF YOUR RELATIVES ON YOUR LEFT.

(SIGHS) TOTENBERG: HMM.

IT'S HORRIBLY SAD.

GATES: DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAD SUCH A TANGIBLE CONNECTION TO THE HOLOCAUST?

TOTENBERG: I DEEPLY SUSPECTED IT.

IT MAY OR MAY NOT SURPRISE YOU TO KNOW THAT I ACTUALLY HAVE NOT BEEN TO THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM PRECISELY FOR THIS REASON.

GATES: YEAH.

TOTENBERG: BUT FOR ME, PICKING UP MY FATHER'S TRAIT OF TRYING TO, UH, NOT PUNISH MY, MY SOUL TOO DEEPLY, UH, I HAVE NOT GONE FOR EXACTLY THIS REASON.

GATES: CONFRONTING THIS HISTORY WAS UNDERSTANDABLY PAINFUL TO NINA.

AND, IN THE END, IT DREW HER THOUGHTS BACK TO THE PEOPLE IN HER FAMILY WHO HAD OVERCOME SO MUCH: HER FATHER AND, ESPECIALLY, HER GRANDMOTHER, STANISLAWA.

STANISLAWA HAD SURVIVED THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION, THE NAZI TERROR, AND LIFE AS A STATELESS REFUGEE TO EMERGE AS A FIGURE OF PURE KINDNESS IN NINA'S MEMORY.

TOTENBERG: SHE LIVED WITH US, AND SHE WAS MY BELOVED GRANDMOTHER.

AND SHE LOOKED, YOU KNOW WHEN I LOOK BACK AT THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF HER, SHE WAS QUITE HEAVY, BUT SHE LOOKED REALLY LIKE AN OLD LADY, AND SHE WASN'T AN OLD LADY.

GATES: UH-HUH.

TOTENBERG: BUT SHE WAS, TO ME, SHE WAS, UH, I HAVE A DRAWING OF HER IN MY BEDROOM, AND I STILL FEEL THIS GREAT ATTACHMENT FOR HER.

AND I AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL TO HER, AS EVER, BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND EVEN MORE THE PAIN THAT SHE BORE BUT DID NOT SHARE WITH ME.

GATES: UH-HUH.

TOTENBERG: ALL SHE SHARED WITH ME WAS LOVE.

GATES: YEAH.

GATES: WE'D ALREADY INTRODUCED ANDY COHEN TO LOUIS ALLEN WHO FOUNDED THE DRY GOODS COMPANY THAT SUSTAINED HIS MOTHER'S FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS.

NOW, TURNING TO ANDY'S FATHER'S ROOTS, WE ENCOUNTERED A MAN WITH A SIMILAR NAME.

AND BACKGROUND.

ANDY'S PATERNAL GREAT-GRANDFATHER LOUIS COHEN CAME TO AMERICA FROM RUSSIA IN THE 1890S AND WENT ON TO RUN A LARGE WHOLESALE GROCERY BUSINESS IN THE MIDWEST.

BUT THE ARC OF HIS CAREER WAS NOT AS STRAIGHTFORWARD AS LOUIS ALLEN'S.

AND HIS MEMORY HAD NOT BEEN PRESERVED IN ANDY'S FAMILY.

COHEN: WOW.

THERE HE IS.

GATES: THAT IS A PORTRAIT OF YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

AND YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THAT?

COHEN: UH-UH.

LOOKS LIKE HE HAS LIGHT EYES.

GATES: UH-HUH.

COHEN: A MOUSTACHE, AS WAS THE, BIG, BIG HONKY MOUSTACHE.

GATES: YEAH, HAVE YOU HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT LOUIS COHEN?

COHEN: NO.

GATES: LET'S SEE WHAT WE FOUND OUT.

COHEN: OKAY.

GATES: WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

THIS IS AN ARTICLE FROM THE FEBRUARY 26, 1920 EDITION OF THE FAMOUS "ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH".

COHEN: YEAH.

GATES: WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE HIGHLIGHTED LINES?

COHEN: OH MY GOD.

"THE CASE OF THE L. COHEN GROCER COMPANY, CHARGED WITH MAKING AN UNREASONABLE AND UNJUST WHOLESALE PRICE ON SUGAR WAS DISMISSED BY UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FARIS TODAY."

SO, THEY WERE CHARGING MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER'S GROCERY FOR MAKING AN UNREASONABLE WHOLESALE PRICE FOR SUGAR?

GATES: THAT'S RIGHT.

COHEN: BUT IT WAS DISMISSED, THANK GOD.

GATES: IT WAS DISMISSED.

COHEN: I SAW THIS HEADLINE, AND I THOUGHT YOU WERE ABOUT TO TELL ME HE WAS A CROOK, SO I'M REAL GRATEFUL.

I KNOW THERE'S STILL PAGES TO COME, BUT... GATES: SO FAR, SO GOOD.

COHEN: OKAY.

I MEAN THE MOUSTACHE WAS QUESTIONABLE, BUT I DON'T THINK HE WAS A CROOK.

GATES: LOUIS WASN'T A "CROOK".

BUT HE WAS IN A GREAT DEAL OF TROUBLE.

IN 1917, AS AMERICA ENTERED WORLD WAR I, THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT EMPOWERED THE PRESIDENT TO REGULATE PRICES FOR FOOD, FUEL, AND OTHER PRODUCTS TO CONTROL THE WARTIME ECONOMY.

COMPANIES THAT VIOLATED THE LAW COULD BE CHARGED WITH PROFITEERING.

AND THAT WAS A FEDERAL CRIME!

COHEN: WOW.

GATES: THE GOVERNMENT WAS ARGUING THAT YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS IN VIOLATION OF SOMETHING CALLED THE LEVER ACT, L-E-V-E-R. COHEN: OKAY.

GATES: HAS YOUR FAMILY EVER?

COHEN: NO, THEY SWEPT THIS UNDER THE RUG.

GATES: THIS IS NOT A CONVERSATION.

COHEN: WE DID NOT TALK ABOUT THIS SCANDAL.

GATES: ALTHOUGH A FEDERAL JUDGE RULED IN FAVOR OF HIS COMPANY, THE GOVERNMENT DID NOT GIVE UP.

THEY FILED NEW CHARGES THE VERY NEXT DAY.

COHEN: NO.

GATES: WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

COHEN: I'M SCARED.

GATES: ANDY'S FEARS WERE WELL-PLACED.

THE GOVERNMENT'S SECOND CASE AGAINST LOUIS COHEN'S COMPANY CHARGED IT WITH A FELONY AND WOULD END UP BEFORE THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.

EVERYTHING THAT LOUIS HAD WORKED FOR WAS NOW ON THE LINE.

GATES: IMAGINE WINNING AND THEN WAKING UP.

COHEN: I MEAN HOW, HOW MUCH COULD HE HAVE SOLD?

I MEAN HOW MUCH SUGAR ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

GATES: I DON'T KNOW.

ENOUGH TO GET THE NOTICE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

COHEN: I SHOULD SAY.

GATES: WELL, LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENED.

WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

COHEN: I'M SO NERVOUS FOR LOUIS COHEN, MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

"SUPREME COURT HOLDS PROFITEERING LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL."

"LOUIS COHEN, FEBRUARY 28, THE SUPREME COURT TODAY HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL THE SECTIONS OF THE LEVER ACT UNDER WHICH THE GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED ITS CAMPAIGN TO REDUCE THE COST OF LIVING AND PROSECUTING ALLEGED HOARDERS AND OF PROFITEERS IN FOODSTUFFS AND OTHER NECESSITIES."

WOW.

GATES: THE SUPREME COURT RULED IN FAVOR OF YOUR ANCESTOR.

COHEN: ACQUITTED.

THANK GOD.

GET OFF MY FAMILY.

GATES: YEAH.

YEAH.

COHEN: WE WILL CHARGE WHAT WE WILL FOR SUGAR.

I FEEL LIKE MARKIN' SOMETHING UP TODAY.

GATES: UNFORTUNATELY, LOUIS' TRIUMPH WAS SHORT-LIVED.

HE DIED JUST FIVE YEARS LATER OF HEART DISEASE AND THOUGH WE WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HIS ROOTS, OUR EFFORTS CAME UP EMPTY.

LIKE SO MANY JEWISH IMMIGRANTS FROM EASTERN EUROPE, LOUIS'S PAPER TRAIL WAS ERASED IN THE TUMULT OF THE 20TH CENTURY.

HOWEVER, WHEN WE TURNED FROM LOUIS'S LINE TO THAT OF HIS WIFE SARAH WE FARED BETTER.

SARAH'S FATHER WAS A MAN NAMED SIMON KRUVANT.

AND SURPRISINGLY, A CHANCE ACCIDENT ON A ST. LOUIS STREET, CAPTURED BY A LOCAL NEWSPAPER, OPENED A WINDOW INTO HIS LIFE.. COHEN: "WHILE SIMON KRUVANT, A RUSSIAN PEDDLER, WAS DRIVING A HORSE ATTACHED TO A WAGON ON BROADWAY NEAR KOEIN STREET, THE SHAFT OF THE WAGON BROKE, CAUSING THE HORSE TO RUN AWAY.

KRUVANT WAS THROWN OUT OF THE WAGON AND HAD HIS RIGHT LEG BROKEN AND RECEIVED OTHER INJURIES.

HE WAS SENT TO THE CITY HOSPITAL.

KRUVANT IS A MARRIED MAN AND LIVES AT 1122 NORTH SEVENTH STREET."

GATES: THAT'S 1889.

COHEN: WOW.

GATES: THERE IS YOUR... COHEN: HE GOT THROWN OFF HIS HORSE.

GATES: THROWN OFF HIS HORSE.

COHEN: THAT'S MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

GATES: GRANDFATHER, YEAH.

COHEN: SIMON.

HE'S BEEN, YEAH, THE, THE HORSE THREW HIM.

HE'S A RUSSIAN PEDDLER.

GATES: AND HE'S A PEDDLER IN ST. LOUIS JUST LIKE YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER LOUIS ALLEN ON YOUR MATERNAL SIDE.

COHEN: YEAH.

WOW.

IT MAKES ME WONDER IF ANY OF THEM EVER CROSSED PATHS, BECAUSE THEY WERE ALL IN THE SAME AREA.

GATES: YEAH.

COHEN: I MEAN IN, IN A 30-MILE RADIUS.

GATES: YEAH, THAT, IT'S NOT LIKE, YEAH, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT MANHATTAN.

COHEN: RIGHT.

GATES: YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

COHEN: YES, AND THEY'RE ALL FROM ONE SHTETL OR ANOTHER.

GATES: YEAH.

ISN'T THAT COOL?

COHEN: VERY.

I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FOUND THIS.

GATES: THIS ARTICLE MENTIONS SIMON KRUVANT'S ADDRESS AND WE SOON NOTICED OTHER PEOPLE WHO SHARED HIS UNCOMMON SURNAME LIVING IN THAT AREA AT THAT TIME.

THEY WERE LIKELY HIS RELATIVES AND MANY CAME FROM A TOWN CALLED "CHEKISHKI" WHICH WAS ONCE A PART OF THE PALE OF SETTLEMENT.

THIS LED US TO A REMARKABLE DISCOVERY: A RUSSIAN PASSPORT ISSUED IN THE YEAR 1865 TO ANDY'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

COHEN: "PASSPORT FOR DAVID-OREL KRUVAND.

AGE 50, HEIGHT 5'1."

GATES: 5'1.

COHEN: LITTLE FELLA.

GATES: YEAH.

COHEN: "HAIR AND EYEBROWS, GRAYISH BLACK, EYES GRAY, NOSE LONG".

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

"MOUTH, ORDINARY, CHIN, ROUNDED, FACE, LONGISH."

GATES: UH-HUH.

COHEN: IS HE SEEING ANYBODY?

"DISTINGUISHING MARKS, NONE.

THE BEARER OF THIS, FROM THE KOVNO PROVINCE CHEKISHKI JEWISH COMMUNITY, JEW DAVID-OREL MEYEROVICH KRUVAND."

GATES: YES.

COHEN: SO, THIS WOULD BE MY GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT... MY GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDFATHER'S PASSPORT.

GATES: PASSPORT.

COHEN: FROM 1865.

GATES: HE IS BORN WHEN NAPOLEON IS THE EMPEROR OF FRANCE.

COHEN: WOW.

IT'S INCREDIBLE.

IT'S JUST LIKE SEEING THIS ONE LITTLE MOMENT IN HIS LIFE.

IT'S REALLY COOL.

GATES: DAVID'S PASSPORT WAS A COLORFUL FIND.

BUT IT'S ALSO A TELLING ARTIFACT.

ANDY'S ANCESTOR NEEDED IT BECAUSE THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT REQUIRED JEWISH PEOPLE TO CARRY SUCH DOCUMENTATION IF THEY WISHED TO TRAVEL EVEN WITHIN THE PALE OF SETTLEMENT ONE OF THE MANY HUMILIATING RESTRICTIONS PLACED ON RUSSIA'S JEWISH POPULATION.

THESE RESTRICTIONS, OF COURSE, WERE A MAJOR DRIVER OF JEWISH IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES.

AND SEEING EVIDENCE OF THIS GAVE ANDY A DEEPER SENSE OF JUST HOW MUCH HIS ANCESTORS HAD ENDURED.

COHEN: IT'S SO WILD.

I MEAN I COME FROM A LONG LINE OF PEOPLE WHO WERE TRYING TO MAKE A LIVING, PROVIDE FOR THEIR FAMILIES, AND UH MAKE LIFE BETTER, AND YOU JUST, YOU JUST KIND OF, MY HEART BREAKS FOR THEM, A LITTLE BIT, FOR ALL THAT THEY WENT THROUGH, UH, AND ALL THAT THEY SACRIFICED, AND, AND HOW, HOW MUCH THEY HAD TO LEARN.

GATES: MM HM.

COHEN: I FEEL LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF A LIGHTWEIGHT, TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, LIKE I HAD IT SO EASY, BUT THEY DID IT FOR ME.

I FEEL IMMENSE GRATITUDE TO THEM.

GATES: WE'D ALREADY EXPLORED THE TRAGIC LOSSES SUFFERED BY NINA TOTENBERG'S FATHER'S FAMILY DURING THE HOLOCAUST.

NOW, TURNING TO THE OTHER SIDE OF HER TREE, WE FOCUSED ON NINA'S MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER MILDRED DRYFOOS A WOMAN WHO OVERCAME A VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF TRAGEDY.

MILDRED LOST HER FIRST HUSBAND NINA'S GRANDFATHER ALFRED EISENBERG IN THE INFLUENZA PANDEMIC OF 1918.

WHEN NINA WAS A CHILD, MILDRED WAS MARRIED TO A MAN NAMED MILLARD SHRODER AND WAS SOMEWHAT OF A MYSTERY TO HER GRANDDAUGHTER.

GATES: WERE YOU CLOSE?

TOTENBERG: I WAS NOT CLOSE TO HER.

I WAS CLOSER TO HIM BECAUSE HE WAS A LOT OF FUN.

SHE WAS A LITTLE ARCH.

GATES: UH-HUH.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

TOTENBERG: SHE DID NOT SHARE MUCH OF HERSELF.

AND IN FACT HAD TOLD MY MOTHER NOT TO TELL US THAT MILLARD WAS NOT MY REAL BIOLOGICAL GRANDFATHER.

GATES: THE GRANDFATHER.

RIGHT.

TOTENBERG: AND WHEN I WAS, I DON'T KNOW, ABOUT EIGHT OR TEN, MY MOTHER FINALLY TOLD ME THAT SHE HAD ACTUALLY HAD THREE HUSBANDS.

AND UH, AND THAT I WAS NEVER TO TELL HER THAT I KNEW THIS, BUT MY MOTHER DIDN'T WANT TO KEEP IT FROM ME.

GATES: WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR YOU TO, TO LEARN THAT?

TOTENBERG: I WAS JUST STUPEFIED.

I MEAN THIS WOMAN, WHO REALLY WAS SO PROPER AND SO "NI-NI-NI-NI" WAS, HAD HAD THREE BLOODY HUSBANDS?

(LAUGHTER) GATES: MILDRED'S RETICENCE ABOUT HER PAST WAS UNDOUBTEDLY MOTIVATED BY A SENSE OF PROPRIETY THAT WAS COMMON IN HER DAY.

BUT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN ANOTHER FACTOR AS WELL.

MILDRED WAS FROM AN UPPER-CLASS GERMAN-JEWISH FAMILY.

HER FIRST WEDDING WAS A SOCIETY EVENT.

AND HER FIRST HUSBAND ALFRED WAS A WEALTHY JEWELER.

WHEN HE DIED, MILDRED AND HER INFANT DAUGHTER NINA'S MOTHER, MELANIE SHOULD HAVE INHERITED A SIZABLE SUM.

BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED.

INSTEAD, HER HUSBAND'S ESTATE PASSED ONTO HIS FATHER ADOLPH AND WHEN ADOLPH HIMSELF DIED JUST SIX YEARS LATER, MILDRED AND MELANIE WERE LEFT WITH NOTHING.

SO MILDRED FOUGHT BACK.

TOTENBERG: "CHILD SEEKS ESTATE SHARE.

CONTESTING FOR A SHARE IN THE ESTATE OF THE LATE ADOLPH EISENBERG, WHOLESALE JEWELER, WHICH MAY TOTAL $250,000.

MELANIE FRANCES EISENBERG, AN EIGHT-YEAR OLD GRANDDAUGHTER, YESTERDAY FILED AN ACTION IN THE SUPERIOR COURT."

OH MY GOODNESS.

SHE WAS A TOUGH COOKIE.

THEY WERE GONNA CUT HER OUT, AND SHE WASN'T GONNA GET CUT.

GATES: NO WAY, AND "CHILD SEEKS ESTATE SHARE."

TOTENBERG: YEAH.

GATES: DID YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS?

TOTENBERG: NO!

AND I'M NOT EVEN SURE THAT MY MOTHER KNEW EXACTLY THIS.

GATES: MILDRED FILED A SUIT TO CONTEST HER FORMER FATHER-IN-LAW'S WILL.

AND THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY HANGING IN THE BALANCE.

AT THE TIME OF THE LAWSUIT, ADOLPH EISENBERG'S ESTATE WAS VALUED BETWEEN $500,000 AND A MILLION DOLLARS.

THAT WOULD BE WORTH SOMEWHERE BETWEEN $7.5 MILLION AND $15 MILLION TODAY.

TOTENBERG: THAT'S A LOT OF DOUGH.

GATES: A LOT OF DOUGH.

HOW COULD THIS STORY NOT BE PASSED DOWN?

TOTENBERG: BECAUSE I'M SURE THAT MILDRED KEPT THIS FROM MY MOTHER TO A SIGNIFICANT DEGREE.

GATES: UH-HUH.

UH-HUH.

TOTENBERG: I THINK ULTIMATELY MY MOTHER ASKED HER SOME QUESTIONS AND GOT SOME BARE OUTLINE OF THIS.

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO READ THAT?

TOTENBERG: I SAY, I SAY, YOU KNOW, CONGRATULATIONS TO MY GRANDMOTHER.

GATES: YEAH.

TOTENBERG: THERE WAS MORE THERE THAN A CHILD COULD APPRECIATE.

GATES: MILDRED PRESSED HER DAUGHTER'S CASE FOR OVER A YEAR.

FACING OFF AGAINST A FAMILY WITH FAR GREATER RESOURCES THAN HER OWN.

NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSEVERED.

IN JANUARY OF 1926, MELANIE WON A SETTLEMENT OF $275,000 ABOUT $4 MILLION IN TODAY'S MONEY.

IT WOULD KEEP THE FAMILY GOING DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION WHEN MILDRED'S THIRD HUSBAND SAW HIS BUSINESS COLLAPSE.

AND IT WOULD ULTIMATELY IT WOULD LEAVE NINA WITH NEW INSIGHTS INTO HER GRANDMOTHER.

TOTENBERG: SHE REALLY WAS A FIGHTER, UH, AND, AND SHE WAS A WOMAN OF HER ERA.

A LOT OF WOMEN OF THAT ERA WERE FIGHTERS, AND THEY WERE VERY DECEPTIVE ABOUT IT, AND YOU CAN SEE IT POPS INTO THE OPEN HERE BECAUSE IT HAD TO.

GATES: YES, ABSOLUTELY.

TOTENBERG: I'M SURE SHE WENT TO THEM, ASKED THEM FOR THE MONEY, SAID, YOU KNOW, I'M THE HEIR IN THE WILL, AND THEY SAID NO, AND SHE SAID BASICALLY SCREW YOU, I'M GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

GATES: YOU KNOW WHAT I LIKE ABOUT HER?

SHE WASN'T ONE OF THE, SHE DIDN'T LET HERSELF BECOME A VICTIM.

TOTENBERG: NO.

GATES: YOU KNOW THERE'S SOME PEOPLE WHO WOULD'VE DINED OUT ON THIS STORY.

TOTENBERG: YEAH.

GATES: YOU KNOW THAT WOULD'VE BEEN THE SUFFERING TALE FOREVER.

TOTENBERG: YEAH.

NO.

GATES: YOU KNOW WE REALLY ARE WEALTHY, WE ONCE WERE WEALTHY, BUT WE WERE CHEATED OUT.

SHE SAID, "SCREW YOU, I'M GOING TO GRAB YOU BY THE THROAT AND TAKE YOU TO COURT."

TOTENBERG: EXACTLY RIGHT.

GATES: YEAH.

TOTENBERG: AND SHE DIDN'T WANT TO ADVERTISE IT BECAUSE SHE WAS, SHE WAS, SHE, TO THE PUBLIC, SHE PRESENTED THIS VERY PROPER FAÇADE, BUT I THINK BENEATH THAT, IT PROBABLY; SHE WAS JUST A FIGHTER.

GATES: THERE WAS ONE FINAL TWIST TO THIS STORY.

AS OUR RESEARCHERS LOOKED INTO THE EISENBERG FAMILY, THE FAMILY THAT HAD SO VEXED NINA'S GRANDMOTHER, WE DISCOVERED SOMETHING THAT HAD BEEN CONCEALED, MUCH LIKE THE COURTROOM DRAMA: THE EISENBERGS ROOTS LIE IN MODERN-DAY POLAND.

NOT FAR FROM WHERE NINA'S FATHER'S FAMILY LIVED.

A FACT THAT WOULD HAVE COME AS A SHOCK TO NINA'S STATUS-CONSCIOUS GRANDMOTHER.

TOTENBERG: MY GRANDMOTHER WAS PRETTY SNOOTY ABOUT EASTERN EUROPEAN JEWS AND MY FATHER BEING AN EASTERN EUROPEAN JEW.

I MEAN HE WAS.

SHE WAS A DRYFOOS.

GATES: OH, OF COURSE.

TOTENBERG: SO, SHE THOUGHT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, FROM GERMANY, THAT'S A HIGHER CLASS OF, YOU KNOW MINORITIES AND MAJORITIES, WE ALL HAVE OUR LITTLE WAYS TO SAY I'M BETTER THAN YOU ARE, RIGHT?

GATES: ABSOLUTELY.

TOTENBERG: AND HERS WAS EASTERN, YOU KNOW, EAST OF, EAST OF, UH, SOMEWHERE OR OTHER, EAST OF DRESDEN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

(LAUGHTER).

GATES: BUT, BUT THIS WAS A SCHISM WITHIN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY UNTIL THE HOLOCAUST.

TOTENBERG: YEAH.

GATES: GERMAN JEWS, I'M GENERALIZING.

TOTENBERG: YEAH.

GATES: BUT GERMAN JEWS WERE THE UPPER-CLASS JEWS.

TOTENBERG: RIGHT.

GATES: AND THEY LOOKED AT THE PEOPLE FROM THE PALE OF SETTLEMENT, THAT'S LIKE THE RABBLE.

TOTENBERG: RIGHT, EXACTLY.

GATES: RIGHT.

TOTENBERG: SO, MY GRANDMOTHER CERTAINLY HAD NO IDEA THAT THEY WERE FROM POLAND, AND THEREFORE I GUARANTEE YOU, UH, THAT NOBODY ON MY MOTHER'S, IN MY MOTHER'S IMMEDIATE PURVIEW KNEW THAT, AND MY FATHER DIDN'T KNOW THAT, AND I'M THE FIRST PERSON TO FIND OUT THEY'RE ALL POLES.

GATES: THEY'RE ALL POLES.

(LAUGHTER).

THE PAPER TRAIL HAD NOW RUN OUT FOR NINA AND ANDY.

COHEN: WOW.

GATES: IT WAS TIME TO SHOW THEM THEIR FULL FAMILY TREES.

TOTENBERG: THIS IS SO COOL.

GATES: AND SEE WHAT DNA COULD TELL US ABOUT THE DEEPER ROOTS.

WE BEGAN WITH AN ADMIXTURE TEST.

WHICH REVEALS A PERSON'S ANCESTRY OVER APPROXIMATELY THE LAST 500 YEARS-BROKEN DOWN INTO PERCENTAGES BASED ON THE BROAD REGIONS WHERE THEIR ANCESTORS ONCE LIVED.

ANDY AND NINA BOTH SUSPECTED THAT THEIR PERCENTAGES WOULD BE DOMINATED BY THEIR JEWISH HERITAGE.

AND THEY WEREN'T WRONG.

COHEN: I THINK I AM 100%.

GATES: PLEASE TURN THE PAGE.

YOU ARE 100% ASHKENAZI JEWISH.

COHEN: YES, YES, YES.

THAT, THAT'S CONCLUSIVE.

GATES: COULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

AND CAN YOU READ YOUR RESULT?

TOTENBERG: 100% ASHKENAZI JEWISH.

GATES: YOU ARE 100% ASHKENAZI JEWISH.

TOTENBERG: THAT'S PRETTY AMAZING.

GATES: THOUGH THESE ADMIXTURE RESULTS MIRRORED WHAT WE'D SEEN IN THE PAPER TRAIL, THERE WAS ONE SURPRISE STILL TO COME.

WHEN WE COMPARED OUR GUESTS' DNA, TO THAT OF OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN TESTED OVER THE COURSE OF THIS SERIES, WE FOUND A SIGNIFICANT MATCH FOR ANDY EVIDENCE WITHIN HIS OWN CHROMOSOMES OF A RELATIVE THAT HE NEVER KNEW HE HAD.

COHEN: YOU'RE GONNA TELL ME WHO MY COUSIN IS NOW?

GATES: YES.

I'M GOING TO TELL YOU WHO YOUR... COHEN: OH MY GOD.

I CAN'T WAIT.

GATES: WILL YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

COHEN: SCARJO?

YES!

YOU'RE KIDDING ME.

GATES: YOU SHARE IDENTICAL DNA WITH SCARLETT JOHANSSON ON CHROMOSOMES 2, CHROMOSOME 3, CHROMOSOME 7, CHROMOSOME 14 AND CHROMOSOME 19.

COHEN: IS SHE JEWISH?

GATES: YEAH, ON ONE HALF OF HER FAMILY.

COHEN: WOW.

GATES: SO, IT MEANS IF WE HAD A PERFECT FAMILY TREE GOING BACK 500 YEARS.

COHEN: YEAH.

YEAH.

YEAH.

YEAH.

GATES: ONE PERSON WOULD LIGHT UP.

AND IT'D BE SHMUEL, LEVY, JOHANSSON.

COHEN: YEAH, BETWEEN THE TWO OF US.

YES.

WOW.

THAT'S AMAZING.

WHAT A GREAT JOURNEY.

MY BOOK.

THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE BOOK.

GATES: THAT'S THE END OF OUR SEARCH FOR THE ANCESTORS OF ANDY COHEN AND NINA TOTENBERG.

JOIN ME NEXT TIME WHEN WE UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF THE PAST FOR NEW GUESTS ON ANOTHER EPISODE OF "FINDING YOUR ROOTS".