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The Dana Download, Ep. 348
Guest: Julie Brill, Author of Hidden in Plain Sight

In this powerful and eye-opening episode, host Dana Arschin sits down with author Julie Brill to explore a Holocaust story few people have ever heard — the near-total destruction of the Jewish community of Belgrade, Serbia, and the remarkable survival of Julie’s father as a young child hidden in plain sight.

Julie’s memoir, Hidden in Plain Sight: A Family Memoir and the Untold Story of the Holocaust in Serbia, uncovers a chapter of history long overshadowed by the more widely known narratives of Poland, Germany, and Western Europe. Through meticulous research, newly uncovered archives, emotional journeys back to Serbia, and unexpected reunions with previously unknown family members, Julie brings to light a tragedy that claimed nearly an entire community — leaving behind almost no survivors to tell the tale.

Dana and Julie discuss:

• The striking absence of Serbian Holocaust stories in mainstream education
• Julie’s process of piecing together her father’s fragmented childhood memories
• The brutal, early, and almost complete annihilation of Belgrade’s Jews
• The emotional significance of returning to Serbia with her father and daughters
• The groundbreaking installation of the first Stolpersteine in Belgrade
• The responsibility descendants feel to preserve and pass on these nearly lost histories

Julie’s work not only restores a missing piece of Holocaust memory but also illuminates how personal storytelling can rebuild connection, identity, and remembrance across generations.

A gripping conversation, a rare history, and a reminder that when survivors are few, descendants must become the storytellers.

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