Among the Remnants: Josh Gortler’s Journey, as told to Gigi Yellen

Primary author: Gigi Yellen

Primary college/unit: Edward R. Murrow College of Communication
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

The home page of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication posts a link to “The Murrow Legacy.” That legacy includes Murrow’s own tribute to the WSU teacher who sparked his career: she “taught me to love good books, good music….”
My part-time staff position at Murrow College is that of classical music host on Northwest Public Broadcasting. Based at NWPB’s Lakewood studios, I do not often have the chance to engage in person with the college community, or, of course, with radio audiences.
In the other part of my time, I am the “as-told-to” coauthor on a memoir, Among the Remnants, to be published in 2020. The author is Dr. Joshua Gortler, honored by Washington State House Resolution 2019-4633 not only as a leader in the field of elder care but also as an educator/speaker about his European childhood during the era known as the Holocaust.
On the Edward R. Murrow page of its website, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum asks, “How does the media, in any form, impact public understanding and/or will to action?” At Murrow College, I aim for understanding: I encourage listeners to meet unknown people, across time and geography, through music.
If the legacy of WW2’s displaced persons is as yet unknown to many of my listeners, I hope to ease them into this knowledge, as they recognize on the cover of this book the familiar name of their evening radio host.