When political division and violence dominate the headlines, how can we hold on to our shared humanity? Host Jackie Congedo is joined by guest Sean Comer, Vice President of the Leadership Center at the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber and founder of Beyond Civility: Communication for Effective Governance. Together, they explore how empathy, humility, and connection can counter polarization and strengthen the fabric of our communities.

“Talking about difficult topics, conversations where there's going to be significant disagreement - it takes practice.” – Sean Comer

Drawing lessons from the Holocaust and the words of survivors like Roma Kaltman and Al Miller, Jackie and Sean talk about the dangers of dehumanization—and the need to rebuild our “civic muscle” for dialogue across differences. Sean shares stories from more than a decade of work bringing people together—from students and public servants to business leaders—and shares his thoughts on how we got here and how we can move forward.

This episode is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Center for Storytelling. Subscribe here https://www.youtube.com/@holocaustandhumanity     

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Episode Resources 

Learn more about Sean’s work

https://cincinnatichamber.com/leadership-center/

Coverage of the Eradicate Hate Summit

https://www.post-gazette.com/local/2025/09/17/eradicate-hate-summit-political-violence/stories/202509170085

https://www.wesa.fm/identity-community/2025-09-16/pittsburgh-anti-discrimination-stand-for-all-launch

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s keynote address at the Eradicate Hate Summit

https://www.pa.gov/governor/newsroom/2025-press-releases/icymi--gov-shapiro-delivers-keynote-address-on-political-violenc

Joint statement from Ohio lawmakers on political violence

https://ohiohouse.gov/news/republican/senate-president-mccolley-senate-democratic-leader-antonio-house-speaker-huffman-house-minority-leader-isaacsohn-release-statement-condemning-political-violence-137836

Former Gov. John Kasich’s op-ed

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/2025/09/22/kirk-minnesota-killings-are-part-of-troubling-pattern-in-us-opinion/86297939007/

Read more about “red capes” and “green capes”

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/2016-01-28/latest-news/penn-professor-explores-what-it-means-be-positive

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“Because it was brought here to Cincinnati, I think it also gives way to this idea that, you know, the Holocaust is, is international history, right? It's European history, global history, but it's our local history too.”

– Director of Collections & Exhibitions Cori Silbernagel on the suitcase that Holocaust survivor Werner Coppel carried from Europe to Cincinnati

Werner Coppel was just 19 when he survived a death march from Auschwitz, only to open the newspaper decades later and be faced with outright Holocaust denial in Cincinnati - the city where he had rebuilt his life and now considered home. He chose to fight back by using his voice and speaking his truth. He began telling his story and shared his personal experiences with audiences until his death in 2016. “My dad realized if he didn’t speak up, he’d be a bystander and he couldn’t do that. He had to stand up. He had to be an upstander,” said his son, Steve Coppel. This episode takes you into our archives to learn about some very important artifacts – not frequently seen publicly - that help tell Werner’s incredible story. You can learn more about Werner’s life both in the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center and in the exhibition Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. The exhibition opens in October, 2025. Link to tickets below.

The opportunity to bring this exhibition to Cincinnati has been generously supported by Rhonda and Larry Sheakley, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, the Ohio Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission and

H.B., E.W. & F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Jacob G. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Helen G., Henry F., Louise Tuechter Dornette Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Western & Southern Financial Group

Les and Renee Sandler

The Kanter/Knue Family

The Neil Bortz Family

Rosenthal Family Foundation

Beth and Louis Guttman

To Bear Witness: Stories from Auschwitz to Cincinnati is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling.

Special thanks to Julie and John Cohen for their support of this series.

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. was created by Musealia in cooperation with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Presented by NEON.

Musealia https://www.musealia.net/

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum https://www.auschwitz.org/en/

NEON https://www.neonglobal.com/en/

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. ticket info, additional resources for both adults and students, travel itineraries and more https://www.cincymuseum.org/auschwitz/

Visit the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/

Send us a text

“We hear that in a lot of survivor stories... saying you're trained as something, that you're not, in a way, to survive.” - Trinity Johnson, Director of Holocaust Programs & Museum Experiences at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center

This episode of our limited podcast series accompanies the upcoming exhibition Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away., opening October 2025 at Cincinnati Museum Center. We share the powerful local stories of two survivors: Henry Meyer, a violin prodigy from Dresden whose musical gift became his lifeline, and Bella Ouziel, a young woman from Salonika who endured loss but found strength in camp sisterhood and spiritual resistance. Their journeys of survival and rebuilding in Cincinnati illuminate the resilience of the human spirit.

The opportunity to bring this exhibition to Cincinnati has been generously supported by Rhonda and Larry Sheakley, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, the Ohio Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission and

H.B., E.W. & F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Jacob G. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Helen G., Henry F., Louise Tuechter Dornette Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Western & Southern Financial Group

Les and Renee Sandler

The Kanter/Knue Family

The Neil Bortz Family

Rosenthal Family Foundation

Beth and Louis Guttman

Interviews of Roma Kaltman, Rozalia Berke, Henry Meyer, and Bella Ouziel

are from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education

For more information:

http://sfi.usc.edu/

To Bear Witness: Stories from Auschwitz to Cincinnati is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling. Special thanks to Julie and John Cohen for their support of this series. Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. was created by Musealia in cooperation with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

Presented by NEON.

Musealia

https://www.musealia.net/

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

https://www.auschwitz.org/en/

NEON

https://www.neonglobal.com/en/

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. ticket info, additional resources for both adults and students, travel itineraries and more

https://www.cincymuseum.org/auschwitz/

Visit the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/

Send us a text