The star of the popular American TV series of the 90's and the beginning of our century "Friends", Liza Kudrow, together with a television company NBC and with the help of the project "Who do you think you are?" discovered the history of her family. Unexpectedly, her roots come from Belarus.
Well known to the audience of the sitcom "Friends" as a crazy bone Phoebe Buffay, Hollywood star Liza Kudrow decided to find out the history of her family. Not just for herself but for her father and for the whole family.
Most of the American Jewish people come from Eastern Europe. And Liza's father-Li, is one of them. He spent his childhood in Belarus. Gertruda Faberman - the mother of Liza's father and her grandmother. Once playing with toys Liza asked her grandmother if she misses her parents. Gertruda started crying and just answered: "Hitler killed my mother with a knife."
With these past memories she had as a child Liza has a conversation with her father now. Liza's father recalls that in the year 1947 when he saw his half-brother Yuriy Barudzin for the last time, he told him that all the people of their village were killed including Liza’s grandmother Gertruda - Mera Marduhovich.
Also according to some sources Liza's father learnt that his brother Yuriy died.
The actress is going to Belarus only knowing the name of her grandmother, the name of the place where her family used to live - a village called Ilya of the Vilenskaya area Minsk region, and plus the name of the ship on which her uncle Yuriy Barudzin served, - "Batory".
According to Liza she would be really happy if she could find any traces of her ancestors. All the documents could have been destroyed during the war. And this is a big question whether there are any people alive who would remember that time and who would know Liza's ancestors.
In a moment Liza finds out that her grandmother together with others were killed and burnt.
Liza Kudrow was shocked and decided to go to Ilya – a village 60 km from Minsk. She recognizes the scenery which she saw on her father's pictures. Meeting with other inhabitants of that village gives her more information about that horrific time. They provide her with additional details about that tragic day for Liza's family and for the rest of the families in the village.
Inhabitants of Ilya village are trying to help Liza Kudrow to learn more about that day when her grandmother, Mera Marduhovich, was murdered.
Standing in the market square of the village, reading the memories which she could gather, visiting the monument in the memory of the war victims, Liza was moved to tears because of the pain and suffering that has occurred during the war.
Later on something unexpectedly happened, something that she would not have even dreamt about, she met her own relatives.
She discovered new information about one of the policeman of the ship "Batory" Yuriy Barudzin, who changed his name to Baleslau after moving to Poland.
Liza goes to Gdynya, Poland. With a help of the museum workers she finds out that there is a family with a last name - “Barudzin”.
This name proves that her father's brother is alive. When she met Baleslay, his son Andjei and grandson Tomek she heard the story about how miraculously he was saved from being sent to Sibiriya. She surprises her father with this unbelievable news.
Liza Kudrow is standing against the same landscape which she saw on her father's pictures.
An unbelievable and happy meeting of the Barudzins and the Kudrous that were separated by the war leaves unforgettable memory.
