Im jamie colby, and, today, im driving into key west, florida, in search of treasure. You know, years ago, spanish galleons and pirate ships sailed upon and sank in these waters. More recently, the islands been home to the heirs of a man who became rich and famous searching for the treasure left behind. My name is taffi fisher abt, and i inherited a wreck. I mean literally a wreck, a spanish shipwreck. Its an incredible archeological find, and we keep bringing up more treasure all the time. You must be taffi. Welcome to the mel fisher Maritime Heritage society. Taffis father, mel fisher, salvaged tons of treasure from the sea. Oh, yeah. Solid gold. This is an emerald cross and ring that was found in 1982. Some of his most precious artifacts are in the museum he founded here in key west. He must have loved the adventure. He did. He was an awful lot like tom sawyer. Tom sawyer had the mississippi. Indiana native mel fisher dreams up his childhood adventures on lake michigan. He would go to the lake, and he made a dive helmet out of a bucket. How did that work out . He said that it didnt work at all. In world war ii, mel joins the army corps of engineers. Over in europe, one of his jobs was building latrines. But after the war, this hoosier is fated for a higher or maybe lower calling. Hed met some gentlemen who were spearfishing in tampa, and he was amazed that they could go down and stay underwater. Theyre scuba diving. Mel falls in love with the new sport. He follows his parents to california, where they buy a chicken ranch. A lot of clucking and feathers, but hes moving closer to his dream. He bought a compressor and started filling his own tanks. In 1952, a beautiful local girl named deo horton walks in and steps out with mel. He taught her how to scuba dive, and they decided that they were gonna open a dive shop. Together, they lead dive charters to explore shipwrecks off the california coast. Treasure hunting was really a passion for my father. It was full of romance and adventure. Soon, mel and deo have a thriving business in Redondo Beach and three boys kane, kim and dirk. My mother was trying to get other women to go diving, so she decided she was gonna set the worlds record for staying underwater. And she did 55 hours and 37 minutes. As deo put it, worst case of dishpan hands in history. She is pregnant at the time with taffi. Were you born with a wet suit . I was born with webbed feet. [ both laugh ] eyeing bigger fish to fry, mel sells the dive shop and moves his family to the florida coast to become a fulltime treasure hunter. He sets his sights on one particular prize. He read about a shipwreck, which had 40 tons of gold and silver and copper on board. Her name is Nuestra Senora de atocha. In september 1622, the spanish galleon leaves havana, bound for seville. Shes loaded with treasure from spains central and south american colonies gold bars, finely worked religious articles, and gold chains that some spanish officials are trying to smuggle home in their baggage. [ thunder crashes ] but a caribbean storm sends the atocha to the bottom. Finding her wreck becomes mel fishers obsession. Every morning, he rousts his crew with a simple Statement Today is the day. And, of course, every day, my father is saying, today is the day. Were gonna hit it. Were almost there. Itll only take a few more months, and well have it all. Finally, mels search turns up a couple of musket balls from the atocha, plus some coins, a gold chain, and an anchor, then three silver bars 76 pounds each. Hes getting warmer. But then it would kind of piddle off, and hed say, thats all right. Well find it tomorrow. And the next day, today is the day. Mel and deos son dirk and dirks wife, angel, pitch in to run the northwind, one of their salvage boats. They found nine bronze cannons, and that was major, but there was nothing much around those cannons. What are the next five years like . Mostly just empty holes. Digging hundreds of thousands of empty holes. Mel is out of money, living on a rundown houseboat. Then, in july 1975, a faulty valve on the northwind leads to tragedy. What happened . My brother dirk and his wife, angel, and a good friend, rick gage, were killed one night when the boat capsized at sea. And that tragedy on the water didnt deter dad from wanting to be on the water . I think if there was one time ever that my parents considered not continuing, that was it. Tell me about your brother dirk. We were all very depressed about it, but we decided that dirk would want us to continue. And, so, it actually increased our determination. We were gonna find it for dirk. So mel returns to the trail of scattered pieces of the atochas cargo, knowing each tiny find is a data point that inches him closer to the wreck site. Wed find a nail, maybe, a ballast stone, just little teases. Teases that tell mel he must be closing in. Others sense it, too, including the government, which wants a cut. In 1977, the federal government and the state of florida claim they own everything salvaged from the atocha. Mel fights back. He found a lawyer who was in admiralty law, and they arrested a piece of the shipwreck and put it in my fathers custody. Arresting the wreck is the legal action a marinesalvage operator files when hes found an abandoned shipwreck. The law wants to create an incentive for people like mel to find valuables lost at sea. Thats just the start of his battle with the government. It takes seven years, 151 trials and hearings, 1. 2 million in legal fees, and a trip to the u. S. Supreme court. But, finally, mel fisher prevails. No one else can own it. Nope. Its ours. No wonder youre smiling all the time. [ laughs ] after he beat the government in court, he said, america has one of the best governments in the world, because a little guy like me can fight and win. Mel fisher may own the atocha, but the main cargo hold is still out there somewhere. Then, on july 20, 1985, after almost 17 years of scouring the sea, the radio at mels Key West Office crackles to life. Its his son kane. My brother called in and said, you know, get dad on the radio. I got some Important News to tell him. What was the news . The news was that we had found the main pile of the atocha. It was an 80footlong pile of silver bars and coin chests and jewelry. It was just there sticking up out of the mud. Is today the day . Find out next. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question. How many sunken spanish treasure ships lie undiscovered off the florida coast . The answer when we return. The biggest challenge for Business Today is not competition, its protecting customer trust. Every day you read headlines about governments and businesses being hacked, emails compromised, and intellectual property being stolen. That is cybercrime, and it affects each and every one of us. Microsoft created the digital crimes unit to investigate and fight cyber crime. We use the microsoft cloud to visualize information, so we can track down the criminals. Using our advanced analytics tools, analysis that used to take days to run, we can now see in real time. And were building what we learn back into the cloud to make people and organizations safer. When it comes to the cloud, trust and security are paramount. Our passion is making life tougher for cyber criminals, and making it safer for you and your customers. I built my business with passion. But i keep it growing by making every dollar count. Thats why i have the spark cash card from capital one. I earn unlimited 2 cash back on everything i buy for my studio. And that unlimited 2 cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business. Thats huge for my bottom line. Whats in your wallet . The answer is b. The 40 to 50 wrecks likely contain billions of dollars in precious metal and jewels. July 20, 1985. Yes, this really is the day for mel fisher. After almost 17 years of searching, the treasure hunter finally discovers the main cargo hold of the atocha, a spanish galleon that sank off key west in 1622. 55 five feet down from us, there was this big pile of silver bars about 80 feet long, and then money chains, gold chains, about 6 pounds of emeralds. 6 pounds of emeralds. Hes lived nearly two decades on the financial edge, been written off as a kook and a charlatan, and rededicated himself to his goal after losing a son and daughterinlaw to the sea. But now mel fisher has accomplished his mission. The value of what we found, at that time, was about 400 million. There were so many people who were doubters, but at this point, every magazine in the world came and wanted dad on the cover. Mel even gets on the tonight show and impresses Johnny Carson with his favorite treasure a 6footlong gold chain, which he likes to wear around key west and show to kids. Do you have a favorite piece so far . Yeah, my favorite piece is a poison cup. Its a solidgold cup and it has very beautiful engraving. And in the bottom of the cup is a mount for a stone. And if anything with poison was poured in the cup, the stone would change colors. Is that what you like about it . The story . Well, that, plus i found it myself. [ laughs ] mels daughter, taffi, oversees archiving the artifacts his divers bring up. So, the fine jewelry, obviously, is right up my alley. This rosary is unbelievable. Yes, this a gold rosary with ebony inlay. Oh mel salvaged thousands of spanish coins like this one. The cross represented the ten commandments. You know the ten commandments, dont you . Yes. Well, if you never broke any, ill let you have that. [ both laugh ] mel shares a big chunk of the treasure with his crew. How much is a secret. But suffice it to say there were a bunch of new millionaires in key west. Did your folks and your life change . Did they live bigger . Whatd they do . Well, a little bit. It was nice not to have to worry about money anymore. But, you know, they stayed in the same house. After the atocha, it became more like a hobby, cause he didnt have to work anymore. But he loved it. He loves the search and the thrill of finding it. My father said, taffi, remember, were only temporary custodians of all of this treasure. Hundreds of years ago, it all belonged to someone else, and then it was lost. And then we found it, and weve been custodians for a while. And hundreds of years from now, someone else will have it. Words of a man who relishes the hunt for treasure more than possessing it. In 1994, mel fisher begins a battle with lymphatic cancer. He continues to search for treasure almost to his last days. He dies at age 76, in 1998. What was it like when dad passed . We had a big celebration of his life. We took his ashes out and put them over the atocha site on fathers day the following year. In 2009, mels widow, deo, passes away, too, leaving the treasure of the atocha to her children. What is like to inherit something that was underwater for 400 years . Thats pretty strange. Yeah, its a very strange inheritance and very exciting at the same time. Exciting, in part, because before deo dies, she tells her children its time to begin selling off the atocha treasure. Selling once. Selling twice. Thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. According to legend, a 17th century ghost ship called the flying dutchman is cursed in which way . The answer when we return. Oh remotes, youve had it tough. Watching tvs get. Sharper. Bigger. Smugger. And you . Rubbery buttons. Enter the x1 voice remote. Now when someone says. Show me funny movies. Watch discovery. Record this. Voila. Remotes, come out from the cushions, you are back the x1 voice remote is here. The answer is a. For hundreds of years, sailors reported seeing the phantom ship aimlessly wandering the seas. For almost two decades, as he searched for the atocha, mel fisher confronted doubt, suspicion, financial risk, and personal tragedy, yet he never gave up. When he dies, in 1998, his heirs inherit the fulltime job of running the salvage business and managing the fortune in treasure he left them. And in august 2015, in new york city, theyre in the midst of a major piece of business auctioning off a big chunk of the gold, silver, and jewels from the atocha. These objects have an intrinsic value, but it goes way beyond that because of the history of how they were discovered. Arlan ettinger, the founder of guernseys auction house, has sold everything from soviet art to Jerry Garcias guitar. Well begin tonight with lot number 1, the three silver coins. And 2,000 for them. Mel fishers daughter, taffi, has spent months preparing for this day. Its exciting and a little nerveracking. Part of the proceeds will be donated to a foundation taffi and her husband established in memory of their 12yearold son, michael, who died in 2006 of sudden cardiac arrest. Lot number 11. Fair warning at 750. So, were just hoping that its appreciated and loved and people bid high. The Fisher Family decides this auction will have no reserve, or minimum bid, for most of the objects. Lot number 83, the silver coin. 950. 1,000 is bid. 1,100. 1,100 is bid. 1,200. 3,500. And now 3,750. Any more beyond yes. 3,750. Sold here for 3,750. The smugglers silver coin. 18,000 is the bid. 19,000 is bid. And now 20,000. Fair warning at 30,000. Last chance. 30,000 for bidder number 607. And what about mels favorite . The gold chain he wore on the tonight show just after discovering the mother lode. Selling once. Selling twice. Sold to the telephone for 60,000. Okay, lot number 51, the gold bar. 55,000 is bid. And now 60,000. You marvel at their brilliance. How is it possible that these were under the water, in turbulent conditions, for 400 years and look like they were crafted yesterday . 60,000. 65,000. 70,000. And 75,000 next. Yes 75,000. Sold for 75,000. A fabulous emerald cross. 85,000 is bid. And now 90,000. 90,000 is bid. And now 95,000. Sold for 95,000. Now lot number 53, the gold disk. 60,000 is bid. And now 65,000. 80,000. And now 85,000. And 90,000 is bid. And now 95,000 on the phone. Selling once. Selling twice. Sold for 110,000. The gold chalice. 350,000. And 375,000 next. Sold here for 350,000. Aggregate some buyers get bargains, but the final tally of just over 2 million is a tidy sum for both the Fisher Family and taffis foundation. Some of the bids were very high. Some of the bids were very low. But, you know, everything sold, so i dont have to carry anything home. Maybe can save some lives. And maybe well just go out and find a whole bunch of more treasure. A whole bunch more treasure, because wait till you hear how much atocha booty remains beneath the sea. Excuse me . Thats next. Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. Announcer a horrific terror attack in paris. Then, a brutal act of terror here at home. Its time for a tested and proven leader who wont try to contain isis. Jeb bush has a plan. To destroy them. And keep america safe. Jeb bush the United States should not delay in leading a Global Coalition to take out isis with overwhelming force. Announcer tested and proven leadership matters. Jeb bush. Right to rise usa is responsible for the content of this message. Now back to strange inheritance. Their auction has just raked in more than 2 million, but mel fishers heirs are not done searching for treasure. You see, they not only inherited the fortune thats already been salvaged from the atocha, but the rights to anything else from the wreck site. How much is left down there . 250 million. What . Dollars worth of treasure. Excuse me . 250 million worth of treasure. Mel used to say, todays the day. His kids predict there will be more days ahead. I saw the sunset last night, and there was a green flash. That means were gonna find a big pile today. Well find the sterncastle of the atocha thats been so elusive very soon, maybe tomorrow. Okay. Have you ever had a real job . You mean besides treasure hunting . No. The Fisher Family spreads their love of treasure hunting around. Several times a year, they run cruises to the site of the atocha. Its a chance for even nondivers to search for treasure without getting their feet wet. Todays the day. Using a system called an airlift, divers suck up sediment from the ocean floor right into these troughs on deck. When you see a Green Emerald with that white sediment, you cant miss it. Well, i was digging through the sand. A Green Emerald popped right out at me. I couldnt believe it. Great start for the day. Is it true that theres a 40pound bag of emeralds down there . And are you looking for it . Actually, its 70 pounds of emeralds. Should i tell you greens my favorite color . [ thunder crashes ] four centuries ago, nature intervened, and the treasure of Nuestra Senora de atocha never arrived at its original destination, but through the labors of one dedicated and slightly obsessive man, it was not lost forever. Now it will be scattered across the world to collectors, museums, and churches. After that, who knows . As mel fisher said, nobody holds on to this treasure for long. Mel fishers heirs clearly inherited their fathers undying fascination with shipwrecks. Taffi told me, once youve seen the ocean paved with gold, its hard to quit. Or, as mel used to say, its not the find. Its the hunt. And, kim, if you do come up across that big old bag of emeralds, please give your pal, jamie colby, a call. Im jamie colby for strange inheritance. And, remember, you cant take it with you. A daughter inherits a mysterious diary from her father, an artist who survived the holocaust. He had to live so that he could show the scenes that he witnessed. His words become her quest. I made a promise to my father that i would show his artwork to the world. These pages, her road map. Here is a man who went through so much horror. But can she recover what the nazis stole from him . What do you think went on in that room . Im jamie colby, and, today, im in rockland county, new york, an hour north of new york city. I am meeting a viewer who wrote me about her strange inheritance and how it turned her into a sort of time traveler, right back to her fathers harrowing past. My name is Miriam Friedman morris. My father, David Friedman, a painter and holocaust survivor, left me a diary, tagebuch fuer Miriam Friedman. As i read it, the diary led me on a remarkable journey that continues to this day. Miriam, im jamie. Hi. Welcome. Miriam wrote us an email that said. It was so impassioned, i had to meet her. My goodness. Look at all of this. I feel like im in fineart gallery or a museum. Tell me about your parents. My parents were both holocaust survivors, and in 1954, we moved from israel to new york. In her minds eye, little miriam sees only gauzy pictures of her fathers past. He doesnt tell her all that much. She knows he was a painter, who, in world war i, drew combat scenes on the russian front and was decorated for bravery. But shes in the dark about the full scope of his artistic career, including hundreds of drawings of top personalities for german newspapers and exhibitions of his work in major cities. In december 1938, friedman fled berlin for prague, czechoslovakia, after whats known as kristallnacht or the night of broken glass, when jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues throughout germany and austria were ransacked. In prague, he continues to paint portraits. He snaps blackandwhite photos of them and puts them in albums, which somehow survive. I would go and look in the albums, and this one really spoke to me. But he doesnt tell her the stories behind those pictures. He knew that i was looking at the pictures in the book. I was really quite fascinated with them. He just would watch me, but he wouldnt really say much. Young miriam knows her father was in a concentration camp but not how he got there or how in the world he survived. How did your parents meet . They met in a small town about one hour from prague. It was a place where the survivors went for healing. Nor does miriam know about her fathers disappointing attempt in israel to use his talent to express the horrors of the holocaust. Hed only write about that years later. I had a oneman show in tel aviv with paintings of the concentration camps. Im sorry to say, the interest was only small, and learned people do not want to talk about concentration camps. Feeling defeated, the 60yearold artist moves his wife and 4yearold daughter to new york and madison avenue. And that was really, like, the mad men era. Your dad went into advertising. Thats right. And the company moved us from new york to st. Louis, where he was a lead artist. Thats the dad miriam grows up knowing the guy who paints these gigantic billboards for major clients, like michelob and 7 up. What was your childhood like in the United States . We were happy and we had a beautiful apartment. I noticed many of our friends had accents and had the numbers on the arm. The survivors all were the same, in the sense they wanted their children to have a better life. In search of the American Dream. Indeed. For david, the American Dream demands compromise. I had to forget about art paintings and i had to forget what was hidden in my heart the pictures from the concentration camps. I had to work hard to make a living. Then, in 1961, an envelope in the mail sends his spirits soaring. It contains a reparations check 4,350 from the west German Government for his looted art. It wasnt the money but the official recognition that his lifes work all but obliterated by the nazis meant something. I remember lots of excitement in the house. I really didnt understand it at the time, but i knew that it was very important to my father, who had been recognized for his case against the german reich for the loss of his paintings. Now, at 68, david sets up his easel, full of trepidation. I had the idea to try again but was afraid to start. He alone can put to canvas the evil he witnessed. He tried years before. Hes now ready to try again. In december 1963, in the night, i quietly left our bedroom for my studio, placed a piece of paper on the easel, took charcoal, and made my first sketch. Over four furious months, friedman creates 28 haunting drawings memories of the holocaust. It was like the pentup emotion of images that lived inside of him. He just tore it out of his head and put it on this canvas. The drawings awe miriam. She becomes more and more curious about her fathers past. On a college trip to germany in 1970, she visits an aunt shed never met, who has a painting shes never seen. It was a painting of my fathers first wife, mathilde friedman. Miriam had only heard mathilde spoken of in whispers. David married her in 1937, but she perished during the war. I wrote my father from germany that i had seen the painting, and he didnt understand what i was talking about. Her father arranges to have the painting sent from west berlin to st. Louis. My father took the package and he went into the bedroom for three days. What do you think went on in that room . I think he was remembering a woman that he had loved and lost. After college, miriam launches her own career as a fashion designer. She moves to new york, marries harold morris, and starts a family. Then, in february 1980, her father peacefully passes away at 86. And then comes her strange inheritance. When my father died, my mother handed me the little diary with my name on it. He started writing it the day miriam was born. Turns out that the father who had revealed only fragments of his past would now fill in the blanks. The more i learned about him, it sort of drove me to rescue him from obscurity. Where it drove her next. But, first, our strange inheritance quiz question. In the movie the monuments men, George Clooney is intent on recovering what work of art looted by the germans . The answer in a moment. In new york state, we believe tomorrow starts today. All across the state the economy is growing, with creative new business incentives, the lowest taxes in decades, and university partnerships, attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. Like in utica, where a new kind of workforce is being trained. And in albany, the nanotechnology capital of the world. Let us help grow your companys tomorrow, today at business. Ny. Gov [bassist] two late nights in blew an amp. But good nights. Sure,musics why we do this,but its still our business. We spend days booking gigs, then weve gotta put in the miles to get there. But its not without its perks. Like seeing our album sales go through the roof enough to finally start paying megs little brother i mean,our new tour managerwith real,actual money. We run on quickbooks. Thats how we own it. Its c, michelangelos madonna and child. It becomes paramount in the film after nazis kill one of clooneys men who attempted to prevent its theft. When painter and holocaust survivor David Friedman dies in 1980, he leaves his daughter, miriam, a diary he wrote for her. She cant bring herself to read her strange inheritance until her mother dies, in 1989. When she does, one statement in the opening pages stops her cold. Nazi criminals deported me, my wife, mathilde, and child, also named miriam. As a girl, miriam had picked up inklings about a halfsister with the same name who was killed in the war. But now, reading about her, in her fathers hand. I was quite astounded that many of the things that he spoke about from his first daughter were similar to experiences that i had with my father, like he taught her how to paint and he wrote about how he kept scrapbooks of her art. She reads on. Her father reveals details about his life after the germans conquered most of europe and began deporting millions of jews to ghettos and concentration camps. The nazis loot her fathers apartment in berlin and steal his artwork after he and his family flee to prague, czechoslovakia. I was only married for two years and had a 3monthold baby. And there was the anxiety of how to get out of this hell. In 1941, the germans deport friedman, now 48, his wife, mathilde, and their daughter from prague to a large ghetto in the polish city of lodz. In august 1944, the nazis liquidate the ghetto and deport the 65,000 jews living there to concentration camps. My father was on the last train to auschwitz, and he never saw his wife and child again. Upon arrival at auschwitz, men and boys are led one way, women and girls another. He never learns how and where his wife and daughter die, though the gas chamber is most likely. Davids life is spared. I would not be alive today were it not for a lucky fluke. Using improvised paints and brushes, david creates a mural of a nearby river on the prison wall. His talent impresses the guards. They let him live. Friedman survives five more months in the nazis most notorious death camp. Then, on january 25, 1945, the russians arrive. He is liberated and heads to czechoslovakia. But miriams strange inheritance does more than fill in the gaps about her fathers life. It leaves clues for miriam to find his lost art and implores her to restore his legacy, which, like so many others, was all but erased by the nazis. Between 1919 and 1933, my works were constantly on view in the various exhibitions of the Berlin Academy of the arts. The more i learned about him, it sort of drove me to rescue him from obscurity. To rescue him from obscurity, miriam writes to museums and archives in germany and czechoslovakia. Polite responses offer nothing. Its as though her father never painted, never existed. European art appraiser robin starr says miriam faces a needleinthehaystack challenge. How much art did the nazis loot . Millions of works. Hitler was collecting them for his own private collection, and there were soldiers at all ranks who were grabbing and plundering. In 1994, miriam flies to europe to use the diary to reassemble the pieces of her fathers life. What did you find . I went to berlin, to the newspaper archives that i had been told previously did not exist. And i was very excited to find portraits my father published in the newspaper. Its miriams first big discovery a vast spread of her fathers sketches, from the 1920s to early 30s, of luminaries including politicians, sports personalities, and musicians. And what did finding the newspaper clipping do for you . It showed me that i could find more. It would help me find evidence of the lost work that the nazis did not destroy. And miriams strange inheritance is about to lead to more evidence kept by the nazis themselves that will resurrect some of friedmans early paintings and shed new light on his darkest works. This is a particularly disturbing drawing for me electrocution by choice. Why do you think your father didnt make that choice . Thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. The answer in a moment. You both have a perfect driving record. Perfect. No tickets. No accidents. That is until one of you clips a food truck, ruining your perfect record. Yup. Now, you would think your Insurance Company would cut you some slack, right . No. Your insurance rates go through the roof. Your perfect record doesnt get you anything. Anything. Perfect for drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. And if you do have an accident, our claim centers are available to assist you 24 7. For a free quote, call Liberty Mutual at switch to Liberty Mutual and you could save up to 509 call today at see Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. Its b. In 1939, Museum DirectorJacques Jaujard smuggled it out of the louvre in an ambulance to the french countryside. Like an impressionist painting that gets clearer as you step back from it, so, too, has Miriam Friedman morris image of her father. Shes been following clues in this diary, which she inherited after he died. Shes had some luck in berlin, where she found hundreds of drawings he did for the newspapers. Then, in 2003, miriam and her daughter, lauren, meet with the director at the Jewish Museum in prague. The museum discovers, in its archives, these meticulous naziera catalog cards that name specific works of art by her father and when the nazis looted each one. And along with the catalog cards. I discovered the Jewish Museum held several of my fathers works. Including this image of a jewish Holiday Celebration and lithographs of davids hometown in czechoslovakia. In all, miriam uncovers nine of her fathers artworks. And what does it feel like for you, miriam, when you find a piece of your father in that way . It is so exhilarating. It feels so triumphant. One more work that has survived that the nazis did not destroy. One painting she discovers is of a Jewish Cemetery in prague, a cemetery which she visits with her daughter, lauren. It was just unbelievable to me that his artwork existed outside my house, outside the museums here in the United States, and it made me very excited to see what else we could discover. They discover, next, a living link to her fathers past. April 2009, miriams speaking to a new york audience about that photo album from her youth. It showed my fathers prewar career, and there was a portrait of a young girl. She looked to be about 8, 9 years old. Suddenly, another speaker on the panel gasps. She recognizes this girl. She said that it was her friend, and she had moved to buffalo. Does she still have the portrait . Yes. Here, after all those years, is the actual portrait David Friedman painted back in 1941. Its the only portrait painting, from this period of my fathers life as a refugee in prague, to survive. When youve identified someone that was in one of your fathers paintings, what is going on with your heart and your mind . Its just like everything comes together. It also makes it impossible to forget that others her father painted did not survive. But miriam believes her fathers life and her journey are unfolding this way for a reason, all going back to the vow she made to him the night he died. Did you make him a promise at his bedside . Thats next. Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to hear it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. Im billy, and i quit smoking with chantix. I decided to take chantix to shut everybody else up about me quitting smoking. I was going to give it a try, but i didnt think it was going to really happen. After one week of chantix, i knew i could quit. Along with support, Chantix Varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. Chantix definitely helped reduce my urge to smoke. Some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. Some had seizures while taking chantix. If you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. Tell your doctor about any history of Mental Health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. Dont take chantix if youve had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. If you have these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away as some can be lifethreatening. Tell your doctor if you have heart or blood vessel problems, or develop new or worse symptoms. Get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. Use caution when driving or operating machinery. Most common side effect is nausea. Being a nonsmoker feels great. Ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. Strange inheritance. Weve told you the story of artist and holocaust survivor David Friedman, his first wife and daughter killed by the nazis, his lifes work looted, how he came to america and started over. And how the strange inheritance he left his second daughter sent her on a journey to reclaim his legacy. We havent told you about his dying wish and his daughters vow. Did you make him a promise at his bedside . All he could think about was what was going to happen to his concentrationcamp pictures. I made a promise to my father that i would show his artwork to the world. Those concentrationcamp pictures were not the ones lost in europe or mentioned in the diary. Theyre the ones he furiously drew here in america, as a retired sign painter, in his late 60s. But they were, in fact, his most impassioned work, the art father and daughter both knew that he was put on earth to create. Keeping her promise, she donates some to the u. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum here in washington, d. C. This is a particularly disturbing drawing for me electrocution by choice. The drawing depicts concentrationcamp inmates throwing themselves against the electrified barbed wire. People had been dehumanized, tortured. They could no longer think, and this was a better option. Why do you think your father didnt make that choice . He had to live so that he could show the scenes that he witnessed. That was a powerful reason for his survival. He had to live to show what he witnessed. Miriam also ensures his paintings find a home at the renowned Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in jerusalem. Half a century after David Friedman felt defeated by that failed exhibit in tel aviv, his paintings are now on permanent display at israels leading holocaust memorial, all due to a daughter inspired by her strange inheritance. Even when i was young, i knew he was special. I wanted him to be recognized as an artist and i have achieved that. Are you proud of her . Very. Miriams daughter, lauren. One day, her mothers strange inheritance will pass to her. What will she do with it . The diary, the story, your mothers efforts do you feel a responsibility to continue her work . I feel a huge responsibility. I just hope that everybody from the next century on will not forget what happened. Behind me are bleak reminders of kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, the awful night in november 1938 that convinced David Friedman he had to flee berlin. But heres what happened 70 years later, in november 2008 the berlin philharmonic commemorated kristallnacht with a concert, accompanied by an exhibit of David Friedmans artwork. The 30 portraits featured jewish composers, musicians, and conductors, many of whom were part of the berlin orchestra before the nazis took it over, an historical treasure from an era the nazis tried to erase and a testament to the enduring power of David Friedmans artistry. Im jamie colby. Thanks for watching strange inheritance. He was the man who had everything. This has about 750 to 800 horsepower. But never enough of these. He told me he was bringing in about one tank a week. I imagine a small country could win a war with these. Yeah, i hear that a lot. My dad started a tradition of getting an old, beatup car, and then he would crush it with a tank in the field out here. His death puts his heirs on a mission. Is this what your dad would want . You push up on that. Start. [ engine turns over ] just like that, she comes to life. And talk about stickershock and awe. Was the auction a nailbiter . You bet it was. 300,000. 350,000. Sold