To tell the stories and to pass them on

The eye witnesses who survived the tragedy of the Second World War are gradually leaving us. Those who survived the deportations, resistance, and the genocide of Jews and Gypsies carried out by the Nazi regime. These survivors urge us, today more than ever, to find a way keep these stories alive. We must do this so that such times of darkness are never forgotten and will remain in our collective memory.

The teaching of history has an indispensable role in constructing a kind of ‘scientific’ knowledge. At the same time, the memory of what happened for those who actually lived through this ‘history’ brings a personal dimension and experience to such knowledge. Furthermore, the students and teachers who have been in these classes and heard these testimonies will go on to pass these stories on to others into the future. There will also be those in the future who will find out about what happened in the form of texts, or sound and video recordings.

This website thus provides the opportunity to hear the stories of survivors and the consequent experiences of their loved ones and their friends, as well as the responses of the students and the teachers who hear these accounts. Doing this allows us to determine how to best pass these stories on to individuals, groups and through generations.

Ultimately, this website can contribute to a better understanding of the way time and personal connections function in that they are crucial to understanding the link between the past, and the soul of individuals and of society. To understand the link between history and memory, and the link between the past, the present and the future. So, at the heart of this project, is the question of continuing to talk about what happened to keep the memories alive, with a special focus on the teaching and learning.