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Voices of the Victims at the Site of the Perpetrators

09/09/2011

Voices of the Victims

Fewer and fewer survivors and witnesses of National Socialism can share their memories. Eyewitness interviews make it possible for students and researchers to deal with the experiences of survivors of the Nazi regime in a differentiated and in-depth way. Freie Universität Berlin provides access to three major digital archives containing materials from witnesses of National Socialism: the Visual History Archive of the Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education of the University of Southern California (USC); the Refugee Voices Archive of the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR); and the Forced Labor 1939–1945 archivethe Forced Labor 1939–1945 archive, which is compiled and updated by the Center for Digital Systems (CeDiS) at Freie Universität. One focus is on making the eyewitness interviews accessible for education purposes. "Even though personal encounters with survivors and witnesses cannot be replaced by any medium, their memories and the stories of their lives are increasingly important for learning about history," said Prof. Dr. Peter-André Alt, president of Freie Universität Berlin.

Site of the Perpetrators

From 1933 to 1945 the most important centers of the Nazi regime were located on the present site of the Topography of Terror Documentation Center, next to the Martin Gropius Building and near Potsdamer Platz. Since 1987, on this site of perpetration there has been a permanent exhibition that focuses on the main institutions of National Socialist persecution and terror. Additional educational programs deal specifically with the motives and actions of the perpetrators and their impact on the lives of the population. “Considering the perpetrators from the perspective of the victims is an important aspect of the educational work of the Topography of Terror Foundation. The eyewitness interviews are an important additional authentic resource,” according to Prof. Dr. Nachama, director of the Topography of Terror Foundation.

Further information about the "Topography of Terror" »