How Natural Language Tech, Holograms Are Preserving Holocaust Testimony

April 11, 2016 11:56 AM

Eva Kor was six when she and her twin sister Miriam were sent to the Șimleu Silvaniei ghetto. Four years later they were taken to Auschwitz where they were selected for human experiments by Josef Mengele. Now she is recording her story for the USC Shoah Foundation's New Dimensions in Testimony project, which will create 3D interactive holograms of Holocaust survivors for museums.

There is additional information about her experiences on her Wikipedia page.

PDF copy of the Summer 2012 edition of PastForward which includes an article on the technology on page 22.

A video with more extensive background and examples from the project, including more from Pinchas Gutter's interviews.

Interview with Paul Debevec of the USC Institute for Creative Technologies about the project. (As usual, don't read the comments)

Behind the scenes footage of author Israel Starck recording his testimony.

The Institute for Creative Technologies' website on the project.

The USC Shoah Foundation's website on the project.

posted by lharmon (3 comments total)

I think this is a very good evolution of oral histories and 2-D film documentaries. Given how few survivors are still alive, the more digital media that can be accessed and witnessed without a trip to the museum in D.C., the better.

(I would support doing the same thing for veterans, too, and anyone who witnessed a historical event -- but because the Holocaust was so unique (I hope), capturing it is even more important.)
posted by wenestvedt at 1:30 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

Since my Holocaust trip last year, and lots and lots of Holocaust reading before and afterward, I have made myself stop and listen to these whenever I get the chance. I've also been attending live events where the few remaining survivors speak. The information is necessarily distorted by the reality that survival was the exception for targeted populations, not the rule, and that the majority of deaths happened in mass shootings and exterminations in the east, not via the path of starvation and disease in the camps. But having said that, survivor accounts are the most vivid ways to understand what happened, why it was so hard to accept and believe that it was happening, and what it felt like. They are absolutely invaluable.
posted by bearwife at 2:54 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

It's mentioned in the Wikipedia page, but the documentary about Eva Kor, Forgiving Dr. Mengele, is extremely worthwhile. Sometimes frustrating and baffling, but it feels like that reflects the shortcomings of the viewer rather than the subject.

(Available on Netflix streaming, BTW.)
posted by McCoy Pauley at 4:50 PM on April 11, 2016