June 20, 2006
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM WEB SITE LIFE AFTER THE HOLOCAUST EXAMINES POST-HOLOCAUST LIVES OF SURVIVORS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s new Web site, Life After the Holocaust, provides an insightful look at the lives of six Holocaust survivors following the end of World War II. Through moving audio portraits, the interviewees candidly discuss their feelings about arriving in their new homeland America, how they reconciled their belief in God in the wake of the Holocaust, how they told their children about their experiences, and more. The site can be found at http://www.ushmm.org/lifeafter.
“For Holocaust survivors, liberation did not end their ordeal,” said Joan Ringelheim, the Museum’s Director of Oral History. “Survivors found themselves in the midst of a devastated Europe facing the prospect of rebuilding their lives. In Life After the Holocaust, we hear survivors explain how ‘survival’ is a complicated, life-long process. Their reflections on life in the aftermath of genocide, provide unique insight into human nature and what lessons can be learned from it.”
The site allows teachers to download the interview transcripts and audio files for use in the classroom and explore relevant links in the Museum’s online Holocaust Encyclopedia. All visitors are encouraged to share their thoughts on the significance of Holocaust remembrance and study in the “Reflections” portion of the site.
The featured survivors are: Thomas Buergenthal; Aron and Lisa Derman; Regina Gelb; Blanka Rothschild; and Norman Salsitz.
Situated among our national monuments to freedom, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is both a memorial to the past and a living reminder of the moral obligations of individuals and societies. The Museum fulfills its mission through a public/private partnership in which federal support guarantees the institution’s permanence and hundreds of thousands of donors nationwide make possible its educational activities and global outreach. More than 23 million people – including more than 8 million schoolchildren – have visited the Museum since it opened in 1993, and through its Web site, traveling exhibitions and educational programs, the Museum reaches millions more every year.
