The Museum’s Behind Every Name a Story project gives voice to the experiences of survivors during the Holocaust. It consists of essays describing survivors’ experiences during the Holocaust, written by survivors or their families. We encourage all survivors to share their unique experiences to ensure their preservation for future generations.
The essays, accompanying photographs, and other materials, including submissions that we are unable to feature on our website, will become a permanent part of the Museum’s records.
How to Submit an Essay
If you would like to participate in this project, please follow the steps below before submitting your entry.
Register for the Benjamin and Vladka Meed Registry of Holocaust Survivors. Learn how to register.
Read the Submission Criteria below.
Fill out our essay submission form.
Submission Criteria
Entries should be limited to an essay-length piece (1-5 pages). Entries might be edited for length and reviewed for historical accuracy.
Entries should focus on your experiences during the Holocaust and/or focus on one or two specific events, if desired. You can also include some information about your prewar and postwar experiences.
We encourage you to submit photographs taken before, during, or immediately after the war, as well as a present-day photograph. You may also wish to include images in electronic format of other documents or artifacts, as well as audio clips that would help to illustrate your story.
If you have additional questions, contact us at resource-center@ushmm.org.
This Section
Listen to or read Holocaust survivors’ experiences, told in their own words through oral histories, written testimony, and public programs.