A sense of duty and obligation to share experiences and memories is real and present for many Holocaust survivors. The Memory Project provides participants - survivors who are volunteering at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum – with a powerful outlet through which to bear witness. These guided writing workshops strengthen the ability of our survivor writers to recount their experiences for their families and for the historical record. This is one more way that the Museum helps survivors – eyewitnesses to the Holocaust - to teach new generations about hatred, intolerance, and indifference, and to expand our understanding of Holocaust history from a deeply personal perspective. The Memory Project is based on the “Leave-A-Legacy” Writing Workshops developed by the Drew University Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study, to whom we are grateful for training and guidance in establishing this important program.
PDF versions of volumes 1–5 are available.
The USHMM’s Guidelines for Conducting Oral Histories provides guidance on many aspects of conducting an interview. These pointers can also be helpful as a starting point to organize your thoughts and focus on topics of special interest for a writing project.
