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. While the program being conducted at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is limited to survivors who volunteer at the Museum, the product of their work – four volumes entitled “Echoes of Memory” – is available to the public through the Museum Shop.
Lasting Memory »
Remembers an opera singer who helped her outside the Czernowitz ghetto.
Teach Love, Not Hate »
Describes how important it is to love and never to hate.
My Reason for Writing My Story »
The end of a peaceful childhood in Romania.
The Road to Freedom »
A story of rescue from a camp during the last days of the war.
Images Etched into my Mind »
Descriptions of her memories of her brothers.
A Pleasant Summer Day »
Reminiscences of prewar summer days.
The Sonderkarte »
The last time she saw her family.
TEDIUM! »
Describes a forced-labor assignment.
31 Minutes »
Describes building antitank obstacles in Berlin toward the end of the war.
The Final Days »
Life in Berlin at war’s end.
The Russian Prisoner of War Grabbed the German Guard by the Neck, Trying to Choke Him »
A story about a group of Russian prisoners of war who attempt to escape.
Spiritual Resistance—The Hanging »
A community is forced to witness a neighbor’s execution.
The Haystack-1942 »
Describes perils of life in hiding.
Paranka »
Remembering the brave kindness of a stranger.
I Was But a Child »
Describes locating a young cousin who had been hidden in a monastery during the Holocaust.
Smuggling »
A young girl helps her mother sneak provisions across the border.
Something That Saved Me »
Recollections of how working with her hands helped her through difficult times.
The Meal Game »
Describes family’s stories and recollections.
The Cemetery »
Poem about the loss of family.
My Boots »
Preserving the memory of a foster family’s love.
Going Home: Liberation, May 5, 1945 »
Searching for family in the days after the war’s end.
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.
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