Working at the Holocaust Museum gives us the chance to meet many Holocaust survivors on a daily basis because every field trip ends with a speech of a survivor. When planning this interview project it was really important to us to honor that by talking not only to one but to several of the survivors. It is a privilege we do not take for granted. Since this is so special for us we wanted to make this not only an interview but a memory of our time here. Many of survivors are so optimistic, positive thinking and enthusiastic human beings.

It was really impressive to listen to Janine’s painful and cruel story and experience her joy of life at the same time. She and many of the survivors inspire us with their attitude towards life, their energy, motivation and positivity.

It was incredibly touching and impressive to hear Fritzie’s stories, experience how she survived and what her perspective on the past is. It also made us realize, again, how incomprehensible her suffering is to us and therefore, how great of an accomplishment it is for her to talk about all of this so often and relive it every single time.

We really enjoyed doing this interview project and we want to express our deep gratitude to the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, Action Reconciliation Service for Peace, and especially the survivors without whom this would not have been possible.

This was one of the key experiences of our service and a memory we will always keep close to our hearts. 

Here is the link to the interviews : vimeo.com/264717935