Abstract
The number of eyewitnesses to National Socialist persecution and Holocaust survivors is decreasing, making the preservation of their memories increasingly crucial. The MEMORISE project (funded by Horizon Europe) addresses how to keep this difficult legacy alive for future generations. The project uses innovative digital technologies to preserve memories of Nazi persecution and translate them into accessible formats for the public, focusing on involving teenagers and young adults. A central element is creating an infrastructure to process over 80,000 Holocaust-related sources and objects, especially digitized diaries of former concentration camp prisoners. It also involves developing digital storytelling formats and presentation tools. Additionally, AI-based applications will provide individualized content and a best practices toolkit will be created to accelerate the application of digital technologies in heritage preservation and related fields. We focus on the mobile application and digital learning platform developed for the Bergen-Belsen and Kamp Westerbork memorials. Our ongoing UI/UX conceptualization aims to foster empathy through an explorative and immersive learning experience, guided by the approach: “People Take Center Stage.” By highlighting individual stories, we strive for personalized narratives embedded in historical contexts to bridge the past and present. Our project includes developing a smartphone app based on diaries of former prisoners from the two camps, enhancing the visitor experience at the memorial sites. The web-based learning platform provides access to all materials, supporting digital storytelling and virtual experiences for a diverse audience. Augmented reality solutions are also being developed, featuring 3D reconstructions of former camp buildings and prisoner drawings.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
Holocaust Education, Digital Memory, Research, Virtual Museum, Learning Platform
