|
 |
|
|
In 1979, a grassroots organization, the Holocaust
Survivors Film Project, began videotaping Holocaust survivors and witnesses
in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1981, the original collection of testimonies
was deposited at Yale University, and the Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
opened its doors to the public the following year. Since then, the Archive
has worked to record, collect, and preserve Holocaust witness testimonies,
and to make its collection available to researchers, educators, and the
general public.
The Archive currently holds more than 4,100 testimonies, which are comprised of over 10,000 recorded hours of videotape. Testimonies are produced in cooperation with 37 affiliated projects across North America, South America, Europe, and Israel, and each project maintains a duplicate collection of locally recorded videotapes. The Archive and its affiliates continue to record the testimonies of willing individuals with first-hand experience of the Nazi persecutions, including those in hiding, survivors, bystanders, resistants, and liberators. Testimonies are recorded in whatever language the witness prefers, and range in length from one-half hour to 26 hours (recorded over several sessions). The Archive's interviewing methodology stresses the leadership role of the witness in structuring and telling his or her own story. Questions are primarily used to ascertain time and place, or elicit additional information about topics already mentioned, with an emphasis on open-ended questions that give the initiative to the witness. The witnesses are the experts in their own life story, and the interviewers are there to listen, to learn, and to clarify. The testimonies are cataloged in an international bibliographic database. Each recording is indexed by geographic names and topics discussed during the interview, and keyword searches can be combined to locate specific witness profiles. The Archive is open to the public, by appointment, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., with the exception of holidays and recess days. The staff will provide reference assistance to students and visitors, and tapes may be viewed in the main reading room of Manuscripts and Archives. To make an appointment, please contact us. |
||
 |
| Last revised August 9, 2001. Copyright � Yale University Library, 2001. All rights reserved. |