An innovative education program that will use artificial intelligence and digital reality to “future-proof” the testimonies of Holocaust survivors will be launched in UK schools at the end of this month.

Holocaust Academic Belief, a London-based charity, is launching its Testimony 360 program across UK schools, enabling students to have real, face-to-face conversations with Holocaust survivors through innovative technology.

The first part of the program uses synthetic technology that allows students to conduct question-and-answer sessions with digital replicas of Holocaust survivors via laptops and headphones. The second section allows students to explore important sites related to survivors’ testimonies through digital reality headsets, including the concentration camps or ghettos where they were held.

HET chief executive Karen Pollock described the programme, being piloted in 15 schools involving 800 pupils, as “exciting” and “important” given the recent rise in anti-Semitism and the declining number of Holocaust survivors able to share their experiences. testimony.

“The beauty of this technology means you can engage people without having to leave their couch or classroom and learn about the Holocaust,” he said. “We are at a critical moment, the number of survivors is dwindling… when there are no eyewitnesses present, we still have to create memorable moments and meaningful education about the Holocaust.”

According to the government, schools in England are obliged to teach students about the Holocaust in their history curriculum, with the aim of “ensuring that young people are aware of the atrocities of the Holocaust”.

Holocaust survivors in their 80s and 90s visit schools across the country with HET to share their first-hand experiences. However, as the number of survivors declines and surviving people become older and frail, the Testimony 360 program aims to future-proof those testimonies to ensure that interactions with survivors can still occur.

Pollock added: “We want young people to understand the individual experiences of those who managed to survive, but they need to understand the loss and devastation and the nature of the anti-Semitism, the nature of the hatred that led to the crimes against these people. humanity. “When survivors are not here and with Holocaust denial… still a growing phenomenon, with the explosion of anti-Semitism… this is a critical moment.”

Manfred Goldberg, a survivor of the Stutthof concentration camp and death march, was the first survivor whose story was preserved using this technology for students in England. For the show, Goldberg answered more than 1,000 potential questions and filmed more than 20 hours over five days. Through AI, survivors can answer questions ranging from their own experiences of the Holocaust, their move to England, and even their favorite football club.

Goldberg describes this technology as “a form of magic.”

“Long after I leave this world, I will be able to tell you in my own words… the details of my Holocaust experience to try to educate the younger generation. “I accept it, but I still feel a little strange,” he said. “I hope thousands of young people have the opportunity to ask me these questions and believe that, in one way or another, hatred can lead to unprecedented cruelty.”

Gabriella Burton, an educator at HET, said children who participated in the pilot responded positively to the program, and added: “I think it’s revolutionary, not only in terms of Holocaust education but also in terms of history and education.” in general… rumors in class, it’s really hard to describe how fantastic it is.”

Lara, a 10th grader at Sacred Heart Catholic School who participated in the program, described the experience as “very emotional.”

“You can really feel and see what a concentration camp was like and its conditions, characteristics and the rooms you could live in, for example the barracks. “It’s very realistic.”