The Agency of Holocaust Survivors from Commemorative Activism to Interactive Holograms
About the project
This project synthesizes the history of Holocaust survivor involvement in the development of Holocaust commemoration, with a particular focus on the Montreal Holocaust Museum as a case study. Through archival research, the project traces the Museum’s origins, emerging from survivor activism through various commemorative initiatives and survivors’ roles within them, to the current move toward the “post-survivor” era, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, and the turn to the second generation.
The agency of survivors and their role in establishing these institutions has never been thoroughly studied, and it is related to questions about survivors’ experiences of immigration, integration and broader community dynamics. The question of agency becomes even more challenging when facing the post-survivor era and how institutions are trying to preserve survivor voices and stories without them being physically able to speak anymore.
The project examines the experiences of survivors who participated in the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation’s Dimensions in Testimony project, which creates holograms of survivors using AI to enable them to have conversations with listeners. It also looks at the ethics and other considerations of children of survivors who give testimony and tell the stories of their parents.
Key findings
- The early activism of Holocaust survivors that led to the founding of these institutions has been understudied and underacknowledged. This includes the formation of anti-fascist organizing to directly address the presence of Nazis in Canada, which only later evolved into commemoration.
- Throughout the entire timeline of this project, from the early activism to the present, there have been tensions between survivors and the mainstream Jewish community. These tensions get to the heart of the question of agency—what is the role of the survivor in deciding the direction of Holocaust commemoration, education and activism in Montreal? They also pertain to institutional politics—what happens when a once ad hoc group becomes part of a broader institution, and how does the professionalization of that institution exacerbate these tensions?
- Despite these tensions, survivors have continued to assert their own voices throughout the entire trajectory of commemoration, including in classrooms, on educational trips to Europe, in museum spaces, and at commemorative events. They have never been passive participants in these initiatives, merely interested in sharing their stories; they have been thoughtful, organized, and deeply engaged contributors to the landscape of commemoration.
- The question of how to respect this legacy and preserve the agency of survivors once they pass away remains unresolved; the use of AI and holograms in projects such as Dimensions in Testimony gives the impression of preservation but actually creates reproductions of survivors and a false sense of authenticity. The children of survivors find themselves in the challenging position of telling a story that is not their own while navigating how to respect their parents’ narratives without their guidance.
- All of this is significant because the Holocaust is the first major historical event that has centred the voices of survivors in the way its history is told, due in no small part to the early and continued activism of those very survivors. Therefore, these post-survivor questions pose a fundamental challenge to Holocaust commemoration. Focusing on agency and a transparent evaluation of the tensions that existed before the institutions allows us to reflect on what values and legacies we need to carry into the future and how institutions can move into this new era with respect and care.
Policy implications
- It is widely recognized that the commemoration of violence and atrocity requires engagement with the affected communities. However, this study demonstrates that engagement is not easily achieved due to conflicts among various stakeholders. It also includes recommendations for continuing to centre survivor voices in initiatives, even as those voices become fewer and fewer.
- Increasingly, museums and commemorative spaces use oral histories and testimonies in their work. This study demonstrates the need to ensure that stories are used in ongoing consultation with survivors, recognize their labour, and treat them as more than conduits to a story.
- Institutions are quick to embrace new technology to make their work more accessible and engaging. That said, this study demonstrates the importance of ensuring that this technological engagement aligns with the ethics and values of the institution, including those of the survivors themselves, and that it is conducted in a manner that respects the relationships people have with one another without undermining their agency.
Contact information
Principal investigator: Anna Sheftel, Concordia University, Anna.sheftel@concordia.ca
Read the full report
The full report can be read at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OewsNyAEsphDfmXucLDEh5pP3fIkt1uI/view?usp=sharing