Holocaust Survivor Working With Maltz Museum To Preserve History

BEACHWOOD, OH - From The Maltz Museum: The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage has partnered with the USC Shoah Foundation’s Dimensions in Testimony to launch a first-of-its-kind Holocaust Survivor Memory Project in Cleveland. Local Holocaust survivor Stanley Bernath’s story and memories were recorded using state-of-the-art technology. The technology allows Stanley to share his story and answer questions about his past, simulating the experience of speaking face-to-face with a survivor. Stanley is the fifteenth survivor in the world to become an interactive survivor biography.

The technology is nearing the end of its beta test phase at the Museum. Visitors are encouraged to attend drop-in experiences are every Thursday, Friday, and Sunday at 3pm through the end of December. The more questions asked and answered of Stanley on screen the better the technology becomes for future generations.Included with general admission (2929 Richmond Rd, Beahwood; 216-593-0575; maltzmuseum.org).

Why does preserving Holocaust testimony matter at the Maltz Museum?

Each year over 10,000 students from across Northeast Ohio visit the Maltz Museum for student tours. Many of these students hear from a local Holocaust survivor who shares their personal and powerful story. This is one of the most meaningful ways students can experience history, by listening to the real-life stories of people who lived through that period of time. In order to preserve the experience, the Maltz Museum has launched a first-of-its kind effort in Cleveland that uses hologram technology to simulate speaking to a living survivor.

“Meeting and interacting with a survivor lifts history out of the books and brings history to life for students,” said David Schafer, Managing Director of the Maltz Museum, who says this is why the Survivor Memory Project is critical now. “We don’t know how much longer survivors will be able to share their stories. Working with the USC Shoah Foundation’s Dimensions in Testimony will enable future generations to interact with a Holocaust survivor long after we are all gone.”

What has been Holocaust Survivor Stanley Bernath's Experience?

Dimensions in Testimony revolutionized the concept of oral history, using cutting-edge technology to record survivor stories with hundreds of cameras set up in a dome. The team asked hundreds of questions over the course of two days. The survivor needed to have significant cognitive ability to sit through the comprehensive question-and-answer session in the California studio. Approximately one year after that experience, Stanley Bernath saw an interactive version of himself as the beta version arrived in Cleveland, on view now through the end of December.

“Years from now none of us survivors will be available, we’ll be all gone,” said 92 year old Stanley Bernath, who is honored to be the fifteenth survivor in the world to record his story as an interactive survivor biography. He has been telling his story to groups for over forty years and now his story will live on in perpetuity. “Children or adults can always ask questions. They’ll be able to see it and hear what I have to say about what I went through,” he said.

How does the Beta Test work?

The beta test is an important part of the technology’s process, working out bugs so that when student or adult groups come in the future the technology will work fluidly. Every Thursday, Friday, and Sunday at 3pm now through end of December, Maltz Museum visitors will be able to interact with the beta version and help test the technology through Q&A. The experience is included with general museum admission and is free for Maltz Museum members.

For more information please call 216-593-0575 or visit maltzmusem.org.

Image via Maltz Museum