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Education

Since 2008, the Digital Interview Collections have been developing educational programs and materials featuring video interviews with eyewitnesses. We draw on many years of experience, including internationally recognised expertise, in digitally supported teaching and learning using oral history sources on National Socialism and the Holocaust. Our focus lies in the didactic and technological design and implementation of digital learning environments featuring eyewitness interviews.
Are you interested in using interviews in (non-)formal education? We would be happy to assist you.

Contact: Dorothee Wein, lernen-mit-interviews@ub.fu-berlin.de

Forced Labor 1939-1945. Learning with Testimonies

Online learning applications for Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Poland

“Learning Through Interviews” is a skills-based educational program designed for young people aged 14 and above. The online application supports inquiry-based learning in both regular classroom settings and project-based formats, including project days and presentation assessments.


The online application “Learning Through Interviews: Forced Labor 1939–1945” centers on the life histories of former forced laborers. Through a series of short films, seven individuals from diverse victim groups recount their experiences in camps and factories, reflect on interactions with German perpetrators and bystanders, and discuss the lasting impact on their postwar lives.

The 25-minute biographical short films are based on video interviews from the online archive “Forced Labor 1939–1945”; two background films provide information on forced labor and compensation, as well as oral history. Suggested activities, transcripts and translations, informational texts and methodological tips, a timeline and glossary, documents, and maps help students understand and contextualize the eyewitness accounts.

Witnesses of the Shoah. Learning with Testimonies

Educational platform

The online application “Witnesses of the Shoah: Learning with Testimonies” enables the use of video interviews documenting the life stories of Shoah survivors in classrooms across diverse educational settings. Suggested activities, transcripts, teaching tips, a timeline, a glossary, and maps help students understand and contextualize these personal accounts.
Inquiry-based learning with the application fosters historical empathy, media literacy, and an active remembrance of the Shoah and its aftermath. At the core are 30-minute biographical films with Shoah survivors. The conversations were recorded at different times in a variety of oral history projects.

Learning Platform "Memories of the Occupation in Greece"

The learning platform "Memories of the Occupation in Greece" explores the German occupation of Greece during World War II. It does so through the thematic focus areas of "Childhood," "Daily Life," "Resistance," "War Crimes," "The Holocaust," and "Concentration Camps."
Eleven Greek eyewitnesses share their stories and experiences. Some are survivors of German concentration camps or were active in the resistance, while others lost their families in massacres targeting the civilian population or experienced daily life under occupation as children.

Suggested activities, transcripts, methodological tips, a timeline, a glossary, and maps help users understand and contextualize the testimonies. A background film produced by director Chrysanthos Konstantinidis introduces the topic.

The educational platform is available in two versions, one tailored to the German education system and the other to the Greek system. The interview excerpts on the platform are based on interviews from the online archive, "Memories of the Occupation in Greece."

Remembering Westerbork. Learning with Testimonies

Online learning platforms for the Dutch Westerbork Memorial in English, Dutch, and German

In collaboration with the Dutch Westerbork Concentration Camp Memorial, the Digital Interview Collections team has developed a multilingual educational program. The online application “Remembering Westerbork: Learning with Interviews” are the life stories of two survivors of the Nazi Westerbork transit camp for Jews. The learning application was developed as part of the project “Accessing Campscapes: Inclusive Strategies for Using European Conflicted Heritage.”

The short biographical films, each lasting just under 30 minutes, are based on video interviews from the online archive “Forced Labor 1939–1945” and the memorial site’s archive. The source-critical, skills-oriented online learning platform, available in English, Dutch, and German, assists with preparing for and following up on a visit to the memorial site.

Voices of the Victims at the Perpetrators' Site

Educational programme featuring video testimonies at the Topography of Terror

In cooperation with the “Topography of Terror” Foundation, five seminars have been designed that use video interviews recounting personal life stories from the “Visual History Archive of the USC Shoah Foundation” and the online archive “Forced Labour 1939–1945”  as key sources. The seminars take place in the rooms of the Topography of Terror Foundation’s Documentation Centre and incorporate elements of the exhibition there.

Witnesses of the Shoah. Fleeing - Surviving - Resisting - Living On

DVD Edition and Teacher's Guide

This edition contains twelve 30-minute biographical films based on testimonies from the USC Shoah Foundation’s collection. In these films, survivors of Nazi persecution recount their experiences of fleeing, surviving, resisting, and carrying on with their lives. The interviewees are Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, Sinti and Roma, homosexuals, individuals persecuted for political reasons, victims of eugenic policies, rescuers, and helpers.

The DVD edition is intended for use in history and German language classes. In addition to the biographical films, it includes assignments, an integrated editor, transcripts, translations, photographs, texts, films, audio recordings, facsimiles, animated maps, a glossary, a media library, and teaching tips.

The DVD edition was jointly published by Freie Universität Berlin and the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) and is available through the bpb.

Forced Labor 1939-1945. Eyewitness Interviews in the Classroom

Video DVD, educational software, teacher’s guide

The German language educational materials “Eyewitness Interviews in the Classroom” focus on the life stories of former forced laborers. The materials include
(1.) A video DVD (for classroom screening) containing five short biographical films and two background films.

(2.) An educational software DVD (for project work in the computer lab or individual exam preparation). In addition to the seven films, it also includes interactive exercises and animated maps, a timeline and glossary, transcripts, documents and photos, informational texts, and methodological tips.

(3.) A teacher’s guide for preparation, featuring informational texts, suggested exercises, and worksheets.

The educational materials “Eyewitness Interviews in the Classroom” support competency-based learning and can be ordered through the Federal Agency for Civic Education.

History and Oral History - Jewish Life in Berlin

In cooperation with the Institute for Jewish Studies, the “History and Oral History: Jewish Life in Berlin” project was carried out in 2010 with funding from the Leo Baeck Program. The project aimed to provide students with an understanding of Jewish life in Germany before the Holocaust.

As part of the project, a thematic booklet and a DVD featuring interviews from the Visual History Archive were developed.The German-language materials are aimed at teachers and students in upper secondary education.Jewish life in Berlin before the Holocaust is explored through three themes: "Jewish Sports Life in Berlin," "Hanukkah and Weihnukka," and "Bar/Bat Mitzvah and Jewish Confirmation for Boys and Girls." In addition to other sources, video testimonies from the Visual History Archive are used.

The 112-page workbook contains an introductory text for each topic. Dr. Klaus Hermann wrote the texts on "Hanukkah and Weihnukka" and "Bar/Bat Mitzvah and Jewish Confirmation for Boys and Girls." Professor Hans Joachim Teichler of the University of Potsdam wrote the text on "Jewish Sports Life in Berlin." Additionally, the workbook includes an introduction by Verena Nägel on the academic and educational use of oral history sources, as well as recommendations from Dr. Bill Rebiger for student field trips to the Jewish Berlin.

A DVD contains selected excerpts from interviews conducted by the USC Shoah Foundation. The materials are suitable both for teachers to use in lesson planning and for students to use for their presentation‑based final exam.

The materials are free of charge and can be ordered by email.