Survivors: Testimonies of the Holocaust

The two CD-ROM program is constructed so that users can access information in a variety of ways: go directly to the survivors' stories, broken into chapters by year (from 1939 to 1945); examine an interactive map of Europe to learn how individual countries were involved in and affected by the war during each year; scroll through a timeline of key events in the evolution of the war and its aftermath; peruse an index containing definitions and/or descriptions of significant people, places, and events; or connect to a related Web site that explores issues of individual and nationality identity to examine just how the Holocaust could have happened.

Sprinkled throughout the CD-ROMs are black-and-white photos illustrating important people, events, and ideas, plus important and sometimes little-known facts about all aspects of the Holocaust. For example, we learn that the Germans made an average of $745 from each prisoner at Auschwitz through their confiscated belongings and labor, and that the SS formed an orchestra of Auschwitz prisoners to serenade their fellow Jews en route to the gas chambers. These seemingly small details tell a thousand stories, opening up the years of World War II to reveal a time of unspeakable inhumanity and injustice.

Produced by Steven Spielberg and the Shoah Visual History Foundation, and narrated by Winona Ryder and Leonardo DiCaprio, Survivors has a most impressive pedigree. Fortunately, the depth and presentation of the material it contains lives up to the high standards implied by those affiliated with it: the emotional impact of seeing and hearing Holocaust survivors describe what it was like to see their families die around them--how they were able to resume "normal" life after experiencing such atrocities--leaves an indelible impression on those who experience it. Technically, the interface is virtually seamless, as is switching between the two CD-ROMs that comprise the program. And navigation of the information is quite intuitive, making the program ideal for younger (i.e., middle-school-age) students or those without much computer experience.

To describe this as an important program would be an incredible understatement; this should be required viewing for all students of history--for all people--if for no other reason than to prevent such a dark moment in modern life from being forgotten. Only by remembering, through such programs as Survivors, do we honor those whose lives were lost. --Leah Ball