Karen Pollock, chief executive of HET, said that while nothing could replace A Holocaust survivor “standing in front of a captivated class of school children whilst they share their story”, 80 years after the liberation of the death and concentration camps, we were at “a critical juncture, a crucial juncture where living history will soon be just history”.
The Testimony 360 project, which is sponsored by The Eyal & Marilyn Ofer Family Foundation “will help to ensure that the legacy of these precious eyewitnesses lives on beyond their lifetimes”, she said.
Karen Pollock of HET[Missing Credit]
The interactive survivor testimony, which has been likened to “a talking portrait”, can answer up to 1,000 different questions posed by students.
AI understands the pupil’s question and then the virtual version of the survivor responds with their actual, recorded answer to the question. The technology means that the user feels like they are having a smooth and natural conversation.
After speaking” to the survivor, students then use virtual reality headsets to explore key sites connected to the survivor’s story, such as where they lived before the war, where they were deported to, and the concentration camps or ghetto where they were imprisoned.
Manfred Goldberg BEM, 94, is the first survivor to feature in Testimony 360 for UK pupils. During the Holocaust, Manfred, who was nine when war broke out, his mother, and his younger brother were deported from Germany to the Riga Ghetto in Latvia, from which the Nazis regularly selected inmates for mass shootings.
He was subsequently sent to a slave labour camp, where his brother was murdered and then, in August 1944, to Stutthof concentration camp, where he spent more than eight months as a slave worker. Manfred and other prisoners were sent on a death march before finally being liberated at Neustadt in Germany on May 3, 1945. In 1946, Manfred came to the UK, where he lives today.
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Manfred Goldberg with his virtual testimony, created using AI (Photo: HET)Holocaust Educational Trust
He, alongside Holocaust survivors, Susan Pollack OBE, Hannah Lewis MBE and John Dobai, spent five days being filmed within a green screen rig, from multiple angles at once using special volumetric capture cameras. This gives the impression of “depth” and 3D, even when shown on a flat screen television.
Each of them answered over 1,000 questions to ensure their virtual self could answer almost any question a student may pose about their experience of the Holocaust.
Commenting on Testimony 360, Manfred said: “This technology is simply remarkable - it feels close to magic. Never during those dark days of the Holocaust did I ever imagine that one day I would see myself, and my story, immortalised in this way. I have spoken to thousands of pupils over the years - perhaps now I will make it millions. If this is my legacy, it will be a truly remarkable one.”
Mr Richard Price, a history teacher at Sacred Heart Catholic School, where the project was launched in June 2024, said that while they had been fortunate to have had Holocaust survivors visit the school, Testimony 360 would “ensure that future generations of school children will get the opportunity to do the same, even when survivors are sadly no longer with us. Combined with the virtual reality aspect, it allows pupils to connect with the people and places of the Holocaust like never before.”
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Students at Sacred Heart Catholic School with Manfred Goldberg BEM, infront of Manfred's virtual testimony (Photo: HET)Holocaust Educational Trust
The winners of ten categories, as well as the Daniel Phelan Award for Outstanding Achievement, will be announced in a ceremony on July 3 at an event hosted by BBC news presenter Asad Ahmad, who will be joined by a host of celebrities, representatives of the shortlisted charities, as well as some of the leaders from Britain’s best-known charities.
There are three shortlisted charities in each category. HET, which is in the Education and training category, has been shortlisted alongside organisations Get Further and St John’s Hospice North Lancashire and South Lakes.
All 30 shortlisted charities this year have been judged by an independent panel of sector leaders as having demonstrated best practice in leadership and management, from which other organisations can learn.
Students at Sacred Heart Catholic School participating in a Testimony 360 lesson (Photo: HET)Holocaust Educational Trust
Pollock, whose HET Testimony 360 Project was created in partnership with the USC Shoah Foundation, which developed the interactive survivor biography technology, said: “We are very grateful to have been shortlisted for the Charity Awards – this is welcome recognition of the importance of learning about the Holocaust and the vital role of testimony in Holocaust education, helping to ensure the lessons of the past are never forgotten.”
Matthew Nolan, chief executive of Civil Society Media which organises the Charity Awards, partnered with CCLA, said: “For a quarter of a century now, the Charity Awards has been showcasing and celebrating the terrific work of UK charities large and small. At a time when the sector is struggling with higher costs, shrinking donations and ever-increasing demand for its work, it is reassuring and inspiring to see the extent and quality of charitable activity that is still going on across the country.”
