My Voice, the Holocaust testimony project run by Manchester Jewish social care charity The Fed, has been awarded £705,672 in initial funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to preserve the life stories of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution.
The 18-month development grant will support plans to expand the project’s nationally significant collection of personal testimonies, create educational resources for schools and communities, and make the stories accessible to new audiences through films, exhibitions and digital platforms. This project will be called My Voice – a Heritage for All.
The funding will also help My Voice prepare a further application for full National Lottery grant £1,167,982 to support a subsequent two-and-a-half-year programme.
Raphi Bloom, director of My Voice, said “the National Lottery Heritage Fund has been a vital partner in helping us preserve and share some of the most important stories in modern British history.
“As we approach a post-survivor era, this continued support will enable My Voice to continue playing a unique role in Holocaust education and remembrance.”
My Voice records and transcribes the life stories of Holocaust survivors and Jewish refugees who settled in Greater Manchester, the wider North-West and London.
Its approach centres on allowing participants to recount their experiences in their own words, with each testimony developed into a book of an individual life story.
More than 55 books have been published to date, with a further ten in production. The books explore each participant’s entire life, extending beyond the persecution and trauma of the Second World War to encompass childhood, family, rebuilding lives in Britain and the contributions they made to their new communities.
Bloom said the project had developed a distinctive method of preserving testimony that combines historical documentation with a deeply personal approach.
“For over a decade, My Voice has pioneered an approach unlike any other, enabling Holocaust Survivors to tell their life stories authentically, in their own words,” he said.
“In doing so, we have created a nationally significant collection that combines immense historical value with profound human impact.”
The process aims to give survivors control over how their histories are recorded, while recognising their experiences and the lives they built after arriving in Britain, he added.
The new funding will help My Voice record as many remaining untold stories as possible, while developing resources to bring their experiences into classrooms and community settings. The educational programme is intended to encourage empathy, critical thinking, resilience and a deeper understanding of the Holocaust and its continuing relevance.
At a time when first-hand witness testimony is becoming increasingly rare, it will help ensure that these remarkable stories continue to educate, challenge and inspire future generations
“These testimonies have already reached thousands of students, educators and community members, helping people not only to learn about the Holocaust, but to connect personally with those who lived through it,” Bloom said.
“This funding will enable us to record and publish as many remaining untold stories as possible, while creating innovative educational resources, exhibitions and engagement opportunities that bring these voices to new audiences.”
Helen Featherstone, director for England North at the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said the award would build on previous support for My Voice and help ensure that more people could learn about the Holocaust from those who experienced it.
“We are very proud to award initial support to The Fed to progress their plans for My Voice - A Heritage for All,” she said.
“This incredibly important project will ensure the stories of Holocaust survivors and refugees are recorded and safeguarded for future generations, thanks to National Lottery players.”
She added that the project would expand the extensive collection already assembled by The Fed, enabling future generations to learn from first-hand accounts of the atrocities.
My Voice received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in June 2021, the highest national honour awarded to voluntary sector groups. Its work has also attracted recognition from figures and organisations including Andy Burnham, the Wiener Holocaust Library and Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem.
Bloom said the new investment would help ensure that the stories remained relevant long after their tellers are no longer here.
“At a time when first-hand witness testimony is becoming increasingly rare, it will help ensure that these remarkable stories continue to educate, challenge and inspire future generations, while safeguarding a unique and irreplaceable part of Britain’s heritage.”
To learn more about My Voice, click here
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