Archive
The Fortunoff Archive’s collection consists of over 4,400 testimonies of Holocaust survivors, witnesses and liberators. Learn how to search the collection for materials relevant to your research. Includes step by step instructions on how to register in Aviary and access the collection. Search the Archive
Fellowships
The Fortunoff Archive actively encourages supports scholarship with the collection through its fellowship program. The archive offers several fellowships including a two-year fellowship for a postdoctoral scholar, as well as fellowships for doctoral candidates and senior scholars. Learn More
Access Sites
The Fortunoff Archive makes its collection available at dozens of access sites around the globe. Access Sites are generally institutions of higher learning, museums, and memorial sites. There is no cost to become an access site. Locate an Access Site
From the Archive
Podcast
SE02E04: Helen Jonas
Deported to the Plaszów concentration camp, Helen Jonas faced almost certain death. Instead, she was chosen by Amon Göth—the camp’s notorious, brutal commandant—to be his servant. ListenEdited Program
The Last Time I Saw Them
Five Holocaust survivors describe the terror of being separated from their parents in this short documentary that draws on recorded testimonies from the Fortunoff Video Archive, historic images, and family photographs. WatchEdited Program
Event Honoring Lawrence Langer
The Fortunoff Archive hosted an online event honoring the publication Interrogating Evil: A Special Issue of the Journal of Holocaust Research for Lawrence L. Langer. WatchSongs From Testimonies
Episode 1: Walc François
A look at the song "Walc François," from Songs From Testimonies, including a clip of the survivor Peretz H., a performance of the Zisl Slepovitch Ensemble, and analysis by author Krzysztof Czyżewski. WatchPodcast
SE02E03: Annelies Herz
Annelies Herz saw that fellow Jewish forced laborers were disappearing. To survive, she and her twin sister went underground. ListenEdited Program
Frances B. and Sylvia G. excerpt from The Last Time I Saw Them
Frances and Sylvia, sisters born in Velky Berezeny, Czechoslovakia, in 1924 and 1928 respectively were separated from their parents at Auschwitz. WatchPodcast
SE02E02: Isaac Zieman
Isaac Zieman was a passionate young Zionist with plans to make a life in Palestine. ListenEdited Program
Fred M. excerpt from The Last Time I Saw Them
Fred, born in Berlin, Germany, in 1927. He was separated from his parents when he was sent to the Netherlands on a Kindertransport. WatchEdited Program
Anita S. excerpt from The Last Time I Saw Them
Anita, born in Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1930, was separated from her mother at Auschwitz. WatchEdited Program
Heda K. excerpt from The Last Time I Saw Them
Heda, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1919, was separated from her mother at Auschwitz. WatchPodcast
SE02E01: Sally Frishberg
High school teacher Sally Frishberg used her childhood experience of being hidden for two years with her family in a Polish farmer’s attic to create one of the first public high school classes on the history of the Holocaust. ListenSongs from Testimonies
Doina — Badkhen’s Song
Recounted in Jack M.'s testimony (HVT-1555). The composition opens with the doina (a free-time improvisatory piece) ListenSongs from Testimonies
In the Small Village of Smiltschenzi
The song, recounted in Liubov's testimony, conveys the suffering of Jewish mothers separated from their children. ListenDigital Humanities
Citation Database
Database listing testimonies cited by researchers over the last forty years. Search by testimony, author or publication. ExploreEdited Program
Rachel G. Edited Testimony
A child survivor from Brussels, Belgium, relates her wartime experiences. WatchPodcast
S01E10: Sam Kassow
In 1945, Celia Kassow gave birth to her son Sam in a displaced persons camp. 75 years later, Sam reflects on his mother’s life. ListenEdited Program
Baruch G. Edited Testimony
A survivor from Mlawa, Poland, Rabbi G. chronicles the destruction of his closely knit extended family and his experiences in numerous concentration and slave labor camps. WatchDigital Humanities
Let Them Speak
Let Them Speak (LTS) makes searchable circa 2,500 testimony transcripts from three major collections: Fortunoff, USHMM, and USC Shoah Foundation. searchable a joint project by the Fortunoff Archive Learn MorePodcast
SE01E02: Leon Bass
Leon Bass faced racism growing up in Philadelphia, confronted it in the Army, and discovered its “ultimate” endpoint at a German concentration camp called Buchenwald. Listen
News & Events
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Call For Applications: Hartman Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2021-2023
The Fortunoff Video Archive seeks applicants for their fourth Geoffrey H. Hartman Postdoctoral Fellow for the academic years fall 2021 to fall 2023 starting August 1, 2021. The program is designed as a dynamic, multidisciplinary fellowship that will encourage use of the Fortunoff Video Archive as a foundation for scholarly research and production. In addition to pursuing research as described in a detailed research proposal, fellows will be asked to produce a critical edition of a single testimony, or small subset of testimonies, working closely with the Director of the Fortunoff Archive and the archive’s Faculty Advisor. To learn more [...]
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Permission to Publish from the Archive
Permission is required to publish quotations from testimonies in articles, conference papers, and other works. Request PermissionLicensing Requests
Request Information about Licensing
Licensing from the Fortunoff Archive is required to use visual, video or audio excerpts from testimonies in podcasts, films or videos. About LicensingPublication Database