Contributions and Reflections on an Original Methodology: Collecting the Testimonies of Children, Eyewitnesses to Massacres During the Holocaust

For over 20 years, Yahad – In Unum has developed a distinctive methodology for gathering eyewitness accounts of the mass shootings of Jews carried out in Eastern Europe during the Holocaust. This work has resulted in an extraordinary archive of 8,183 testimonies collected from 3,373 massacre sites, many located in regions historically overlooked by researchers. A defining feature of this methodology is its focus on individuals who were children at the time of the events. The interviews take place in the witnesses’ childhood towns and villages, allowing the testimonies to be grounded in their original geographic and historical context. These non-Jewish witnesses offer a singular perspective on the genocide – one enriched with details to which they were especially attuned at the time, resulting in raw and authentic testimony. Despite their invaluable contribution, these testimonies raise important historical and sociological questions. They compel us to consider how such sources should be interpreted, particularly considering the witnesses’ young age at the time, the influence of collective memory, and evolving social dynamics. This contribution aims to reflect on the methodology of interviewing individuals, children during the Holocaust, and explore the opportunities and challenges inherent in using their testimonies as historical sources.