The Claims Conference, in partnership with the Austrian government, is proud to unveil “Benno’s Light,” an immersive mixed-reality experience that allows users to explore Holocaust survivor Benno Kern’s family history through VR headsets, computers or handheld devices. The project represents the latest achievement from the Claims Conference in our quest to expand access to Holocaust education by engaging younger generations through innovative technology. Today’s launch of “Benno’s Light” – a VR project integrating real-life footage, photographs and audio from the period spanning the Anschluss to Auschwitz into the hand-drawn world of Mr. Kern’s story of survival and loss – at the University of Vienna carries profound historical significance. Following the destruction of Vienna’s medieval synagogue and the murder and expulsion of Jews in 1421, stones from the synagogue were incorporated into some of the earliest buildings that would become part of the University of Vienna. More than 500 years later, the university serves as a place to confront that history, transforming a site once linked to the erasure of Jewish life into a space dedicated to remembrance, education and the preservation of Holocaust survivor testimony for future generations. The immersive technology company makemepulse created the artwork for “Benno’s Light,” which will be exhibited in museums and film festivals alongside educational materials currently under development. The experience can be accessed here: bennos-light.org #RememberThis #HolocaustEducation #NeverForget

“My mother lived to 101, father to 96, I have 4 grandchildren and two sons, which shows the continuity of Jewish life no matter what.” — Rosian Zerner Born in Kaunas, Lithuania, Rosian survived the Holocaust after being smuggled out of the Kaunas Ghetto and hidden with Christian families. Today, she shares her story to preserve Holocaust memory and honor the resilience of Jewish life. Request a Survivor Speakers Bureau speaker: claimscon.org/speakers/ #VanishingWitnesses #HolocaustEducation #SurvivorSpeakersBureau

Congratulations to director Ora DeKornfeld (@oradekornfeld), the winner of the Best Short Documentary at the Mountain Film Festival, making her film “The Grandfather Puzzle” Oscar-qualifying. Ora was the Claims Conference’s 2024 Emerging Filmmaker contest winner. “The Grandfather Puzzle” can be seen next at DC/DOX on Saturday, Jun 13 in Washington, DC.

“You may not cry; you may not laugh; you may not talk. You have to be absolutely quiet.” As a child, Holocaust survivor Aviva Goldschmidt knew the slightest sound could lead to her family’s discovery and death. The warnings bestowed upon her by her mother to remain silent left an impact on Aviva; she could only whisper long after the war ended. However, they also saved her life. Born in 1938 in Boryslav to Mendel and Pinia Tuch, Aviva had two older siblings, Cilla and Josef, and the family enjoyed a comfortable life. Her sheltered childhood came to an end with the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. Her father was deported for slave labor; never to be seen again. It was later learned he had been shot. Cilla fled eastward into the Soviet Union. Aviva and Josef, together with their mother, were brought to the Boryslav slave labor camp, from which they managed to escape. Until liberation, they lived in hiding in various places in and around Boryslav. During the last days of the occupation, Aviva’s brother Josef met the same fate as his father and was shot to death by German soldiers at age 20. Aviva’s was the 70th video message posted by the Claims Conference in our quest that Holocaust denial be removed from Facebook. The #NoDenyingIt campaign ended on the 76th day with Facebook vowing to take down denial. We will remember Aviva Goldschmidt and her family and are grateful for her participation in our Holocaust education campaigns and celebrations of Holocaust survivors and commemorations of its victims. #RememberThis #HolocaustEducation

Mit großer Trauer nehmen wir Abschied von AVIVA GOLDSCHMIDT זייל. Als Kind in Boryslav überlebte sie die Shoah dank des Mutes, der Stärke und der Fürsorge ihrer Mutter. „Ihre Wärme fühle ich noch heute“. Die Erfahrungen dieser Zeit prägten ihr Leben tief. Trotz der erlittenen Verluste bewahrte sie sich ihre Menschlichkeit, ihre Zuversicht und ihren Lebenswillen. Als Zeitzeugin setzte sie sich über viele Jahre dafür ein, ihre Erinnerungen mit nachfolgenden Generationen zu teilen. Mit ihren Berichten hielt sie die Erinnerung an die Opfer der Shoah wach und leistete einen wichtigen Beitrag gegen das Vergessen. Israel lag ihr besonders am Herzen. Sie fühlte sich dem jüdischen Staat eng verbunden und verfolgte dessen Geschicke mit großer Anteilnahme. Ihre Töchter und Enkelkinder bedeuteten ihr unendlich viel und erfüllten sie mit Freude, Stolz und Liebe. Ein besonderes Vermächtnis hinterlässt sie den jungen Menschen. Immer wieder betonte sie, wie wichtig es sei, sensibel für Ungerechtigkeit zu sein und nicht wegzusehen. Man müsse Haltung zeigen und den Mut haben, sofort zu sagen: „Das lasse ich nicht zu.“ Diese Botschaft war ihr eine Herzensangelegenheit und bleibt uns Auftrag und Verpflichtung. Wir verlieren mit ihr eine wertvolle Stimme der Erinnerung, deren Worte und Haltung weiterwirken werden. Möge ihr Andenken ein Segen sein. zdf.de/video/interviews/terr… claimscon.de/wo-wir-helfen/w…

This April, the Claims Conference hosted its first-ever global film series, themed “Strength of Courage.” Every film shown during the series received support from the Claims Conference and illuminated stories of bravery, survival, resistance and rebuilding during and after the Holocaust. From April 13 to April 20, a total of 15 screenings were held in Frankfurt and Berlin, Germany, as well as across all five boroughs of New York City. In this short video, Jennifer Skarbnik, the director of the film SEE YOU SOON, an animated short film inspired by true events, answers a question from panel moderator Andrew Silow-Carroll, the managing editor of the JTA: "Why did you have to tell this story?" Learn more about SEE YOU SOON and other Claims Conference-supported films at films@claimscon.org. Photos in this video are courtesy of Jennifer Skarbnik. The Claims Conference has supported more than 230 Holocaust-related films as part of our ongoing commitment to Holocaust research, education and documentation. Films supported by the Claims Conference have premiered at top festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the Berlinale and the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. They have also screened or been made available for streaming in countries around the world, including Singapore, Brazil, South Korea, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Thailand and Argentina. #RememberThis #StrengthOfCourage #FilmGrants

“One day the Gestapo came into our apartment and took my grandparent to Vel’ d’Hiv’, from where the Jews were taken to Auschwitz.” — Anouchka Day-Sullman Born in occupied Paris, Anouchka survived the Holocaust as an infant while her family fled persecution in France. Today, she shares her story through the Survivor Speakers Bureau. Request a speaker: claimscon.org/speakers/ #VanishingWitnesses #HolocaustEducation #SurvivorSpeakersBureau

“Benno’s Light was never about using technology for spectacle. The challenge was finding a way to preserve the intimacy and humanity of Benno’s testimony while creating a format capable of reaching new generations. "What moved us most during the process was realizing that Benno’s memories were shaped less by places and more by the people who helped him survive. That insight fundamentally changed the experience we designed. "We shifted away from historical reconstruction alone and focused instead on emotional proximity, presence and human connection. Immersive technology gave us the opportunity to transform testimony into something audiences could feel around them rather than simply observe from a distance” - Nicolas Rajabaly, Co-Founder, Chief Creative Officer, @makemepulse. #HolocaustEducation

A moving moment at the BPJCC Community Center: Holocaust survivors are gathered now for a special art therapy program centered on healing and connection. We are honored to partner with Project Witness and deeply grateful to Mrs. Ruth Lichtenstein for helping make it possible.

“In 1943 we woke up to the fact that German army occupied Tunisia, and made life for Jews there very difficult.” — Gilbert Uzan, 86 Born in Tunis in 1939, Gilbert survived the German occupation of Tunisia and now shares his story through the Survivor Speakers Bureau. Request a speaker for your institution and hear history firsthand: claimscon.org/speakers/ #VanishingWitnesses #HolocaustEducation #SurvivorSpeakersBureau

Congratulations to former Claims Conference Kagan Fellow Amber Nickell on receiving the 2025 Ernst Fraenkel Prize from The Wiener Holocaust Library (@wienerlibrary) for her upcoming book! wienerholocaustlibrary.org/w…

“We need to keep sharing these stories and hope to make it a better world for all of us.” — Celia Kener Chag Sameach. As of May 2026, 356 Holocaust survivors are active speakers in the Survivor Speakers Bureau, reaching 5,200 students and 150,000 viewers worldwide. Request a survivor speaker for your school or institution: claimscon.org/speakers/ #VanishingWitnesses #HolocaustEducation #SurvivorSpeakersBureau

Today, Acting President Adrian Cohen and Past President Marie van der Zyl, in their capacity as Trustees of the Claims Conference, alongside Public Affairs Manager David Robinson met with Austrian Ambassador Bernhard Wrabetz and Political Counsellor Sandra Kowald to discuss the ongoing partnership on Holocaust restitution, education and keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive.

“Confronting goodness may be more painfully challenging than confronting evil. It is one thing to study and condemn the sadistic behavior of a Klaus Barbie but quite another to study and acknowledge the rescue behavior of a John Weidner. The latter presents us with a hard mirror. Would I rescue a pregnant woman, a hungry or homeless child, an aged, frightened couple – provide them with food and shelter, dispose of their refuse, and care for them in their sickness – knowing that doing so might bring disaster upon my family from Nazi pursuers and their informers? The rescuer’s goodness shakes the foundations of my claims to virtue. The behavior of flesh-and-blood rescuers compels me to think long and hard about my own goodness and to imaginatively rehearse my choices in analogous situations” – Rabbi Harold Schulweis speaking at John Weidner’s funeral in 1994. From his Los Angeles Times obituary: The pacifist son of a Seventh-day Adventist minister, Johan Weidner was a leader of the Dutch-Paris underground, which operated escape routes from war-torn Holland, Belgium and France into Switzerland. Named a Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, he was decorated by many nations for rescuing more than 1,000 Jews and Allied airmen from the Nazis during World War II. Johan Weidner was 81 when he passed away. During the war, he was captured repeatedly, interrogated by Klaus Barbie and tortured by the Gestapo and France’s Milice secret police. But he always escaped, jumping off trains, swimming the Rhine under Nazi fire, and once diving out a third-floor prison window before his scheduled execution. “During my father’s lifetime,” Johan said in a speech honoring Holocaust victims in 1989, “he taught me, my family, his parishioners and the community that the most important quality in a human being was to love, respect and treat our fellow man as we wished to be loved, respected and treated. “I was a witness to the barbaric treatment of the Jews by the Nazis,” he said. “I was determined to heed the teachings and example of my father and I did everything that I could to save as many lives as possible.” #DontBeABystander #RememberThis #JohanWeidner

RT @Kennedy_HRC: .@YoavPotash, Anita Friedman, and Headfirst Arts & Media are the 2026 RFK Book & Journalism Awards International Televisio…