Echoes of Memory provides survivors who volunteer at the Museum with a powerful outlet to share their experiences and memories—through their own writing. In these videos, survivors who participated in the workshop read a selection of their essays.
This program is one way the Museum enables eyewitnesses to the Holocaust to help new generations gain insight and understanding of Holocaust history from a deeply personal perspective.
Maziar Bahari
Born in Iran, Maziar Bahari is a journalist, filmmaker, and human rights activist. He has made two films on the Holocaust: one about the refugees aboard the St. Louis and, most recently, about Iranian diplomat Abdol Hossein Sardari, who saved Jews in occupied France. Bahari was imprisoned by the Iranian government from June to October 2009.
Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi
As a young man at the American University of Beirut in the 1960s, Mohammed Dajani was a student activist and a member of Fatah, fighting for Palestinian liberation. But his hardline views softened after the death of his parents, who were each, in turn, cared for by Israeli doctors and emergency personnel. Dajani has evolved into a voice of moderation, working to end conflict through sharing personal narratives. But it is not easy to be a champion of moderation.
Pinar Dost-Niyego
Turkish scholar Pinar Dost-Niyego faces some hurdles when teaching the Holocaust in Istanbul—including Turkey's own history of antisemitism and anti-minority laws. But Dost-Niyego sees change in her students as they begin to connect with the personal stories of Holocaust victims.