Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation: an introduction to its indexing methodology

Abstract

Under the guidance of leading scholars and historians the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation has videotaped the testimonies of Holocaust survivors worldwide in 29 languages. Using state-of-the-art technology a unique indexing system was created to facilitate access to the place names, personal names, events, experiences and other topics in the nearly 50,000 interviews conducted thus far. As studies in indexing multi-media content move forward, the Foundation hopes to create a research center for advancing indexing in the area of digital asset management. This article provides an introduction to the Foundation's unique indexing methodology which has been developed to enable the delivery of survivors' oral testimonies.