Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center is the first world-wide test site for New Dimensions in Testimony (NDT), an interactive educational experience that will allow future generations to “talk” with Holocaust Survivors about their life and experiences. NDT is being pioneered by USC Shoah Foundation, USC Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) and Conscience Display. Illinois Holocaust Museum will be testing the pilot throughout May and June and will use the learning to inform future recordings of Survivor narratives.

“Illinois Holocaust Museum is committed to providing our Museum visitors and others opportunities to hear directly from Survivors. Currently, we are focused on how we’ll do that for generations to come,” said Museum CEO Susan Abrams. “Our Speakers’ Bureau, among the largest in the world, reached over 80,000 students and adults last year. We are thrilled that initiatives such as New Dimensions in Testimony will help the Museum ensure that stories of Survivors will continue to inspire thousands for generations to come.”

The Museum has begun testing a two dimensional version of New Dimensions in Testimony featuring Pinchas Gutter, a Holocaust Survivor born in Lódz, Poland. Visitors to the Museum can ask Pinchas any question they would like, and “natural language” technology software retrieves an appropriate response, creating an interactive dialogue, as if he was in the room. USC Shoah Foundation and ICT have compiled more than 2,000 answers from Pinchas, covering a vast range of subjects. The Museum pilot will further help the interactive technology adapt to nuances in phrasing and dialect.

“Initial response has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Museum Director of Education Kelley Szany. “Younger audiences in particular, are accustomed to interacting with technology to communicate with people, and accept Pinchas as ‘real.’ It provides a safe environment for kids to ask difficult questions and get answers.”

“New Dimensions in Testimony is about creating a relationship with a Survivor that is relevant for future generations. The experience is not about the technology, it’s about the Survivor interaction, and using technology to provide that interaction in the best way possible,” said Stephen Smith, executive director of USC Shoah Foundation.”

Throughout April and May, school and adult audiences will have the opportunity ask Pinchas questions following a Museum tour and discussion with a local Survivor. The public will have the opportunity to experience question & answer sessions with Pinchas during several Saturdays in May and June: May 2, 9, 16 and 30 and June 6, 13, 20 and 27 from 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 pm.

The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Holocaust by honoring the memories of those who were lost and by teaching universal lessons that combat hatred, prejudice and indifference. The Museum fulfills its mission through the exhibition, preservation and interpretation of its collections and through education programs and initiatives that foster the promotion of human rights and the elimination of genocide. The Museum is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.; Thursday evenings until 8:00 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Learn more at www.illinoisholocaustmuseum.org .