Yeshiva University announces: For the first time, educational-project documentaries have been accepted into the archives of Israel’s National Library.
All of the documentary films made by Yeshiva University High School students over the past three years as part of the “Names, Not Numbers” Holocaust oral history film project have been accepted into the archives of the Jewish National and University Library of Israel at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The student-made films are the first educational project ever to be accepted by the library.
A total of 13 DVDs featuring interviews with 110 Holocaust survivors and World War II veterans who took part in the liberation of the concentration camps are now catalogued in the library's Holocaust section. They were produced largely by the two YU High Schools, with the help of students from other Jewish high schools in Baltimore, Riverdale, Harrisburg, Houston, Memphis, and Toronto.
It was announced that the U.S. Library of Congress is now also considering the films for its own archives.
'The greatest compliment'
Tova Fish-Rosenberg, creator of the film project and Director of Hebrew Language Studies at both Yeshiva University High Schools, said: "Over the last few years, 'Names, Not Numbers' has received accolades in the press and the highest praise from prominent Jewish leaders and educators - but this form of academic recognition is by far the greatest compliment the project can receive. It also serves as a tribute to the dedicated students behind the films and as a reminder of our responsibility to spread the truth and keep these stories alive at a time when Holocaust denial seems to be increasing."
The Yeshiva University High School students involved in this year's project are scheduled to conclude the interviewing/filming process by the end of this week, and will spend the next month editing the raw footage into feature-length documentary films.
The goal of the project is to preserve oral histories of the Holocaust era, and is carried out in the following manner: After extensive research, each group of students conducts and videotapes a one-hour interview with a survivor or veteran. The interviews touch on the individual's life before the war, as well as his/her experiences during and immediately following the Holocaust. The footage is then edited down to a 15-minute segment that is included in the "Names, Not Numbers" documentary film for that year.
In addition to the student-created documentary, a mini-documentary entitled "Names, Not Numbers: A Movie in the Making" is produced each year by the film director to chronicle the entire filmmaking process. The National Library has catalogued these "making of" films as well.