Miriam Cohen, one of those behind the "Victory of the Spirit" project, spoke with Israel National New - Arutz Sheva about the virtual tour of Auschwitz.
In the interview, Cohen said that she had been introduced to VR technology four years ago, during a different project, and decided to pair it with a tour of Auschwitz, "to bring the journey to those who could not travel or who preferred not to go there."
"We wanted to go with our truth, and this way is what's closest to the real thing."
Cohen added that the idea stemmed from her own frustration at not being able to take the high school trip to Poland and Auschwitz.
"It started from a very great lack that I personally had, and my partners also. At age 17 I was a young girl who grew up in a town where all of the secular and religious youth went on trips to Poland, and I as a haredi did not go. It felt very unfair to me, that we didn't have that. Since then, I have had this hole in my heart."
The fact that they were able to film in Auschwitz at all, Cohen said, was a "miracle."
At the time, Auschwitz had been closed for over a year, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"They opened up the camp to film over there," she explained. "It was closed, and no one could open it for us - not Yad Vashem, not Ganzach Kiddush Hashem, no one."
Cohen managed to reach the director of Auschwitz, who said that there is no permission to film VR in Auschwitz, but asked for a brief. "Two days later, I received a phone call from her, and she said that now they are holding an important meeting about our project."
"Later, she called and said, 'I fought with my teeth. From next Monday, the museum is open just for you, for three days.'"
"Already when we were there, during the filming, we felt that this is so powerful, we can't keep it just for the haredi audience. Just like it wasn't fair that they didn't take me there, we must not leave this as something for only a specific sector. So, we bring this initiative to everyone, to all sectors and all types."