When film director Steven Spielberg met numerous Holocaust survivors while researching and filming what was probably his most important film, Schindler’s List, he was deeply moved and moved by their statements and stories of suffering. Numerous survivors turned to him and asked if their story could also be made into a film. Encouraged by the international success of this film, he decided to use part of the profits to found a unique foundation: The Shoah Visual History Foundation.

This foundation – financially and logistically supported by numerous sponsors – has set itself the goal of surveying Holocaust survivors worldwide in video interviews. The Shoah Foundation’s emerging archive aims to prepare the interviews according to scientific criteria and make them accessible to future generations.

The film follows the German interviewer Adriana Altaras and her camera team. They give us an insight into their work and explain what motives they have for working on this enormous project. Filming also takes us to the headquarters of the Shoah Foundation in Los Angeles, which – similar to a small, globally networked village – is located in numerous small office containers on the edge of the huge Universal studio lot north of Hollywood. This is where all the global threads of this unique project come together.

Director: Wibke Kämpfer, Michael Schehl
Script: Gunter Hanfgarn
Camera: Michael Schehl
Editing: Michael Schehl
Sound: Oliver Klein
Redaktion: Meinhard Schmidt-Degenhardt, Harald Quist, Susanne Sturm
Produktion: Gunter Hanfgarn
Sender: ORB, HR, MDR