The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) on Tuesday announced the launch of a new digital campaign, Our Holocaust Story: A Pledge to Remember. The campaign features Holocaust survivors from across the United States and around the world with their second and third generation family members. The campaign illustrates the importance of passing on the stories of the Holocaust so future generations can learn from past atrocities.

Gideon Taylor, President of the Claims Conference, said, “Each survivor has a poignant and unique story to tell of survival. By passing these stories on within their family, they make certain their story continues and the lessons of the Holocaust are not forgotten. Collectively, these stories tell the history of the Shoah, a history we must preserve and share. Only then can we truly say, “never again.””

Our Holocaust Story features short videos of Holocaust survivors and family members sharing personal testimonies of persecution and survival. In closing, family members make a pledge to remember, ensuring these stories continue. The campaign demonstrates the importance of passing on survivor testimonies. Many survivors do not have children and even for those who do, the awesome weight of carrying this testimony can be and should be shared. This campaign reaches beyond survivors and their families – this serves as a moment in time when each of us can take on the extraordinary responsibility of keeping individual stories alive and guaranteeing future generations learn about and understand the lessons of the Holocaust.

Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, said, “When we see a Holocaust survivor with their family members, it sends a powerful message – they didn”t just survive the Holocaust, they went on to live, to build a family, a family that would not exist if they had not survived. Each survivor has a profound impact on the world, and it is our responsibility to carry forward the torch of their testimony. We should all make a pledge to remember.”

Over 100 Holocaust survivors and their families are participating in the campaign, all of whom will be featured in posts across the Claims Conference”s social media platforms every week throughout the year. Survivor stories will be shared on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, using the hashtag #OurHolocaustStory. The Claims Conference will permanently house all videos and additional content on the campaign website, www.PledgetoRemember.org.

Jehuda, George and Robert Lindenblatt, three Holocaust survivor brothers from Hungary all living in New York, came together with their families to create a video for the campaign. In their video, Jehuda talks of his responsibility to share the story and also the difficulty in telling it, saying, “I survived the Holocaust and I have to tell the story again and again&hellipI was so hungry. If you never experienced hunger, you cannot explain to anyone what it is.”

Ernie Friedlander, a Holocaust survivor born in Austria, currently living in Australia, shared his story with his son David Friedlander, saying, “&hellipif not for one decent human being who cared, I probably wouldn”t be alive today.” Ernie concluded with, “Unfortunately, the rest of my family didn”t survive, including my father.”

Assia Gorban, a Holocaust survivor in Germany, created a video for the campaign with her granddaughter, Ruth Gorban, who said to her grandmother during the recording, “I promise you that I will tell your story as well as possible so that it lives on with all of you.”

Sonia Klein, a Holocaust survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto and Auschwitz in Poland, recorded a video with her son, Alan Klein, and her grandson, Jordan Mello-Klein. Of his grandmother”s story, Jordan said, [they] “tried to dehumanize her and just minimize her to a number. But I tried to take that back it”s way more than a number, she”s way more than a number.”

Shraga Milstein, a Holocaust survivor from Poland living in Israel, shared his story, saying, “In 1943, the ghetto was closed in Piotrkow, my hometown, and we were transferred to the Buchenwald camp. In 1945 when I was liberated from the Bergen-Belsen camp I was 12 years old. My parents had perished.”