About MOLDAP
Preserving memory.
Across generations.
In 2013, the March of the Living Archive Project was established to gather 25 years of precious survivor testimony recorded on video during March of the Living trips. The material has been digitized, logged, archived, and edited into mini documentaries, which will be viewable online, on demand, to the public. This material will prove to be invaluable to students, historians, and anyone interested in Holocaust education.
The journey behind the archive
The March of the Living
The March of the Living is an annual Holocaust education program where high school students, accompanied by Holocaust survivors, travel to Poland to learn about Jewish life in Europe before, during and after the Second World War. This is a unique experience as students learn about the Holocaust through the testimonies of the survivors, in the towns, concentration camps and death camps where the Holocaust took place.
In Poland, their program includes visits to once-thriving sites of Jewish life and culture as well as sites of Jewish persecution and martyrdom. Then, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, the students march arm in arm with Holocaust survivors from Auschwitz to Birkenau. They are joined by thousands of other people of goodwill – of diverse backgrounds and faiths – as they march side by side in memory of all victims of Nazi genocide and against prejudice, intolerance and hate. After visiting additional historic sites, many students travel to Israel, the birthplace and homeland of the Jewish People.
In Israel, they tour the length and breadth of the land, visiting its ancient and modern sites, and commemorating Israel’s fallen soldiers on Yom Hazikaron and celebrating Israel’s independence on Yom Ha’atsmaut.
The development of MOLDAP
History
The March of the Living Digital Archive Project encompasses three stages:
Pilot Project
The first stage began in 2013 and focused on gathering and editing testimony from Canadian Holocaust Survivors who have participated in the March of the Living since 1988.
Partnership with USC SF: 360 on Location, IWalk & Travelogue
In 2018, a partnership was launched with the USC Shoah Foundation (Stage 2) and the International March of the Living, featuring Holocaust Survivors in 3 unique film formats: 360 On-Location, iWalk & Travelogue.
Holocaust Survivor Vignettes Project
In 2019, the Holocaust Survivor Vignettes Project (Stage 3) was launched, featuring short clips of Holocaust survivor testimony shared with students on location in Poland in recent years.
For more detailed descriptions of each phase of the project, please see below:
Stage 1 (2013)Pilot Project
- Sourcing and gathering all the raw (unedited) video footage shot on the March of the Living, dating back to 1988, from across Canada and other parts of the world.
- Creating a digital archive of all the raw footage. The footage is being labelled, categorized, and backed up to hard drives for future long-term use.
- Logging and categorizing all raw footage into searchable documents. Raw footage will be searchable by year, locations, survivors’ names, age, subject matter, theme, videographer, and March of the Living contingent. For example, Toronto, Coast to Coast or Montreal, or if it was part of another March of the Living program, such as the March of Remembrance and Hope.
- Editing archive footage into short documentary films focusing on individual Holocaust survivors’ stories and experiences.
- Building a website to screen our documentaries. Videos will be tagged and searchable by theme and content.
The 2013 initiative (Stage 1) was made possible through the generous support of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, The Claims Conference (The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany), and Laura& Dennis Bennie. The 2013 project was initiated by Evan Zelikovitz (chair), Eli Rubenstein (Director) and Naomi Wise (Producer).
Stage 2 (2018)Partnership with USC SF: 360 on Location, IWalk & Travelogue
- 360 on Location: Using 360-degree 3D technology, North American March of the Living Holocaust survivor testimonies were filmed on location, in the places where their Holocaust experiences unfolded. This multi-camera technology creates a new, immersive experience for the viewer. Further reading here:
- IWALK is an interactive app utilizing testimonies shot in 360 with March of the Living Holocaust survivors in the very locations where their Holocaust stories transpired. Using GPS technology, students can use the app “on the go” to locate and listen to testimonies from March of the Living Holocaust survivors, filmed at the very locations they are now visiting.
- Travelogue: Survivors spontaneously recall their experiences and retrace their histories and memories in the very places where their stories unfolded during their visit to Poland with students for the March of the Living. The footage taken during the week of the March of the Living in Poland often captures details of stories never shared elsewhere in prior testimony.
We thank Dr. Stephen D. Smith, Karen Jungblut, Ryan Fenton, the late Kia Hayes, and Frieda Kahn from USC SF. Their efforts were instrumental when starting the project. This partnership was overseen by Cate Wilson, Director of Programs at USC SF, and Eli Rubenstein, Director of Education at the International March of the Living. Further reading at USC SF: https://sfi.usc.edu/testimony-location
Stage 3 (2019)Holocaust Survivor Vignettes Project
Launched in 2019, the March of the Living Holocaust Survivor Vignettes Project features short 2-5 minute clips of moving Holocaust survivor testimony, shared with students on-site in Poland during the March of the Living. The project was initiated in 2019 by Toronto March of the Living chair Tammy Glied and Canadian-Israeli filmmaker Igal Hecht, who has documented numerous Toronto March of the Living journeys over the last 15 years. The material includes footage filmed and edited by Igal Hecht and Toronto filmmaker Naomi Wise, who has been documenting March of the Living programs since 1998. This is an ongoing project, with new videos being edited and added each year with Colin White, using archival materials from previous March of the Living trips.
Eli Rubenstein, Director of Education, International March of the Living, continues to oversee the project.
The people behind the archive
Production Team
2013Stage 1The archive project
Evan Zelikovitz, Chair, MOL Archive project
Evan is president of a public affairs and crisis communications consultancy, as well as Senior Counselor and Canadian representative for APCO Worldwide, an international public affairs consulting company headquartered in Washington, D.C. Evan was a chaperon for the Ottawa March of the Living contingent in 2012 before being asked to Chair the MOL Digital Archive project.
Naomi Wise, Producer, MOL Archive project
Naomi is an award-winning television and video producer, director and cinematographer with over 25 years of experience working in documentary, television and video for non-profit organizations. Wise first participated in the March of the Living as a videographer in 1996 and has since produced videos for the organization and documented Holocaust testimonies on the program.
contact: naomiwise@sympatico.ca
Eli Rubenstein, National Director, March of the Living Canada, Director of Education, International March of the Living, and MOL Digital Archive Project.
contact: elir@bell.net
2018Stage 2The USC SF partnership
Partnership with USC SF: 360 On-Location, iWALK & Travelogue
Cate Wilson, cathermw@usc.edu
March of the Living
Eli Rubenstein, eli@motl.org
Naomi Wise, naomwise@gmail.com
Colin S. White, Media/Web bevvybrands@gmail.com
2019Stage 3The Vignette Project
March of the Living Holocaust Survivor Vignette Project
Tammy Glied – Chair
Eli Rubenstein – Project Director, eli@motl.org
Igal Hecht – Producer, igalhecht@gmail.com
Naomi Wise, naomwise@gmail.com
Colin S. White, Media/Web Design bevvybrands@gmail.com
Select a project stage to view its production team and contact details.
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