Technology Meets Testimony [TMT] – An international and interdisciplinary research network investigating the future of Holocaust survivor testimonies

在处理大屠杀和纳粹罪行的问题时，幸存者发挥着重要的作用，尽管并非毫无疑问。随着最后一批幸存者的去世，他们讲述和讨论自己生活故事的阶段将在可预见的未来结束。多年来，科学界和公众一直在讨论谁将代替证人作证的问题。由于技术的进步，数字3-D证词的发展——以（立体或多立体）3-D方式记录并配备互动组件的生存故事——正越来越多地被考虑。在录音过程中，幸存者通常会回答1000到2000个问题。在语音识别和语言处理程序的支持下，这些问题及其相应的回答将被处理，如果数字3-D证词的用户的问题与预先录制的问题相匹配，他们就会收到幸存者存储的答案。这些形式的证词可以在美国（斯科基）、英国（拉克斯顿）和德国（柏林、慕尼黑）进行探索。到目前为止，人们对这种技术驱动的证词如何影响博物馆和纪念场所的学生或游客知之甚少。国际和跨学科网络提出的结果是获得经验证明和比较的见解，对数字3D证词的有效性。由于全世界只有少数研究人员从事这一课题，因此美国、英国和德国团队之间的密切合作是非常可取的。在四个讲习班期间，将在网络汇集的各个学科的背景下制定定量和定性工具并进行批判性讨论。这些仪器将用于准备和在学校、博物馆和纪念地点进行调查。通过这种方式，将开发出一套不同的方法，以便与与大屠杀幸存者的模拟对话相比，能够可靠地陈述数字3D证词的教育价值。此外，还必须得出结论，以便讲授大屠杀和纳粹罪行。就数字和历史话语而言，关于可视化和交互的技术和证词相互作用的理论见解是值得期待的。研究网络的结果将与以下主题捆绑在出版物中：(1)经验工具及其影响，(2)不同背景下关于大屠杀的教学和学习的后果，(3)与数字3D证词互动的理论框架。研究结果将在跨学科会议上进行讨论。此外，这些见解将被整合到美国、英国和德国的大学教学中。

Survivors play an important – albeit not unquestioned – role when dealing with the topics of the Holocaust and Nazi crimes. With the passing of the last survivors, the phase of them recounting and discussing their own life stories will come to an end in the foreseeable future. For some years now, the question of who then will testify in the witnesses’ place has been discussed in both the scientific community and the general public. Due to technological advancements, the development of digital 3-D testimonies – survival stories which are recorded in (stereoscopic or multiscopic) 3-D and equipped with an interactive component – is increasingly being considered. During recording, survivors usually answer between 1,000 and 2,000 questions. With the support of voice recognition and a language processing program, these questions and their corresponding replies are then processed in such a way that users of the digital 3-D testimony receive a stored answer by the survivor if their question can be matched to one of the pre-recorded ones.These forms of testimonies can be explored in the US (Skokie), the UK (Laxton) and Germany (Berlin, Munich). Until now, little is known about how this kind of technology-driven testimony affects students or visitors of museums and memorial sites.The proposed outcome of the international and interdisciplinary network is to gain empirically proven and comparative insights into the effectiveness of digital 3D testimonies. Since only a few researchers worldwide work on this topic, close cooperation between the US-American, the British and the German teams is highly desirable. During the four workshops, quantitative and qualitative instruments will be developed and critically discussed against the background of the various disciplines brought together by the network. These instruments will be used to prepare and conduct surveys at schools, museums and memorial sites. This way, a diverse set of methods will be developed to enable reliable statements about the educational value of digital 3D testimonies in comparison with analogue conversations with Holocaust survivors. Additionally, conclusions will have to be drawn for teaching on the Holocaust and Nazi crimes. In terms of the digital and historical discourse, theoretical insights into the interplay of technology and testimony with regard to visualization and interaction are to be expected.The results of the research network will be bundled in a publication with the topics (1) empirical tools and their effects, (2) consequences for teaching and learning about the Holocaust in different contexts, (3) theoretical framework of interaction with digital 3D testimonies. The results will be discussed at interdisciplinary conferences. Furthermore, the insights will be integrated into university teaching in the US, the UK and Germany.