USC Shoah Foundation Opens Second Hungarian Access Site to the Visual History Archive at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest

Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest is now the second Visual History Archive access site in Hungary and the 45th in the world. The first access point in Hungary opened at Central European University in 2009.

USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education’s Visual History Archive contains 52,000 testimonies of survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides. The testimonies were conducted in 57 countries and in 33 languages.

 “ELTE considers it of primary importance to step up against social exclusion, radical extreme ideologies and all forms of discrimination and is committed to strengthening tolerance towards religious, ethnic and all other forms of otherness,” ELTE said in a press release. “The Institute believes that the archive will contribute to mutual respect and acceptance not only within but outside the university walls as well.”

ELTE celebrated the launch at a ceremony on 17 October, which was attended by the USC Shoah Foundation delegation. ELTE vice chancellor András Karácsony and USC Shoah Foundation executive director Stephen Smith gave remarks, and a presentation titled “20th Century in 20 Minutes” introduced the Visual History Archive and the use of testimonies in education.

Prior to the opening event at ELTE the delegation familiarized itself with the Shoah Foundation’s educational work in Hungary including a visit to Dániel Berzsenyi high school, where they participated in a testimony-based lesson conducted by USC Shoah Foundation’s teacher training program graduate, dr. Mónika Mezei in which students discussed the role of bystanders in the Holocaust and in today’s society. They also visit to CEU, where programs and courses using Shoah Foundation testimonies were introduced. The Foreign Ministry hosted a reception to honor the delegation.