by Dr. Robert Rozett

Since the beginning of the 20th century, film has become the primary medium through which we learn about the world and form our perceptions about personalities, places and events. Films—whether feature length, documentaries, shorts, un-cut testimonies or home videos, and whether viewed in theaters, on television sets or on computer terminals—have made a tremendous impact on both our understanding of and our perceptions about the Holocaust. No one who has seen Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, with its portrayal of Amon Goeth randomly shooting Jews in the Plaszow camp, will ever shake that image of Nazi brutality. The heroism and determination of some Holocaust survivors is palpable in Exodus, while the desperation of others is evoked deeply by Rod Steiger in The Pawnbroker. Images like these both haunt and inform us.

It is only fitting, therefore, that as part of the recently opened Museum Complex, Yad Vashem has created a new Visual Center for the collection, study and viewing of films about the Holocaust and related subjects. The construction of the Visual Center was made possible through the generous donations of the Righteous Persons Foundation headed by Steven Spielberg, (USA), and Daniella and Daniel Steinmetz (Israel). Liat Ben Habib is the Director of the Visual Center, which is under the auspices of the Yad Vashem Library.

Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev explains: “The Visual Center aspires to build a comprehensive collection of films about the Holocaust and related subjects, thus becoming the world center for cinematic works on the Holocaust. With its unique resources, over the coming years, the Visual Center will become the foremost portal through which scholars, students, film creators and the general public will access information about and view Holocaust-related films.”

The core of the collection is comprised of the many films acquired for viewing and research purposes over the years by Yad Vashem. In addition to collecting the films and the rights to show them, the Visual Center has also begun creating a database of detailed information about all Holocaust-related films as well as survivor testimonies. Notably, the over 50,000 survivor testimonies recorded by the Shoah Visual History Foundation, established by Steven Spielberg, will eventually be available for viewing.

Working with Yad Vashem’s Information Systems, the Visual Center is currently deep into the process of digitizing its holdings. Hence visitors can now view films at the click of a mouse, either by selecting one of the more popular titles suggested by the Visual Center’s staff, or by searching the database for films by genre, subject or by more specific criteria. Groups of visitors will be able to view films in a specially designed theater.

As a knowledge-based organization, Yad Vashem is planning to sponsor regularly held symposia hosted by the Visual Center, in order to further the understanding of films about the Holocaust. In addition, grants and prize money will be made available to the best among researchers and filmmakers on the subject. The first such prize is the Yad Vashem Chairman’s Award for a cinematic work related to the Holocaust. This annual grant is endowed by Michaela and Leon Constantiner (USA).

Since films about the Holocaust and associated subjects continue to be made all over the world, the Visual Center is also reaching out to the global film community. “As the Visual Center embarks upon its first year of activity, we call upon filmmakers and distributors everywhere to help us acquire films and grant us the rights to make them available for public viewing at Yad Vashem,” says Ben Habib. “Films are made to be seen. By placing material in the Visual Center, a filmmaker gives audiences access to his or her film, and with that the possibility to research it and absorb its message. On a practical basis, members of the public will also be able to contact the filmmaker for further acquisitions. All of these will broaden the impact of the film, enabling it to continue to contribute to our understanding of—and influence our perceptions about—the Holocaust, its causes and its repercussions.”

The author is Director of the Library.

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