The Fortunoff archive’s collection consists of over 4,400 testimonies that record the experiences of over 4,000 survivors, witnesses, bystanders and liberators of the Holocaust. It is necessary to register before using this resource for the first time. The process for accessing the archive the first time is unusual, this guide has directions for how to do it and how to get help with it.
Register in Aviary
Click on Log In, and then Join Now. Please check the password help if you have trouble creating a password.
Receive Confirmation Email
After you submit the form, you will receive a confirmation email. Check your spam if it doesn’t show up in your inbox. This is just to verify you are indeed a human and not a bot. Click the link to confirm your email.
Search and Request Access to Testimonies
Return to the archive, login if necessary, and then enter a search term, such as a town name, a concentration camp, or a ghetto in the search bar at the top of the page. You can also click in the find content box and hit return. Click on a testimony in the search results and request access. Please note that the records truncate last names of those who gave testimony to protect their privacy. If you are looking for a specific person’s testimony, either shorten their last name to the first initial (“Eva B.”) or contact the archive directly. You only need to request access to one testimony to obtain viewing rights for the entire collection. You should receive an approval email a few minutes after you make your request.
View Requested Testimonies
Once you get the approval email, access the archive.
If you have any questions about registering or using this resource, please contact:
Chris Strauber
Senior Research Librarian/Bibliographer
