AI Lets Students Talk to Holocaust Survivors at St. Thomas

When the last Holocaust survivors pass away, their voices won't be lost. The University of St. Thomas in Minnesota is showing how technology can keep their stories alive for future generations.

Through the end of April, students can walk up to a visualization wall and ask questions of six Holocaust survivors. Thanks to thousands of hours of recorded testimony and artificial intelligence, the survivors appear to answer in their own words, sharing memories of their lives before, during, and after World War II.

The technology comes from the USC Shoah Foundation, which has been recording survivor testimonies for decades. St. Thomas developed a custom app that lets visitors ask anything they want to know about the survivors' backgrounds, their experiences during the Holocaust, or how they rebuilt their lives afterward.

The exhibit addresses a growing challenge in Holocaust education. Students learn about the genocide in school, but few have ever spoken with someone who lived through it. As survivors age, that opportunity is disappearing.

Why This Inspires

St. Thomas isn't stopping with this exhibit. The university just launched a new minor in Holocaust and Genocide Studies this fall, exploring the roots of antisemitism, racism, and extreme hatred that lead to mass violence.

The school secured grant funding to bring in not just this interactive exhibit, but another one featuring Holocaust survivors who specifically settled in Minnesota. They're creating multiple ways for students to connect with this history on a personal level.

This approach transforms how we preserve traumatic history. Instead of reading about the Holocaust in textbooks, students can ask survivors directly what kept them going, how they found hope, or what they want young people to know.

The technology ensures that even generations from now, students will be able to look a survivor in the eye and hear their story.