Organisations represented on Shoah Stories include the Anne Frank House (Netherlands), Buchenwald Memorial (Germany), the Warsaw Ghetto Museum (Poland), and the Holocaust Museum Los Angeles (USA). The selected videos had originally been shared by these institutions on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Among the featured contributors is Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman, who will also speak at this year’s Holocaust remembrance ceremony in the German Bundestag. The platform is currently available in German and English, with Polish and French to follow.
The short videos address key themes including the systematic extermination of Europe’s Jews, Nazi persecution, Jewish history, and antisemitism. Using survivor testimonies, historical sources, places and artefacts, the videos offer clear and compelling insights into different aspects of the Holocaust.
This way, Shoah Stories responds to the way young people engage with media today. According to the 2025 JIM Study by the Media Education Research Association Southwest (Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest), more than half of German teenagers aged 12 to 19 use TikTok or Instagram daily or several times a week. By using the short video format, Shoah Stories offers an accessible way to explore the history of the Holocaust, foster remembrance, and highlight the importance of democratic values. It provides young people and educators alike with factually grounded, digital resources on Holocaust history The platform supports historical learning in digital spaces. It also serves as a practical and engaging tool for teachers to use in the classroom, while students are encouraged to reflect critically on the information they encounter on social media. The materials, designed for students aged 14 and up, are freely available on the website — and no social media account is required to access them.
Karin Prien, Federal Minister for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, stated: “Shoah Stories makes an important contribution to remembrance work in the digital space. Fake news and fake accounts are making it harder for young people and adults alike to distinguish facts from misinformation. Historical events are increasingly being downplayed or distorted. The freely accessible educational content provided by Shoah Stories helps to counteract this trend and offers an accessible, youth-centred way to engage with Holocaust history. As Federal Education Minister, I see it as vital to preserve the memory of the Shoah and to support sound knowledge acquisition. These easily accessible videos are an important addition to trusted digital tools for learning.”
Armin Schwarz, Minister for Culture, Education and Opportunities in Hesse, remarked: “Remembering the Shoah remains a core responsibility of education. As federal states, we share a duty to ensure that history continues to engage young people today. Shoah Stories shows how digital formats can be used responsibly, factually, and with educational integrity. The platform helps teachers relate to their students’ everyday lives while also sending a clear message against antisemitism and the distortion of history.”
Michaela Küchler, Secretary General of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), observed: “For young people today, the digital world is part of everyday life—offering constant access to information from around the globe. But it’s also where they encounter misinformation, including Holocaust denial and distortion. Shoah Stories strengthens our shared efforts to counter these narratives, providing reliable, evidence-based content where it’s needed most.”
Lena Altman, Co-CEO of the Alfred Landecker Foundation, commented: “Many teachers find it difficult to access trustworthy content that fits the digital realities of their students. Shoah Stories brings together verified short videos from memorial institutions around the world, paired with tried-and-tested teaching materials that are ready to use in the classroom. By combining authentic historical sources with a format that truly resonates with young people, the platform also helps strengthen their ability to recognise and reject antisemitic narratives and online disinformation.”
Shoah Stories is funded by the Alfred Landecker Foundation and led by the Anne Frank Zentrum. The platform was developed in collaboration with Partners Partners & Company, with technical implementation by Scholz & Friends. Evaluation is being carried out in partnership with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the National Research Council of Italy. The project builds on the international TikTok Shoah Education & Commemoration Initiative, which since 2021 has supported over 50 memorial sites, museums and organisations around the world establish their own TikTok channels.
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