Digital Holocaust Remembrance in the Classroom
New Educational Platform by SHOAH STORIES

Social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram have become central sources of information for young people in particular. Memorial sites, museums, and content creators worldwide are responding to these changing media habits by producing fact-based, but also emotional and moving short videos to educate about the crimes of National Socialism, the annihilation of European Jewry, antisemitism, and Holocaust denial.

At a time of rising antisemitism, disinformation, and AI-generated fakes, high-quality and trustworthy content such as this is essential. This is where the project SHOAH STORIES, funded by us and implemented by the Anne Frank Centre, comes in: it collects these short videos on a digital platform and provides them with academically sound context, ensuring they remain accessible in the long term and can be used for educational purposes in schools and memorial sites. The project is aimed at students and teachers as well as staff of memorial institutions. In cooperation with museums, memorial sites, and educational institutions from around the world, lesson plans have been developed to demonstrate how the short videos can be integrated into classroom teaching.

The multilingual teaching units are also intended to support teachers in strengthening students’ media literacy. They address, among other things, the critical engagement with content from social media, the follow-up of memorial site visits, and the support of young people in developing their own digital formats.

Strengthening Historical Learning in the Digital Space

On January 21, representatives from memorial sites, educational institutions, the press, and politics in Berlin were given an official preview of the new educational platform. Co-initiator of SHOAH STORIES, Samson Wollenberger Schevitz, guided participants through the platform and presented best-practice examples. In a series of speeches, the importance of youth-oriented, digital remembrance work was highlighted from various perspectives.

In his opening remarks, Prof. Dr. Tobias Ebbrecht-Hartmann of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and co-initiator of the project stated: “At a time when the global post-war order, democratic values, critical thinking, and respectful coexistence are increasingly under pressure, it is all the more important to address young people in their own media language and encourage them to engage as democratic citizens for an open, free, and tolerant society.”

Lena Altman, Co-CEO of the Alfred Landecker Foundation, built on this point and emphasized in her speech: “We must learn to communicate our messages more precisely and master excellent storytelling. Not because we want to simplify, but because the attention economy, competition, and dynamics of digital spaces demand it. We see Holocaust trivialization being spread millions of times, distortions and fakes gaining traction, and hatred of Jews being disguised as opinion. SHOAH STORIES deliberately sets a counterpoint with intelligently curated short videos that spark curiosity among students and deepen their knowledge. Our mission is clear: we want to prevent remembrance from fading. Because when that happens, the foundation of our democracy begins to crumble.”

Representing the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, the Hessian Minister for Education, Culture, and Opportunities, Armin Schwarz, attended the event. He emphasized that it is a duty to firmly anchor remembrance culture as a cross-curricular component of school education. With SHOAH STORIES, a platform has been developed that actively supports teachers and demonstrates how social media can be integrated responsibly.

Michaela Küchler, Secretary General of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), pointed to the responsibility of social media platforms. The question, she said, is not whether Holocaust education should take place online, but how it can be implemented well. SHOAH STORIES is a good example of this. However, high-quality content can only be one part of the effort. To counter distortions of the Holocaust, platforms also require clear standards, active moderation, and the removal of harmful content.

Memorial Sites Should Be Present as Experts on Platforms

The responsibilities of social media platforms, as well as memorial sites and educational institutions, in conveying the history of the Holocaust—and the challenges that arise from this—were the focus of a subsequent panel discussion. Participants included Johanna-Florentine Dyk, Anne Frank Ambassador; Dr. Iris Groschek from the Foundation of Hamburg Memorials and Learning Centres Commemorating the Victims of Nazi Crimes; Mehmet Can, Head of Social Sciences at the Rütli Campus Community School; and Felix Kröner, Senior Manager Societal Safety at TikTok DACH.

All participants agreed that short video formats on social media can provide an initial entry point into the subject and encourage further engagement. Dr. Iris Groschek emphasized that they are an important tool for maintaining dialogue after visits to memorial sites. Mehmet Can added that short videos can help bridge the gap to complex topics in schools, but of course cannot replace history lessons.

Johanna-Florentine Dyk, representing the perspective of the younger generation, concluded the discussion by stressing: “Memorial sites simply have to take up this space on the internet. If they do not do so themselves and provide information, others will. We can see how dangerous this is with disinformation and deep fakes. That is why it is so important to have competent social media teams in history education.”

In the next phase of the project, an impact study will be conducted. Its results, together with initial practical experiences, will be presented and discussed at a final conference in autumn 2026.

About the SHOAH STORIES Project

The project is funded by the Alfred Landecker Foundation and implemented by the Anne Frank Centre. In developing and implementing the short video platform, the Anne Frank Centre collaborated with Partners Partners & Company; with Scholz & Friends on the technical development of the platform; and with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on the accompanying evaluation. SHOAH STORIES was initiated by Partners Partners & Company and builds on the international TikTok Shoah Memorial and Education Initiative, which since 2021 has supported more than 50 memorial sites, museums, and organizations worldwide in running their own TikTok channels.