Memoria [EN] No. 5 / February 2018 | Page 34

Each testimony published in the “Chronicles of Terror” is thoroughly described by a system of passwords (so-called tags). Thanks to these tags we get to know not only the witness’ personal details, but also the date of the event, categories of victims, types of crimes, and names of individuals that perpetrated the crimes. The locations of the events described by the witnesses are displayed on a special map. Some of the accounts are accompanied by photos of testifying persons. All testimonies are published as a scan of the archival original and its transcription into Polish. Each testimony is translated into English. Currently, about 600 testimonies from Auschwitz are available in the “Chronicles of Terror” in English. The Center hopes that through such translations the testimonies will be available for international circulation, thereby propagating knowledge of the victims of totalitarianism in the world. Other helpful tools, which we have prepared for users of our database, are the selection of the most interesting accounts, thematic collection of testimonies and popular science texts that allow users to familiarize themselves with the historical context of the events described in the testimonies.

Accessibility of testimonies in the “Chronicles of Terror” is accompanied by two campaigns conducted by theCenter for Totalitarian Studies. The collection of testimonies is supplemented with private photographs, documents and other memorabilia concerning testifying persons or those mentioned in the accounts. We conduct the collection under the slogan “Share Memory”, appealing to all to transfer memorabilia from private archives, which after digitization will enrich our database of testimonies. Thanks to this, we hope to show the personal history and daily life of persons who got caught up in the totalitarian system. With the second campaign, we want to reach out to users of Facebook and other social networking sites. During the campaign #GłosOcalonych / #SurvivorsReveal we publish one exceptional account of an Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor on our social media profiles every day.

The testimony database “Chronicles of Terror” inaugurated its activities on August 5, 2016, on the 72nd anniversary of the Wola Massacre. It is a modern undertaking that combines scientific research, memory culture and the popularization of history implemented by the Witold Pilecki Center for Totalitarian Studies.

In the repository, we publish accounts of citizens of Poland and other nationalities who, during World War II, experienced suffering from two totalitarian regimes: German and Soviet.