Holocaust Survivors Relive Their Experience Walking Through Call Of Duty World War II

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B-Roll Tuesday 18th April 2023.

Source: Fighting To Remember

Location: Various

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Holocaust Remembrance Day, 17th -18^th April

TELLING GEN Z ABOUT HOLOCAUST HORRORS IS A CALL OF DUTY FOR SURVIVORS

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As Jews around the world mark (Holocaust Remembrance Day, 17th -18^th April) to mourn the loss of the six million Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust and the damage and destruction caused to millions more lives, a group of Holocaust survivors in Israel are taking part in an initiative to pass on their memories to the younger generations removed from the horrors which took place between 1933 and 1945.

For Avraham Roet, a contemporary of Anne Frank - they were in parallel classes at school in Amsterdam - and one of the survivors sharing their stories, it is his mission to tell the future generations what happened so there is no repeat.

Now aged 95, Roet lives in Israel and can recall how his life changed for ever when he was only 12 years old and the Germans invaded the Netherlands forcing his family to hide, be constantly be on the move and separated to avoid detection and threats from neighbours - he remembers a school friend's family (the father, mother and three children) taking their own lives, classmates and teachers disappearing and never being seen again and people including children being sent to concentration camps.

With every passing year, the number of Holocaust survivors is falling and so, as the memories of those sadly departed fade away, the Holocaust as a subject is becoming increasingly distant and inaccessible for those born between 1995 and 2012 (Gen Z) and subsequent generations.

There are only 150,600 survivors in Israel, where National Holocaust Remembrance Day, has been running 70 years, but most are old and unable to fully remember and tell their stories, so no surprise 76% of Israeli teenagers have not met a Holocaust survivor or that 63% do not know that six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, especially given history is afforded less time these in the curriculum meaning it is not really mentioned in schools.

And, with anti-Semitism on the rise globally, with mass shootings at synagogues, violent attacks on Jewish people in the streets and Jewish cemeteries desecrated featuring among the stories covered by media, there is even less reason for the Holocaust to feature prominently in our minds.

However, with gaming a natural habitat for 69% of younger Israelis, grassroots initiative Zikaron BaSalon has paired survivors like Roet with some of Israel’s top gamers, including gaming influencer Idan Telem (also known as Inde Game) and Shlomi Ben Atar for streams on YouTube, TIKTOK, Instagram and Discord in a bid to tap into the Gen Z age group and keep the memory of the Holocaust alive.

Using Call of Duty World War II game maps, the gamers walk through the game, bringing to life the survivors' real-life experiences in 3D, showing where they actually were, and producing a documentary series, in, Fighting to Remember, in partnership with a global online streaming service, to make Holocaust stories accessible to Gen Z, ensuring their stories are never forgotten.

Additional Information:

What is the holocaust Remembrance Day?

The Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day is commemorated in Israel every year two weeks before the Israeli Independence Day (the 27th of Nissan on the Jewish calendar). This national Remembrance Day memorializes the people that were lost, the stories of those who survived and the heroic acts of those who lived, died or changed history. The day begins with a silence-siren across the country along with national ceremonies and in the past was a day to meet with survivors and hear their stories.

How did “Fighting to Remember” come to life?

We wanted to make Holocaust remembrance easier to approach and assimilate it more naturally into teen life. How? We brought the subject and the survivors to their territory.

We decided to take one of the most popular games around, Call of Duty WWII, which takes place during the second world war and presents authentic locations in which the Holocaust occurred. In order to make it even more appealing, we teamed up with gaming influencers, creating an 21^st century connection to Holocaust survivors. Together they took the viewers on a journey through the game replica of WWII while reliving the story for the audience. Basically, we not only brought the stories to the people but brought them to life and gave them a whole new dimension.

B-roll and other materials including images will also be made available on Red Robots MediaGRAB: https://mediagrab.press/presskit/Fighting%20To%20Remember

Broadcasters Contact: malcolm@redrobot.org

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1. GV’s of game and statistics

2. GV’s Gamer Danny Ly Ziser, 32, and Holocaust Survivor, Avraham Roet, 95

3. GV’s Gamer Shai Ben Basat ‘Mr SHIBOLET’, 26, and Holocaust Survivor, Moshe Kessler, 93

4. GV’s Gamer Idan, Telem ‘Inde Game’, 23, and Holocaust Survivor Shimon Eyal, 95

5. Soundbites: Shlomi ben Atar, 30, Gamer

6. GV’s of game

7. Soundbites: Avraham Roet, 95, Holocaust Survivor

8. GV’s footage from survivors’ childhood

18 April 2023