International Women's Day

To commemorate International Women’s Day, March 8, 2015, listen to the testimonies of 10 amazing women from the Visual History Archive who all “made it happen,” from standing up to injustice to saving lives during the Holocaust to preserving the memories of genocide victims and many other courageous acts.

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  Helen Fagin on Education in the Ghetto

  Language: English

  Helen Fagin discusses her efforts and risk to educate fellow ghetto inhabitants in the Radomsko ghetto in Poland.
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  Elizabeth Holtzman on passing legislation expelling Nazis

  Language: English

  Former United States Representative Elizabeth Holtzman describes her experience on writing and passing legislation in 1978 to expel the Nazi war criminals who, to her surprise, had immigrated to the United States.
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  Éva Székely recalls the 1972 Olympics in Munich

  Language: Hungarian

  In this clip, Éva Székely recall meeting the trainer for the Israeli wrestling team during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, the night before the Israeli delegation were held hostage.
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  Valerie Nyirarudodo on forgiveness

  Language: Kinyarwanda

  Valerie Nyirarudodo says she has forgiven the perpetrators of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda who have asked for it, and encourages others to follow the same path.
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  Anita Lasker-Wallfisch on the Auschwitz camp orchestra

  Language: English

  Anita Lasker-Wallfisch remembers when she was selected to be in the Auschwitz camp orchestra and when the orchestra would play for the SS.
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  Johtje Vos on her decision to help Jewish people

  Language: English

  Johtje Vos reflects on her decision to help hide Jews during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Throughout the war Johtje and her husband, Aart, housed 32 Jews, although never more than 14 at the same time. In 1982 both Johtje and Aart were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem for risking their own lives to save the lives of others.
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  Celina Biniaz on life after the Holocaust

  Language: English

  Celina Biniaz speaks on the importance of educating others to stand up to bigotry and fight intolerance. She reflects on how she has implemented those teachings in her career as an educator and also as a mother and grandmother.
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  Francoise Muteteli on preserving the memory of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda

  Language: English

  Francoise Muteteli describes how her work at a Rwandan Genocide memorial is helping preserve the memory of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
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  Ruth Brand on resistance

  Language: English

   

  Ruth Brand talks about the decision to fast on Yom Kippur—also known as the Day of Atonement—in Auschwitz II-Birkenau as a form of resistance.

   

   
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  Guixiang Chen on peace

  Language: Mandarin

  Nanjing Massacre survivor Guixiang Chen reflects on speaking to Japanese students about her experience and the students react to her testimony.