Project Goals

To collect and preserve recorded video testimonies from children of Holocaust survivors, focusing on:

1. Childhood experiences – both as immigrants and as children of immigrants in post-war America.
2. The intergenerational impact of trauma – and how it shaped identity, relationships, and life choices.
3. Relationships with parents and family history – including how survivors shared (or did not share) their past.
4. Reflections in later life – on being raised by Holocaust survivors and how those experiences have evolved over time.
5. Early memories of parents in America – including challenges of resettlement, community building, and parenting.
6. Recollections of the New Americans Club – the Kansas City-based social collective for Holocaust survivors in the post-war years.

Project Implementation

MCHE has secured funding to record an initial set of 10–20 video testimonies, each ranging from 1–3 hours. Testimonies will be gathered using a single-camera setup with resolution appropriate for future archival and educational use. Recordings will be archived for educational and research use, with no immediate public release planned.

Eligibility & Selection

The project is open to Second Generation individuals, regardless of where they currently live or grew up. However, for the initial phase of this project (based on limited funding), interviewees will be prioritized based on:

• Their connection to the Kansas City survivor community between 1946 and 1980.
• Their ability to expand MCHE’s knowledge of survivor families and community life in that era.
• Time-sensitive health or life circumstances that may impact their ability to participate in the future.
• The need to ensure diversity of experience and background across the selected participants.
• One interviewee per family will be recorded during this initial cycle; families are encouraged to decide who can best represent their collective history.

Participants must complete an application to be considered for participation.

MCHE Project Team

This project will be conducted by a team with historical expertise and long-standing relationships within the local survivor community:

• Jessica Rockhold – Executive Director, serving as project coordinator and interviewer.
• Dr. Shelly Cline – Historian and Director of Education, serving as interviewer and project advisor.
• Dr. Melissa Karp – Content Specialist, interviewer, and project advisor.

Consultants

• Dr. Fran Sternberg – Holocaust historian and Second Generation member with deep knowledge of Kansas City’s survivor community. Will assist in developing pre-interview structures and guiding content design.
• Brad Austin – Professional documentarian and long-time MCHE collaborator.
• Hollie Marquess – FHSU Professor of history and PhD candidate. Co-author of the Through Hell to the Midwest mapping project with significant knowledge of the local survivor community and recorded testimonies.

Funding

Initial funding for this project has been generously provided by the White Family Supporting Foundation through the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City.