Frequently Asked Questions

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How does the search function work? 

All interviews have been written out in full and are indexed. This means you can search for topics discussed in the interviews.

You can enter your search parameters in the search window. Results are presented in two tabs:

1. - The first tab shows which interviews contain your search parameters.
2. - The second tab shows specific fragments containing your search parameters.

By clicking a fragment in the second tab you can immediately switch to the video fragment in which the search topic is discussed. 

 

Not all captions are synchronized to the films.

This is soon to be corrected.  

 

What does "CC = on/off" in the upper right corner of the video frame mean?

CC stands for Closed Captions, i.e., sub-titling. When CC is "on"' captions are shown, when CC is "off" they aren't. If the captions are invisible you may need to select a language first in the selection box below the video frame. 

 

I can't watch the interviews on my iPad, why are they in Flash format?

Unfortunately, at the moment we can show videos in Flash format only. This is because we use a specific Adobe Streaming Media server.
However, you could try the iSwifter Flash Web Browser app, which can be found in the iTunes store. After a short trial period it will cost you about €4,-. Although it doesn't show website and movies at their highest quality, it is worth trying.

 

My computer won't play the interviews. How do I install Flash?

To play Flash content you need to have Adobe Flash Player installed. Please visit the Adobe website and follow the instructions shown there. 

 

The interviews have closed captions in their own languages. Why not all in English?

Indexing the videos and making them searchable involved transcribing them in their own languages. Translating videos professionally is very costly and not covered by the project budget.

We are, however, in the process of translating the videos using Google Translate. We expect to be able to present you automated translations of the videos shortly. 

 

Why does the video player stop every now and then and am I not allowed to watch certain interview fragments?

A few parts of the interviews are temporarily out of use. The oral historian, Selma Leydesdorff, is doing research on the basis of the interviews at this moment. When this is finished the fragments that are made temporarily unavailable will be fully accessible again. 

 

What does "Shoah" mean, and why is the word "Holocaust" not used here?

The word "Holocaust" derives from a Greek word meaning sacrifice, which in this case is a euphemism used for the first time in an American tv series. In order to do justice to history, one would better use the Hebrew word "Shoah", meaning destruction, annihilation, catastrophe.