The app “Fliehen vor dem Holocaust. Meine Begegnung mit Geflüchteten” (Fleeing the Holocaust. My encounter with refugees) was launched on 8 May 2018 and is available for free download under http://www.erinnern.at/app-fliehen. The app can be integrated into the teaching curricula on the Holocaust in schools at the secondary level. Its target audience are German-speaking youths between the age of 14 and 20.
The app was developed as one of the projects of the Swiss Chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The Institute of History Education and Memory Cultures of the University of Teacher Education Lucerne, the Institute for Holocaust Education of the Austrian Ministry of Education, erinnern.at, and the Center for User-Centered Technologies of the Technical College Dornbirn collaborated on the scientific and technical development of the app. The Universities of Göttingen, Berlin and Innsbruck were involved in the preparatory work and the evaluation of the app.
The app acts as an alternative to personal encounters with Holocaust survivors. It also offers students the chance to choose which themes of testimonial they would like to learn more about. This is done by adding additional layers to the spoken testimonial through the use of historical documents, questions and tasks. After immersing themselves in the history of the contemporary witness, the user then takes a step back and establishes the connection with the historical documents. For this purpose, the app provides an extensive structured collection of sources and depictions researched from archives and inheritances.
For teachers, the app developers provide pedagogical and additional contextualising material on their homepage. While the app can be used in class or individually without a teacher having to provide additional guidance, the developers encourage students to share and discuss their experiences in a classroom. The app runs on computers and tablets as well as on smart phones.
The App is available in the Apple AppStore and Google PlayStore or can be downloaded for Windows computers at http://www.erinnern.at/app-fliehen
