School students will be given the opportunity to “talk” to Holocaust survivors through a combination of AI and virtual reality (VR).

Developed by the Holocaust Education Trust (HET), the Testimony 360 programme combines digital eyewitness testimony and virtual tours of historical sites associated with the Holocaust.

Four Holocaust survivors were recorded, each answering hundreds of questions about their life stories in order to create the programme. Pupils can then ask their questions to a digital representation of the survivors, and the AI will interpret and play back the relevant clip. Each session takes about 2.5 hours and is open to all year 9-13 students.

The VR headsets will also allow students to explore key sites linked to the survivor testimonies, including their pre-war home towns and the concentration camps where they were imprisoned.

HET said that students should have a good prior understanding of the Holocaust in order to get the most out of the experience.

The number of Holocaust...