The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

A new virtual reality experience debuting at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center this month will feature testimonies from Holocaust survivors and provide an innovative way to learn about the Nazi genocide.

Titled “The Journey Back,” the exhibit will give visitors a 360-degree glimpse into present-day and historic Auschwitz with the help of virtual reality technology that combines contemporary footage and memory sequences, as well as two award-winning films narrated by Holocaust survivors Fritzie Fritzshall and George Brent.

Participants will immerse themselves within a 3-D environment where Fritzshall, who died last year, or Brent will guide them around the modern-day preserved Nazi concentration camps and talk about their experiences during the Holocaust.

Two separate virtual tours will be provided. “A Promise Kept” tells the story of Fritzshall, who fulfilled the promise she made to the 599 women who saved her life when she was 13 and imprisoned as a slave laborer in Auschwitz. In “Don’t Forget Me,” participants embark on a virtual reality journey back to the Auschwitz, Mauthausen, and Ebensee concentration camps with Brent, who discusses his will to survive Nazi persecution.

The exhibit will open to the public on Jan. 27, coinciding with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It was described by the museum, which dedicated two years to creating the project, as “a global game-changer, revolutionizing the field of Holocaust memory” though cutting-edge technology.

“In both Fritzie and George’s films, there is an essential understanding that these stories need to be carried on,” said Susan Abrams, the museum’s CEO. “We need to learn all we can from Holocaust survivors while they are still here. The knowledge we gain from their pasts influences our futures and informs the way we interact with the world. And there is truly no better way to learn than to virtually tour the Holocaust sites today with a Survivor to see them from their point of view.”

Both virtual reality films have received global attention and acclaim. “A Promise Kept” was recognized as the best virtual reality film at the 2021 Nashville Film Festival, while “Don’t Forget Me” won awards at the Cinequest Film and VR Festival, and was the official selection at the Vancouver International Film Festival. The films also feature an original soundtrack by Emmy Award-winning Silver Sound Studios.