New technology for Melbourne’s Holocaust Centre

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Melbourne’s Holocaust Centre will launch unique new technology to bring Holocaust stories to life.

The Storypod screenshots below

Dr Abhijit Chattaraj sat at as a child by his Hindu grandfather’s side in Bihar, India, listenening to tales of the Holocaust and especially remembering The Diary of Anne Frank. The RMIT student told J-Wire: “My grandfather was appalled by what had happened to the Jews and consequently my family has always been very sympathetic.”

Ten years ago, Chatteraj, 31, who holds a degree in commerce, a masters degree in computing and a PhD in Bio-Informatics,moved from his home in Calcutta to Melbourne. But it was only last year he met a friend who was in tears after visiting the Holocaust Centre. He said: “I felt so ashamed that I had been here all that time and did not know the Centre existed. I visited it almost immediately and watched the tales of my childhood enter the world of reality.  I was especially moved when I learned that the guides were themselves survivors.

He was astounded by the extent of archived images, movies, documents and sound files. Currently studying, photography, he has invented the Storypod…an interactive touch system which takes its users on a journey into the past and very different world of Holocaust survivors…and is designed to make all the archives easily accessible.

The Storypod will be launched at the Centre on Sunday and has already attracted the attention of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

Dr Chattaraj told J-Wire: “Each Storypod will contain seven stories. It is like a desk with objects on it…as you touch the object it springs to life and take the user on a journey into the past. I was very concerned that so many stories would be hidden in the archives never to be seen again…but now the Storypods will give each one the opportunity to reveal to the contemporary world how life was before and during the Holocaust.”