If you encounter any technical issues related to access from Princeton University, please email: eSupport@princeton.edu
Please note that 76 testimonies are available only to Yale patrons. If you request access to one of these testimonies, you will receive an email from the Aviary Team informing you of this.
The Fortunoff Archive currently holds more than 4,400 testimonies, which are comprised of over 12,000 recorded hours of videotape. The Fortunoff Archive and its affiliates recorded the testimonies of willing individuals with first-hand experience of the Nazi persecutions, including those who were in hiding, survivors, bystanders, resistants, and liberators. Testimonies were recorded in whatever language the witness preferred, and range in length from 30 minutes to over 40 hours (recorded over several sessions).
Step 1 / Register in Aviary
Go to the Fortunoff website: https://fortunoff.aviaryplatform.com/. Click “Login” in the upper-left corner. Click “Join Now”, complete the required fields, then click "Register". Please check the password help if you have trouble creating a password.
Step 2 / Receive Confirmation Email
After you submit the form, you will receive a confirmation email. Check your spam folder if you don’t see it in your inbox.
Step 3 / Search and Request Access to Testimonies
Return to https://fortunoff.aviaryplatform.com/, login if necessary, and then enter a search term, such as a town name, a concentration camp, or a ghetto in the search bar at the top of the page. You can also click in the find content box and hit return. Click on a testimony in the search results and request access. Please note that their records truncate last names of those who gave testimony to protect their privacy. If you are looking for a specific person’s testimony, either shorten their last name to the first initial (“Eva B.”) or contact the archive directly. You only need to request access to one testimony to obtain viewing rights for the entire collection. You should receive an approval email a few minutes after you make your request.
Step 4 / View Requested Testimonies
Once you receive the approval email, if you are at an access site, you can view testimonies immediately. Just refresh your browser. If you are a Princeton University patron, go to Step 5.
Step 5 / For Princeton Patrons: Off-Campus Access
After you complete Steps 1 - 4 and you receive the approval email in Step 4 above:
