The 'unwinnable' video game that lights a path for Shoah education
The 'unwinnable' video game that lights a path for Shoah education
The 'unwinnable' video game that lights a path for Shoah education
By Elisa Bray
June 1, 2023
Summary
The words "Holocaust" and "Game" do not sit well together, and video games that use the genocide either as a backdrop or for the key storyline have been given short shrift by serious reviewers and Shoah educators alike.
His grandmother looked after children who came off the Kindertransport in the UK, and he spent hours examining the archives of the Shoah Foundation and the US Holocaust Museum's website when creating the game.
"We're bigger than any other media industry. We shape the culture," he says, pointing out that even the most popular TV show right now, The Last of Us - a post-apocalyptic drama available on HBO - is based on a video game.
Bernard points to the Second World War video game Hell Let Loose that presents the Nazis as simply the German army, whitewashing reality.
"I don't think the fact that this is a video game is inherently problematic," says Alex Maws, head of education and heritage at the Association of Jewish Refugees.
The Association of Jewish Refugees has itself funded the development of Marion's Journey, a video game by the Scottish organisation Gathering the Voices that is based on the testimony of a survivor.
Maws queries whether a video game such as The Light in the Darkness could stand alone as an educational resource.
Reference
Bray. E. 2023, 01June. The 'unwinnable' video game that lights a path for Shoah education. The JC.com. https://www.thejc.com/life-and-culture/all/the-unwinnable-video-game-that-lights-a-path-for-shoah-education-4pumiowFJgQsZ9FFxiuhaO