To coincide with the 74th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz this year, We Are Social is using online platform Reddit to engage a younger generation in the history of the Holocaust.

In a pro-bono project devised by creative agency We Are Social, Reddit users were invited to an ask me anything (AMA) live chat. We Are Social’s objective was to spark a community engagement campaign targeted at a younger audience and educate them about this dark period of history. Redditors were encouraged to ask Holocaust survivor Janine questions about her experience, in hopes of sparking an open discussion.

A recent survey conducted by Jewish non-profit the Anti-Defamation League, revealed that 35% of adults worldwide have no knowledge of the holocaust, and that 26% harbour anti-Semitic attitudes. It is thought that these numbers may increase in younger generations.

Janine, 86, survived the holocaust with the help of a young Polish Catholic named Edek, who hid Janine and 13 other Jews during World War Two. When the War ended, Janine never saw him again, but always felt enormous gratitude for his selfless act. Now, in an effort to find Edek and to raise awareness about the Holocaust, she has teamed up with hip-hop artist Kapoo in an ambitious project. Their short film, ‘Edek’ is a blend of hip-hop, spoken work and visual storytelling. Supported by the UK national holocaust centre and museum, the film aims to further engage a new generation to reflect on the Holocaust.

‘Edek’ has been well received, winning several awards including Best Short Film at the Miami Independent Film Festival, and being nominated for many more.  

Redditors responded favourably to the discussion. The thread has garnered over 35k upvotes and has generated multiple threads promoting further discussion in the community. This new generation have not only been engaged in this conversation, they are now attempting to use the enormous power of social media and the online community to track down Edek, so that Janine might find out what happened to him.