Every testimony contributes to an anthropocentric view of history, providing narratives “from below”, through experiences and impressions of the people themselves. The existence of a collection of testimonies allows a social history of the persecution of Greek Jewry during the Second World War to be written, with emphasis more on the voice of the victims and less on the processes of deportation and practices of extermination. Along with the testimonies, we find out as much about how the events were experienced, as about how they actually happened. At least in this way the victims come out of their anonymity. The testimonies add particularly interesting and useful information for analysing, understanding and interpreting the role of individuals in history. At the same time they transparently demonstrate the pluralism of historical experiences. Finally, they are an important source for personal and family history, which enrich the JMG exhibits and make remote historical events more personal.
It is clear that the value of every testimony is expected to increase greatly as the natural cycle of life of the witnesses comes to an end.
