Light in the Darkness: Powerful XR Experience Illuminates a Holocaust Survivor's Story

Jun. 04, 2026

As the number of living Holocaust survivors continues to decline, the challenge facing educators and cultural institutions is not just how to archive their testimonies, but how to ensure future generations can emotionally connect with these stories. In response to the challenge, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) has commissioned Benno’s Light, a powerful mixed-reality experience that transforms a Holocaust survivor’s memories into an intimate cinematic journey - preserving not only history, but voices too. 

The immersive experience, which will be available in desktop, mobile and VR, as well as displayed in museums and at film festivals launches today. A special event at the University of Vienna with is also planned which will entail speeches from Claims Conference EVP, State Secretary Kroll and Benno Kern, plus behind the scenes videos and VR headsets which allow guests to encounter the experience. 

Created by global creative and technology agency makemepulse as the second chapter in an ongoing series of immersive Holocaust testimony projects following the acclaimed Inside Kristallnacht, Benno’s Light explores how emerging technologies can preserve not only historical details, but the emotional reality, humanity and personal voices behind survivor testimony.

Instead of a traditional documentary or educational platform, the project weaves together immersive storytelling, cinematic 3D worlds and symbolic interaction to create emotional proximity between audiences and Benno’s lived experience - allowing younger generations to engage with his testimony in a way that feels active, human and emotionally resonant.

Born in Vienna in 1927, Benno Kern recounts a childhood shaped first by music, family and intellectual life before the rise of Nazism forced his family into flight across Europe. The experience follows Benno’s journey from Vienna to Czechoslovakia, Belgium and Paris before he and his parents were captured by the Nazis and deported to Auschwitz. Benno ultimately survived the horrors of another concentration camp, Buchenwald, becoming the sole survivor of his family.

Rather than focusing purely on historical reconstruction, makemepulse built the experience around a more intimate, emotional insight: that Benno’s memories were defined not only by places or events, but by the people who helped him survive. That insight became the foundation for the project’s central metaphor: light.

Throughout the experience, the people that Benno encounters pass fragments of light onto him, symbolising hope, resilience and humanity in the face of unimaginable darkness. The motif becomes both a narrative thread and an interactive mechanic woven throughout the six immersive chapters of the story.

Combining cinematic 3D environments, illustrated visual treatments, spatial sound design, interactive storytelling and symbolic lighting mechanics, Benno’s Light deeply immerses viewers in his memories. Across the experience, audiences witness subtle transformations in Benno himself as he ages through the story, reinforcing the emotional passage of time.

Visually, the project expands upon the artistic language first established in Inside Kristallnacht, blending hand-drawn illustration, editorial typography and immersive spatial design with meticulously researched historical context, archival imagery and real-life audio from the Anschluss to Auschwitz. 

For makemepulse, the project reflects an ongoing exploration into how immersive technologies can become tools for preserving memory and transmitting testimony to future generations.

The launch of Benno’s Light at the University of Vienna carries particular historical resonance. Following the destruction of Vienna’s medieval synagogue and the murder and expulsion of Jews in 1421, stones from the synagogue were used in the construction of buildings that later became part of the university. More than 500 years later, the institution will now be a place dedicated to remembrance, education and the preservation of survivor testimony.

Benno Kern, Holocaust survivor and featured storyteller said:

"I’ll never forget my mother’s words: ‘You have the opportunity to stay alive. The decision is yours.’ I was the only member of my family to survive the Holocaust. This project has special meaning to me as I carried my family’s story for more than 80 years with uncertainty as to whether it would be remembered. I ask future generations to hear my words and carry them forward in your hearts. Let them light your way. And let them remind you what it means to carry compassion, even in the darkest of times."

 

Gideon Taylor, President of the Claims Conference added:

"Mixed reality is the technology of now and of the future. And it is precisely why it is so crucial that we tap into advanced technology to help future generations understand the Holocaust. We cannot let stories like Benno’s fade into the darkness."

 

Nicolas Rajabaly, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer at makemepulse said:

“Benno’s Light was never about using technology for spectacle. The challenge was finding a way to preserve the intimacy and humanity of Benno’s testimony while creating a format capable of reaching new generations. What moved us most during the process was realising that Benno’s memories were shaped less by places and more by the people who helped him survive. That insight fundamentally changed the experience we designed. We shifted away from historical reconstruction alone and focused instead on emotional proximity, presence and human connection. Immersive technology gave us the opportunity to transform testimony into something audiences could feel around them rather than simply observe from a distance."