Survivor Testimony, Archives, and the Power of Storytelling

by Jaden Mirarchi, Pell University Fellow 2024-25

I chose to work with JFCS because of my longstanding commitment to social justice. Since I was a teenager, I have been dedicated to raising awareness about the experiences of global victims of racism, prejudice, oppression, and genocide. After witnessing the media coverage of the 2017 Charlottesville “Unite the Right” riots and the growing mobilization of alt-right groups in America, I felt an urgent need to deepen both my activism and my education on these issues.

My educational journey brought me to San Francisco State University, where Dr. Kitty Millet, Chair of the Jewish Studies department, introduced me to the University Fellowship at JFCS’s Tauber Library. I eagerly applied, and upon acceptance, I began working with Lindsay Marcus, Educational Program Coordinator for the JFCS Holocaust Center’s Speakers Bureau, and Andrew Roth, Manager of the Library and Archives. These were my first opportunities to actively engage in both studying genocide and building community with survivors.

I primarily work with the Speakers Bureau program—the Holocaust Center’s largest initiative—which connects schools and organizations with local genocide survivors to share their testimonies. When I reflect on the significance of survivor testimony, I think of my own formative experiences learning about race and prejudice from my great-grandmother Marie. Her stories about being Black in America, especially her hesitance to discuss the violence she witnessed in the South, often speaking indirectly about lynchings and community trauma, deeply influenced me.

Marie’s guarded storytelling reminds me of the “doublespeak” George, a JFCS Speaker, identifies in letters from his childhood. He, his wife, and daughter would painstakingly analyze old correspondence to uncover a hidden code his parents used with another family to protect him during the deportation of Jews in France. Listening to George’s testimony echoed the way I had to piece together Marie’s stories—both efforts to reclaim a fuller, hidden history.

The deep interrelatedness between George’s experiences and my own stayed with me. Despite vastly different circumstances, the trauma we inherited shaped our lives in remarkably similar ways. While George shares his story openly through JFCS and Marie remains protective of her past, both reflect the same human response to profound oppression and generational trauma.

Through my work with the Speakers Bureau, I hope to share more of these powerful narratives with young people. I want them to experience the sense of an imagined community that transcends time and place—one that inspires them to stand up for society’s most vulnerable.

Looking ahead, I continue to broaden my archival experience. Recently, I’ve been researching Japanese transit stamps found in a Jewish survivor’s passport from the Shanghai Ghetto, and translating related Japanese documents donated to the JFCS archive. With limited prior knowledge of the topography and key locations of Manchukuo (present-day Manchuria), I dove into the research. I uncovered a rich and often overlooked history of Japanese philosemitism, migration, and Jewish life in Japan and China—histories rarely discussed in American education.

To me, survivor testimony and historical awareness are among the most powerful tools young people can use to build community. Tracing and understanding the diverse histories of those around us allows us to connect voices and experiences into a collective force for change. The work I do at JFCS feels both personal and communal, and I hope it continues to foster unity and understanding among communities.

Learn more about the Pell University Fellowship and Manovill University Fellowship here.