MANILA, Philippines — As the world observes the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, a new online educational resource debuted on Monday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York that showcases video testimonies of survivors of one of the world’s greatest tragedies.

Produced by the Shoah Foundation Institute at the University of Southern California, IWitness provides teachers and students access to the video accounts of more than 1,000 Holocaust eyewitnesses.

“As students learn more about the Holocaust and the significance of this history today, they will soon discover its connection to their own lives and communities,” said Kiyo Akasaka, UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.

The Shoah Foundation Institute was established by United States filmmaker Steven Spielberg in 1994 to collect and preserve the testimonies of the survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust. It maintains one of the largest video digital libraries in the world – nearly 52,000 video testimonies in 32 languages and from 56 countries.

The debut of the new online tool was held as part of a series of events to mark the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, which is observed annually on 27 January. This year’s theme is “Children and the Holocaust.”