Video game being developed with Holocaust survivor to extend reach of education
Creator Luc Bernard says Sony has already 'agreed to launch' it, with the game being created with contribution from Shoah survivor Joan Salter
A video game featuring a Jewish boy fleeing persecution in Nazi-occupied France is being developed with Holocaust survivor Joan Salter writing the script.
The developer Luc Bernard said Sony had already “agreed to launch the game” for the Playstation, saying the idea of a Holocaust video game had “never been done before”.
Called ‘The Light in the Darkness,’ the game follows Samuel, a Jewish boy growing up in Paris when the city is invaded by the Nazis. Scenes include the infamous round-up of Parisian Jews at the Vel d’Hiv on 16 July 1942.
Samuel’s mother tells him to escape the city, rips off his yellow star and gives him the address of a Catholic priest who can help him escape.
The action then follows Samuel’s escape through the city to the countryside and forest, where there are Jewish orphans being passed off as Christian children.
The story is being led by Salter, who was born in 1940 in Belgium. Months later her father was arrested but escaped from a train heading to a concentration camp. He led the family to Paris where, as a baby, Salter survived the Vel d’Hiv roundup.
Today she works with the National Holocaust Centre and Museum as well as the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and is a past chair of the Child Survivors’ Association of Great Britain. In 2018, she was awarded an MBE for services to Holocaust education.
The new medium was being used to extend Holocaust education because video games are now the biggest part of the entertainment industry, said Bernard, who described it as “a very important project”, adding: “We plan to release it for free.”
A spokesperson for the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust said: “The historical truth of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution must be shared and kept alive. Holocaust education is crucial for everyone; and reaching people with the lessons of the Holocaust, and of the steps that lead to genocide, has never been more important.
As we see rising hate on both sides of the Atlantic, antisemitism and other identity-based persecution continuing in society – it is imperative that everyone knows where hate can lead.
We haven’t seen the game, so we can’t comment on it, although we do note that the brilliant Joan Salter MBE – whose life story has educated thousands upon thousands of people – has been involved in the creation process.”
Last year, Jewish News revealed the National Holocaust Centre had produced an first-of-its-kind app for primary school children, with users following a Jewish boy through Berlin in the 1930s.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.