The Taker of Testimony

I found this while roaming on the New York Times' website. I imagine this will emotionally recall (or parallel the work done in) the Shoah but for those that were forced to witness Nazi extermination.

“If a Jewish taker-of-testimony comes, what would people think — that this is someone coming to accuse,” said Paul Shapiro, director of the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. “When a priest comes, people open up. He brings to the subject a kind of legitimacy, a sense that it’s O.K. to talk about the past. There’s absolution through confession.”

I was particularly impressed by the idea of a "taker-of-testimony." We have a role for a survivor -- they are the witnesses -- and we have a role for those that died (although this would also apply to the survivors) -- they are the victims -- so those who go and collect the stories are "takers-of-testimony." While the title seems simple, as I've done some preliminary research in the area, I found the term striking as it emphasizes the role of testimony above the agent doing the collection. In effect, the priest is given a purpose by his act of collection. All in all, a very sad and informative article that perhaps foreshadows future scholarship and museum exhibitions on World War II and the Holocaust.

A Priest Methodically Reveals Ukrainian Jews' Fate