Verbit is a platform that specializes in transcription services and uses automatic speech recognition technology to create initial transcriptions. These transcriptions are then refined by human editors to ensure accuracy and completeness. The high-quality transcription service is utilized by archives for their records and global study programs.
Yair Amsterdam, CEO of Verbit, highlights the importance of transcribing old recordings with a special focus on enhancing the quality of the content. Their technology can remove background noise from decades-old recordings, making them more accessible and renewing historical testimonies. The goal is to transcribe approximately 8 million minutes of testimonies in multiple languages, including those related to the Holocaust, to preserve this crucial part of history for future generations.
The testimonies collected from various archives in Israel and Yale University cover a range of experiences, including that of Gita Sikowitz, who survived the Holocaust as a young girl. Her testimony describes the hardships she endured, including surviving selections in Auschwitz and labor camps. The transcripts of these testimonies are crucial for future generations to understand the atrocities of the Holocaust and prevent similar events from happening again.
Despite the technical challenges, such as poor audio quality and varied accents, accurately transcribing these testimonies is crucial. Greg Schneider, Senior Vice President of the Claims Conference, emphasizes the sensitivity and importance of these testimonies, especially as survivors of the Holocaust are dwindling. Preserving these stories through transcription ensures that they are accurately documented for posterity.
Overall, transcription is a vital tool for preserving history and ensuring that important testimonies are accessible and understood by future generations. By transcribing and translating these accounts, we can honor the voices of survivors and ensure that the lessons of history are not forgotten.
