The Simulated Witness: Empathy and Embodiment in VR Experiences of Former Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camps

Abstract: Virtual reality (VR) is being established as a new medium for Holocaust memory. This article argues that VR experiences, which allow users to visit reconstructed campsites or even to temporarily take on the role of a victim, are changing conceptions of witnessing the Holocaust by simulating primary witnessing. It shows that such a simulation ties in with a wish for immediacy in recent Holocaust memory, as well as with the idea of VR as an "empathy machine," with empathy being defined very narrowly as a mirroring of sensations and emotions. The article advocates that future VR experiences should be grounded in a more complex conception of empathy, one that highlights rather than collapses the social, racial and historical differences between individuals.