IWitness Adds Eyewitnesses

Over 70 new testimonies have been added to IWitness to increase the scope of experiences students can engage with. IWitness now features 1,321 video testimonies from the Visual History Archive that allows teachers and their students to search, watch, and learn directly from the eyewitness to history.

The first foreign language testimonies have also recently been added into IWitness. Testimonies in French, Polish, Hungarian and Czech have been added and liaisons and teachers in those countries are now building activities to expose their students to IWitness activities in their own language.

Learn more

From the Visual History Archive \\ Recalling the Hungarian Deportation of Jews to Auschwitz-Birkenau on May 15, 1944

Noemi Ban on entering Auschwitz Birkenau

Hungarian Jews began being deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau via cattle cars in mid-May 1941. The journey took two days and they arrived 69 years ago today. Adolf Eichmann, the German Nazi SS-Obersturmbannfüher (lieutenant colonel) personally oversaw the arrival of the Hungarian Jews, and by May 24th it is estimated he sent 100,000 to be gassed.  Between May 16th and May 31st, the SS reported they collected 88 pounds of gold and white metal from the teeth of those who were killed. Noemi Ban recounted what it was like to begin the journey in a clip we featured earlier , and here she describes her arrival.

View a sample of short clips on a wide range of topics from the Archive’s nearly 52,000 testimonies. More than 26,000 non-English language testimonies are in the Archive. See sample clips subtitled in English.

Major Activities

Preservation:

We have developed a digital preservation system to preserve the testimonies in perpetuity, for the benefit of future generations. Learn about our preservation effort.

Our Progress so far…

100% completed
235,005 tapes out of 235,005 transferred 51,696 interviews out of 51,696

100%

WE’VE REACHED OUR GOAL!

Access:

We encourage universities, museums, and other institutions around the world to make the Visual History Archive available, so that many more people can conduct research in the database and view testimony. Find an access site near you.

Research:

We push the limits of research, demonstrating the value of audio-visual testimony across a broad range of academic disciplines, to further knowledge and deepen understanding. Find resources.

Teacher Education:

We train teachers and develop their media literacy skills, so that they use testimony more effectively in the classroom and give opportunity for young people to learn. Explore our Living Histories lesson series. Learn more about the Institute's international outreach.

New Collections:

We are collecting the life stories of witnesses to genocide around the world, to give their experiences a voice, and to make their testimonies available for research and education. Read about our agreement with the Armenian Film Foundation.

International Work

IWitness

20th-Century History Meets 21st-Century Digital Literacy Skills

IWitness presents 1,000 testimonies from the USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive for guided student exploration and multimedia projects. Ideal for 13 to 18-year olds.

Learn more at iwitness.usc.edu

Student Voices at USC

3rd Annual Short Film Competition