Our mission is to develop empathy, understanding and respect through testimony.
Through our research and educational programs, the Institute harnesses the power of its archive of personal testimonies from witnesses to genocide in order to do our part to build a better world. (Photo: Edith Umugiraneza, a survivor of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda; and George Weiss, a Holocaust survivor.)
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Upcoming Events
07
Jun
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A Conversation with the Makers of 'My Name Is Sara'
Please join us for an exclusive event featuring a moderated conversation and selected scenes from 'My Name Is Sara,' an award-winning feature film based on a true story of survival, produced in association with USC Shoah Foundation.…
  • June 7, 2020
Latest News
George Floyd and Solidarity for Peaceful Change
We mourn the murder of George Floyd and stand in solidarity with African Americans who have faced systemic violence, injustice and hate rooted deeply in the past 400 years. This legacy and manifestation of hate is still present today.
Monday, June 1, 2020 - 9:44pm
Cornell University Library Acquires Permanent Access to Visual History Archive
The ties between Cornell University and USC Shoah Foundation are many, and now, they are permanent: The Cornell University Library has acquired access to the Visual History Archive in perpetuity. Cornell University became the 52nd site to provide full access to the archive on an annual basis in November 2015, and the impact on research and education has been significant. This impact can now continue for generations to come, as the witnesses who gave testimony had hoped.
Thursday, May 21, 2020 - 12:04pm
USC Shoah Foundation Commends Congress on Passage of Holocaust Education Bill
Visit Echoes & Reflections for comprehensive programming and resources about the Holocaust especially designed for educators so they can gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence to teach this topic effectively. On January 27, 2020, the bipartisan bill passed in the House with nearly unanimous support. Today, it passed the senate with complete support and is now on its way for the president's signature.
Thursday, May 14, 2020 - 7:46pm
Storytelling
Current Conflict Collections: How and Why USC Shoah Foundation is Collecting Testimony from Ongoing Conflicts
The young woman stares at me as I wait to press play on the video. Her eyes are dark and her lips are pursed. You can see a bit of her thick black hair which is matted beneath an off-white, or perhaps a light-pink scarf. It is hard to tell the exact color in the shadowed room.
Monday, June 1, 2020 - 1:09pm
I Watched Jojo Rabbit With a Former Hitler Youth
“I am ashamed to say this,” Ursula said to me. We were sitting in her lovely Los Angeles home in the middle of the day on a Saturday in February. All the lights in her house were off, but the blue skies outside graced her face, her 90-year-old wrinkles defined. “I was so stupid to believe that when Hitler died, that the world would come to the end.”
Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - 11:40am
A World Of My Own: Learning To Be Alone
My grandmother, Hana, taught me to be alone, to be able to sit in my space and observe all around. She taught me to describe what I see — the stacks of history books, cards sent from friends, photos of my family, vinyls stacked high, and the flowers from my last trip to the grocery store. She taught me to take an interest in the simple parts of life and to find symbolism and comfort in the mundane.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020 - 12:36pm
Watch and Share
Paul Parks on his being called to choose non-violence
Language: English
Gad Beck on rescuing his lover Manfred Lewin
Gay Pride Month
Language: German
Kathy Fuchs on Shavuot
Language: English
Together We Are Stronger Than Hate
Stronger Than Hate, an initiative that draws on the power of eyewitness testimony to help students and the general public recognize and counter antisemitism, racism, xenophobia and other forms of hatred.
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Our 2018 Annual Impact Report is Available
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Our education programs bring the voices of survivors into classrooms, impacting future generations to build a better world based on empathy, understanding and respect.
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