b'IMPACT:TELLING THE STORYSpotlight: Spotlight:Dr. Abner DelmanDr. Joel Geiderman Dr. Abner Delman and his wife Ilse-Lore Delman Dr. Joel Geiderman and his mother Helen GeidermanAbner Delman Joel GeidermanIn 1933, when Ilse-Lore Delman was six years old, sheLike memory itself, the video testimony within the Visual was kicked out of her school in Frankfurt, Germany, forHistory Archive is not permanent. Data degradation being Jewish. Her family then fled for Holland, whereresulting from the gradual decay of storage media can they survived almost three years hiding in a convertedresult in the eventual breakdown of video and audio, hay loft. When you met her and interacted with her,rendering a testimony worthless, even in digital form. you would never imagine that she had lived through thisThe Institutes newly-launched Forever Fund will provide terrible thing, said her husband, Abner Delman. She wasmeans to ensure that testimonies will live on in whatever just a very caring, loving person. form the future may necessitate. After Ilses passing in 2018, Abner moved forwardFor the Forever Funds inaugural donor, Dr. Joel with a bequest he and Ilse had planned in her parentsGeiderman, the reason to donate was personal.memory to USC Shoah Foundation. The bequestsHis mother survived Auschwitz. So did two of his aunts. aim is to support the Institutes education, research andTwo uncles and a grandmother he would never knowcollections programs, ensuring that stories like Ilses canwere murdered in the gas chambers on arrival. Geidermanbe gathered, contextualized and shared with the world.sees himselfand all second- and third-generationAs Delman said, The Institute has the capability toHolocaust survivorsas stewards of their stories.show that these were real humans surviving unbelievableIve talked to thousands of Holocaust survivors in experiencesthat their lives were not just symbolic, butmy lifetime, and they all have an incredible story, said real. Geiderman. For this reason, he donated to the Forever Fund, in hopes of providing a lasting source of financial security that guarantees the Institutes survivor testimonies will continue to be accessible using the latesttechnologies and updated platforms of the next generation.2019 ANNUAL REPORT27'