Institute Year in Review for 2017

Mon, 01/29/2018 - 5:08pm

Top Stories of 2017

Rare Collection of World War II Artifacts Donated to USC Libraries

Jan. 18, 2017

In addition to a large series of intricately detailed letters, the collection

includes Nazi flags, medals and other insignia, newspapers, brochures, photographs, and even shattered pieces of the swastika from atop the Nuremberg Stadium that was famously blown up by American forces at the end of the war.

100 Days to Inspire Respect Begins

Jan. 20, 2017

Coinciding with Inauguration Day, USC Shoah Foundation debuts an initiative developed to quell some of the divides and intolerance exacerbated by the election.

Institute Finishes Collecting Testimonies About Nanjing Massacre in China

Feb. 8, 2017

The final 27 interviews bring to 103 the total number of testimonies in the collection about the 1937 massacre in China by Japanese invaders. There are now only 12 known Nanjing survivors who have not been interviewed by USC Shoah Foundation.

IWitness Launches Armenian Genocide Resource Page

April 17, 2017

All of USC Shoah Foundation’s educational resources about the Armenian Genocide now live in a one-stop shop on the IWitness website that launched one week before the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

IWitness Video Challenge Submissions Quadruple for 4th Annual Contest

May 17, 2017

More students and teachers than ever before are entering the IWitness Video Challenge.

Two Thousand Testimonies Added to Visual History Archive

July 17, 2017

A comparison of USC Shoah Foundation’s fiscal year-end stats from 2016 and 2017 reveals the Institute’s ever-increasing impact around the world.

“The Last Goodbye” VR Film Screened at Venice Film Festival

Aug. 16, 2017

The Last Goodbye, the virtual reality film about Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter produced in partnership with USC Shoah Foundation, has its European premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in Italy.

'Stronger Than Hate’ Initiative: USC Shoah Foundation to Offer Resources and Training to Counter Hate

Aug. 22, 2017

The violent antisemitic and racist hatred seen in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August combined Nazi ideology with white supremacy and drew from the dark historical legacies of the Holocaust and slavery. This hatred revealed the fissures of a long-standing American cultural and identity crisis that requires long-term strategies to provide safe ways to explore identity and difference.

Holocaust Survivors in Latin America

Aug. 25, 2017

Seven scholars from Latin America convene at USC Shoah Foundation for a collaborative research project on the Jewish diaspora to Latin America after World War II.

New Dimensions in Testimony Installed at Museum of Jewish Heritage in NYC

Sept. 6, 2017

The Museum of Jewish Heritage’s pilot NDT installation marks the world premiere of the NDT testimony of Eva Schloss, a survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the posthumous stepsister of Anne Frank.

USC Hosts International Academic Conference on Digital Approaches to Genocide Studies

Sept. 7, 2017

USC Shoah Foundation Center for Advanced Genocide Research, in collaboration with the USC Digital Humanities Program, hosted an international conference that focused on the opportunities and challenges presented by the advancement of digital technologies.

Nearly 1,000 English Transcripts Added to Visual History Archive

Sept. 11, 2017

​USC Shoah Foundation integrates the first 984 English-language transcripts into the Visual History Archive. It is the first such update since ProQuest began working on transcribing testimonies as part of its partnership with USC Shoah Foundation in 2016.

First-Ever American IWalk Guides Students Through Boyle Heights, Los Angeles

Sept. 13, 2017

“Pastrami, Tacos, Burgers: Continuity and Change in Boyle Heights” is published on IWitness, incorporating Holocaust survivor testimony clips into a guided walk through the historic immigrant community of Boyle Heights, Los Angeles.

Survivor Ed Mosberg Donates Torah Scroll to Steven Spielberg

Sept. 15, 2017

Holocaust survivor Edward Mosberg believes it is his duty to share what happened to him, his family, and millions of other Jews during World War II. He regularly shares his story with students all over the world.

VR Film "Lala" Tells Story of Bond Between Family and Dog During the Holocaust

Oct. 2, 2017

USC Shoah Foundation is announcing the release of Lala, a virtual reality film and educational resource that tells the true story of a dog that brightened the lives of a family interned by the Nazis in a ghetto in Poland during the Holocaust.

Student Leaders From Across U.S. Arrive for Institute’s Inaugural Diversity Summit 

Oct. 12, 2017

Two-dozen student body leaders took part in USC Shoah Foundation’s first-ever convening of the Intercollegiate Diversity Congress Summit.

First Permanent NDT Exhibit Opens at Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center

Oct. 25, 2017

The permanent New Dimensions in Testimony exhibit enables visitors to interact with the 13 survivors who were interviewed for the groundbreaking project, including seven who live in the Chicago area.

USC Shoah Foundation Records Interviews of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

Nov. 28, 2017

USC Shoah Foundation Executive Director Stephen Smith and Director of Global Initiatives Karen Jungblut traveled to Bangladesh over the week of Thanksgiving to record interviews with Rohingya refugees who fled genocidal violence in Myanmar.

First Mandarin-Language NDT Exhibit Premieres at Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall

Dec. 12, 2017

On the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall in Nanjing, China, debuted its permanent exhibition of New Dimensions in Testimony (NDT), USC Shoah Foundation’s interactive survivor testimony technology.

In the Media

Wired magazine: The Incredible, Urgent Power of Remembering the Holocaust in VR

Newsweek: How Technology is Keeping Holocaust Survivor Stories Alive Forever

The Verge: Are holograms the future of how we capture memories?

New York Times op-doc: 116 Cameras

Chicago Tribune: How to talk to Holocaust survivors in the future? In Take a Stand's holograms, an answer

Los Angeles Times: Tribeca Film Festival: Five new VR projects you need to know

Haaretz: How Virtual Reality Is Reinventing Holocaust Remembrance

CNN: Shoah Foundation is using technology to preserve Holocaust survivor stories

China Daily: Survivors' video accounts will make future generations aware of war's horror