USC Shoah Foundation’s 30 Years of Collection, Preservation, and Knowledge
Our History
Our Impact
Most Watched Testimonies
Top News
30 Years of Preserving History
Director Steven Spielberg founded Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation in 1994 to videotape and preserve interviews with Holocaust survivors.
By 2001, we had collected 52,000 testimonies. Our Visual History Archive now contains almost 57,000 searchable testimonies, the largest such collection in the world.
We started digitizing our collection in 2008 and we constantly update our preservation systems. We hold 12 patents on digital collection management technologies that we developed.
In 2024, users viewed 138 million minutes of testimony on YouTube.
In January 2006, the Shoah Foundation moved from Universal Studios to the USC campus in Los Angeles, joining the vibrant and engaged community of faculty, researchers, and students. In 2023, we opened offices at USC’s Washington, D.C., campus.
Expanding Research Horizons
Researchers, students, journalists, policymakers, storytellers, and the public turn to our Archive to enrich and expand their understanding of history. With its wealth of testimonies, tools, and resources, the Archive is vital for deepening knowledge and fostering meaningful insights.
A walk through our history, from VHS tapes in the backlots of Universal Studios to our state-the-art technology center and elegant headquarters at USC.
Our 30-Year Impact
208
Archive Access Sites
7,000
Scholary Citations
407,000
Educators
27 Million
Students
47 Million
YouTube Views
Our Partners
Viewers around the world watched 138 million minutes of testimony on YouTube in 2024. Explore some of the interviews they found most compelling.
The USC Shoah Foundation is troubled by news that hardline nationalists have erected plaques in Jedwabne that distort the history of the July 10, 1941, pogrom, which claimed the lives of hundreds of that town’s Jews. The Jedwabne massacre is a well-researched historical fact, supported by archival documents and eyewitness testimonies, yet it remains an inconvenient reality for those who seek to distort the truth of the Holocaust for all manner of purposes.
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Joel Citron, Chair of the USC Shoah Foundation – Institute for Visual History and Education Board of Councilors, concluded his distinguished tenure on June 30.Joel's connection to the Institute is deeply personal. Both his parents and an aunt are Holocaust survivors, with testimonies preserved in the Institute's testimony archive. That legacy has fueled his passionate advocacy for the growth of the collection and his vision for the Institute's role as a global leader in Holocaust remembrance and the fight against antisemitism.
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The USC Shoah Foundation, the organization dedicated to increasing knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust and other atrocities, has announced the appointment of Melinda Goldrich as Chair of its Board of Councilors, effective July 1, 2025. She succeeds Joel Citron, whose term concludes at the end of the month. Goldrich currently serves as the board's vice chair and was formally elected to the new role during the Institute's June 3 board meeting in New York City.
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The Division of Academic Programs at the USC Shoah Foundation invites applications from PhD candidates and early-career scholars for its Colloquium in Holocaust Studies. We welcome applications from scholars in any discipline whose research explores the histories and legacies of the Holocaust.
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The Division of Academic Programs at the USC Shoah Foundation and the Shoah Lab at the University of Belgrade Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory invite applications from PhD candidates and early-career scholars for its Colloquium on the Holocaust in the Balkans. We welcome applications from scholars in any discipline whose research explores the histories and legacies Holocaust in this region.
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In the face of history's darkest chapter, Allan J. Hall has become a beacon of hope and resilience, a Holocaust survivor whose life journey exemplifies the human ability to triumph over unimaginable adversity.
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