Survivors and their testimonies have been central to Holocaust research and memorial culture. Even before the end of the Shoah, survivor historians in parts of Eastern Europe liberated from Nazi occupation collected testimonies and conducted interviews with fellow survivors.

These practices constituted an integral part in rebuilding lives, coping with trauma, and shaping collective memories (Laura Jockusch).

USC Shoah Foundation Center for Advanced Genocide Research cosponsors this lecture, which is part of the Fall 2019 Hebrew Union College-USC Casden Institute Faculty and Graduate Student Research Seminar.

This lecture offers an examination of pro-state paramilitary violence in the Syrian conflict. It analyzes the emergence and transformation of pro-state paramilitarism in Syria in the context of the uprising and civil war. It focuses on the Syrian government’s deployment of the Shabbiha (later renamed ‘National Defense Forces’), irregular paramilitaries dressed in civilian gear and committing a broad spectrum of violence, including torture, kidnapping, assassination, sexual violence, and a string of massacres across the country.

Alan Auyeung oversees the collection, management and transfer area of broadcast video equipment; administers educational, instructional and reference materials collections; and provides services for patrons including ensuring requests for distribution copies of the archive are fulfilled.  Prior to joining USC, Alan worked at a Los-Angeles area post-production technical support service provider for 20 years as an Electronic Technician, with experiences in post-production systems and equipment repair, maintenance, and troubleshooting.

The “comfort women” issue is perhaps Japan’s most contentious present-day diplomatic quandary.  Inside Japan, the issue is dividing the country across clear ideological lines. Supporters and detractors of “comfort women” are caught in a relentless battle over empirical evidence, the validity of oral testimony, the number of victims, the meaning of sexual slavery, and the definition of coercive recruitment. Credibility, legitimacy and influence serve as the rallying cry for all those involved in the battle.

WHY ATTEND THIS PROGRAM?

Philadelphia is home to the new Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza. The Memorial Plaza features USC Shoah Foundation’s IWalk app that guides visitors through the interpretive elements of the Memorial Plaza with background information and personal testimonies of Holocaust survivors and other witnesses.

To support educators’ integration of this innovative resource, the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation and USC Shoah Foundation have partnered with ADL to provide professional development to educators in the Philadelphia area.