Adora Okun describes being fed once every 24 hours while having to complete grueling hard labor while interned in Auschwitz. This is the 23rd testimony clip in the series 70 Days of Testimony: Leading up to the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz.

November 11, 2014:   How can analyses of Holocaust witnessing be approached in spatial terms? Simone Gigliotti's lecture drew primarily on the USC Shoah Foundation testimony of two Holocaust-era witnesses with postwar profiles of testimony giving—a slave laborer in a death brigade, and a ghetto internee who survived on false papers. Gigliotti uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to render the witness testimony in spatial terms.

Though Olga and Paula connected through testimony over a year ago, local media recently reported on their unique friendship and introduced them to the world.

Even in the earliest days of the USC Shoah Foundation, a staff of hundreds worked around the world to conduct interviews and create educational materials that used testimony to teach about the Holocaust. Yet, if they were based oversees, they probably never had the opportunity to visit the foundation’s headquarters in Los Angeles. That was Annette Wulf until just a few months ago, when she visited the office for the first time.

Dario Gabbai recalls his experiences as a Sonderkommando in Auschwitz II-Birkenau.

Educators who have registered for December’s two-part Echoes and Reflections webinar have until Monday, Dec. 15 to complete Part II. The webinar provides in-depth instruction for educators about using the multimedia guide in their classrooms to teach about the Holocaust.

Keith Meador doesn’t mind that his students say they’d rather watch videos in class than listen to him lecture.That’s because the videos they are referring to are USC Shoah Foundation testimonies.

Through a new partnership with Mona Golabek’s Hold On To Your Music Foundation, IWitness launched this activity to introduce students to the history and experience of the Kindertransport.

Itka Zygmuntowicz reflects on the camp orchestra within Auschwitz that was forced to play music while inmates were sent to the crematoria. This is the 25th testimony clip in the series 70 Days of Testimony: Leading up to the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. 

Former USC Shoah Foundation Executive Director Douglas Greenberg's Comparative Genocide course at Rutgers University has had a profound effect on his students.

Political prisoner Teofil Modeslski describes when he witnesses an execution at the ‘death wall,’ which was wall between Blocks 10 and 11 in the main Auschwitz-I where prisoners were executed by firing squad. This is the 26th testimony clip in the series 70 Days of Testimony: Leading up to the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. 

Josef Baumgarten describes the medical experimentation performed on him as well as 14 other Jewish boys in Auschwitz. He not only describes the horrifying surgery but also the psychological impact. This is the 27th testimony clip in the series 70 Days of Testimony: Leading up to the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. 

Clare Winter recalls how she was separated from her mother and brother, who were sent immediately to the gas chambers upon arrival to Auschwitz. She also describes the dehumanization procedures including having to undress in front of other prisoners and SS guards. This is the 28th testimony clip in the series 70 Days of Testimony: Leading up to the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. 

More than 100 Auschwitz survivors from at least 17 countries will travel to Poland to participate in the observance of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz on 27 January 2015, on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The official event will be organized by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and the International Auschwitz Council. The World Jewish Congress and the USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education will be among the organizations supporting this commemorative event.

Tema Cukier describes the barracks, forced labor and hunger she experience in Auschwitz. Tema also remembers becoming close friends with a young girl who demonstrated a small act of kindness. This is the 29th testimony clip in the series 70 Days of Testimony: Leading up to the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. 

Leading American and international businessmen and philanthropists are joining forces to support the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau on 27 January 2015.

The Italian Ministry of Education has passed a decree that will pave the way for USC Shoah Foundation’s multimedia resource "Giving Memory a Future" to be used in schools across Italy to teach about the Roma/Sinti experience during the Holocaust.

Milena Santerini, a professor and representative in Italian Parliament, has been a longtime partner and supporter of the Giving Memory a Future project with USC Shoah Foundation. That’s because she believes it is vital to teach Italians the true story of the Roma/Sinti people so that this long-excluded minority can find its place in Italian life.

Menachem Rubin remembers when a fellow prisoner lit one candle in recognition of the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah Auschwitz II-Birkenau. Even though it was just one second, the moment was significant for Menachem in restoring hope. This is the 30th testimony clip in the series 70 Days of Testimony: Leading up to the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. 

USC Shoah Foundation is planning its first IWitness classroom pilot in the San Francisco Bay Area and is looking for teachers who can help make it happen.

When Keith Stringfellow was about 12, he was reading a book about World War II when his great uncle, a World War II veteran, began telling him about his experiences at Normandy after D-Day. Stringfellow asked him what affected him most during the war, and he answered simply, “Dachau.”

Jewish survivor, Anna Zaryn describes being forced to clean up the remnants of Zigeunerlager (Sinti- Roma camp) in Auschwitz-Birkenau after it was liquidated on August 2, 1944. Anna’s testimony is featured in the multimedia resource Giving Memory a Future. This is the 31st testimony clip in the series 70 Days of Testimony: Leading up to the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. 

"My Story Matters" focuses on the importance of individuals sharing stories of survival for their own benefit, for the benefit of others, and for the collective benefit to the world.

Since graduating from USC Shoah Foundation’s Master Teacher Workshop in 2010, Hank Koransky has made IWitness an integral part of his teaching at Brentwood School in Los Angeles.Koransky is a history teacher, chair of the history department and dean of faculty at Brentwood School, and has taught courses on everything from Ancient and Medieval History to AP Comparative Government.

USC Shoah Foundation Center for Advanced Genocide Research invites proposals from advanced standing Ph.D. candidates who will focus their research on the Visual History Archive.

Noémi Ban remembers the very first time she saw members of the SS, right before she and her family were deported to Auschwitz. She recalls the terrifying journey in the cattle cars from Hungary to Poland and also her first impressions of the concentration and extermination camp. This clip reel of Noémi’s testimony is featured in the IWitness activity My Story Matters.

The initiative will use the Institute’s state-of-the-art infrastructure to digitize, index and integrate videotaped Holocaust testimony taken by other organizations around the world into the Visual History Archive.

By Cat VazquezWhen asked about what she does for a living, Judy Janec starts off with an explanation rather than a title. An average day at the office for her can take place anywhere, and at any time, but the assignment is the same: to index video testimonies from Holocaust survivors and witnesses. Often working from her laptop at a café or library, she closely watches the interviews, and using judgment and discretion, assigns key terms to each section of the testimony.

Rwanda Peace Education Program (RPEP) hosted the second Forum of Educational Stakeholders on Peace Education to discuss progress made in line with the integration of Peace Education in the Rwandan school curriculum.

Mihaly Templer describes observing Jewish High Holy days as a form of resistance within Auschwitz. This is the 33rd testimony clip in the series 70 Days of Testimony: Leading up to the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz.