On June 6, Steven Spielberg, Founder of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute, presented Robert A. Iger, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, with the Institute’s highest honor, the Ambassador for Humanity Award. Iger was honored at the Institute’s annual gala, where he was recognized for his support of the Institute’s work, his longtime philanthropy, and his leadership role in corporate citizenship. The gala presenting sponsor was jcpenny. Jimmy Kimmel hosted, and Mary J. Blige gave a special musical performance.
robert iger, Steven Spielberg, Stephen Smith, Max Nikias, afh, gala, event / Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Celina Biniaz, a “Schindler Jew,” remembers hearing about the end of the war while listening to an underground radio at the munitions factory set up by Oskar Schindler in the Brünnlitz concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. The Brünnlitz concentration camp was liberated by the Soviet armed forces in May 1945. With the approach of the Soviets, Oskar Schindler left and arranged for several of the camp personnel to leave as well. Celina Biniaz remembers her liberation and describes her liberators.
clip, celina biniaz, female, jewish survivor, liberation, brünnlitz, schindler / Tuesday, June 25, 2013
The Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre in Toronto has introduced USC Shoah Foundation’s online educational tool, IWitness, to Canadian teachers and students, marking the beginning of the Neuberger Centre’s use of IWitness as part of its educational programming.
iwitness, kori street, education, canada, toronto / Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Survivors reflect on the Holocaust and/or World War II from a postwar standpoint and discuss how or why they survived the Holocaust.  Discussing their psychological reactions to the wartime experiences in China, survivors reflect on their thoughts and feelings caused by or directly linked to an experience of persecution in the context of the Holocaust.
China and the Holocaust, postwar reflections / Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Over 17,000 Jews found refuge in Shanghai, China during World War II. In this section, interviewees discuss the patterns of relationships among people who interacted with one another in Shanghai, in the Hongkew Ghetto, and between the ghetto inhabitants, the local population, and the occupying Japanese authorities.  Relations between Jewish refugees of different cultures and from different regions and countries within the Shanghai community are described.
China and the Holocaust, social interactions / Wednesday, June 26, 2013
You’re invited to the USC Shoah Foundation! Free and open to the public, our monthly tours give visitors a chance to explore the life stories of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides and to discover how their memories are being used to overcome prejudice, intolerance, and bigotry.
/ Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Marion Pritchard recalls bringing up the topic of homosexuality at the dinner table and how her father took her aside to discuss the importance of tolerance. She passed away in 2016 at the age of 96. Read our tribute to her.
clip, rescuer, aid provider, female, homosexuality, gay, radclyffe hall / Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Survivors who found refuge in Shanghai and other cities in China during the Holocaust express their feelings toward, and opinions about, China and the Chinese people. They describe the living conditions in China during World War II and the relations between the Jewish refugees and the local population.
China and the Holocaust, attitudes toward Chinese / Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Over 17,000 Jews found refuge in Shanghai, China during World War II. In this section, interviewees talk about the process of adopting and adjusting to the cultural traits and social patterns in the new country and detail their daily life in China. They describe the living conditions and explain how they were able to maintain their Jewish identity while in Shanghai and in the Hongkew Ghetto, established by the occupying Japanese authorities in 1943.  Jewish as well as secular education, and involvement in the youth Zionist organizations are discussed.
China and the Holocaust, daily life / Wednesday, June 26, 2013
On July 7, 1937, the Japanese attack Wanping on the outskirts of Beijing, and the second Sino-Japanese War begins. The Japanese quickly take Beijing and capture Tianjin (Tientsin). Savage fighting breaks out in Shanghai on August 13, which falls to Japan by late December. Initially, Japan continues a policy of open immigration to Shanghai. The November Pogrom (November 9, 1938) in Germany dramatically increases the number of German Jews entering Shanghai. Over 1,500 refugees arrive by the end of December 1938, and the number reaches 4,000 three months later.
China and the Holocaust, flight to China / Thursday, June 27, 2013
During World War II, China was divided into three occupation zones among the Communist (CCP) forces led by Mao Tse-tung based in the north, the Nationalist (Kuomintang, KMT) forces led by Chiang Kai-shek based in the west, and the Japanese armed forces along the eastern seaboard. When the U.S. enters World War II on December 8, 1941, the United States becomes an ally of China.
China and the Holocaust, ghetto living conditions / Thursday, June 27, 2013
On February 18, 1943, as a result of German pressure, Japanese authorities established a ghetto in the Hongkew neighborhood of Shanghai for stateless Jewish refugees who had arrived in Shanghai from Germany and German-occupied areas of Europe from 1937-1942. Kanoh Ghoya was a Japanese official responsible for giving monthly passes to Jewish refugees living in the Hongkew ghetto in Shanghai, China during World War II. Ghoya was also known as the "King of the Jews" and was infamous for his inhumane treatment of ghetto inhabitants.
China and the Holocaust, Ghoya / Thursday, June 27, 2013
When the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945, there are 25,000 to 30,000 Jews in China, 17,000 of them in Shanghai. The Shanghai ghetto is only opened with the arrival of an American goodwill mission on September 3, 1945. Communists and Nationalists race to establish positions in Japanese-occupied areas of China. During 1945-1947, Manchuria is under Soviet occupation, and Jewish community leaders of Harbin are arrested and sent to the Soviet interior.
China and the Holocaust, migration from China / Thursday, June 27, 2013
Survivors reflect on the Holocaust and/or World War II from a postwar standpoint and discuss how or why they survived the Holocaust.  Discussing their psychological reactions to the wartime experiences in China, survivors reflect on their thoughts and feelings caused by or directly linked to an experience of persecution in the context of the Holocaust.
China and the Holocaust, postwar reflections / Thursday, June 27, 2013
Over 17,000 Jews found refuge in Shanghai, China, during World War II. In this section, interviewees discuss the patterns of relationships among people who interacted with one another in Shanghai, in the Hongkew Ghetto, and between the ghetto inhabitants, the local population, and the occupying Japanese authorities.  Relations between Jewish refugees of different cultures and from different regions and countries within the Shanghai community are described.
China and the Holocaust, social interactions / Thursday, June 27, 2013
wallenberg, lesson / Thursday, June 27, 2013
wallenberg, lesson / Thursday, June 27, 2013
wallenberg, lesson / Thursday, June 27, 2013
wallenberg, lesson / Thursday, June 27, 2013
/ Thursday, June 27, 2013
USC Shoah Foundation has created a new leadership group to help bolster its strategic goals, programs, and activities. The Next Generation Council will be composed of community and business leaders, entertainment and media trendsetters, philanthropists, and social entrepreneurs from across the country, as well as children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors.
ngc, next generation council, susan crown / Thursday, June 27, 2013
Beatrice Becker speaks of the dangerous conditions facing the Jews of Iasi, Romania in late June 1941 when Romania entered the war as an ally of Germany. Days later, on Jun 29th, the Jews of Iasi were rounded up by Romanian and German military units. Beatrice heard screams and shooting coming from the direction of the main police headquarters. Beatrice and her parents were rounded up and  were marched toward the police station’s courtyard, where German soldiers concentrated the Jews of Iasi. The family saw many corpses along the way.  Beatrice and her mother were allowed to return home.
clip, female, jewish survivor, Beatrice Becker, Iasi, pogrom, déportation, romania / Thursday, June 27, 2013
Anasheh Tahmasian wanted to intern at USC Shoah Foundation, the Institute for Visual History and Education, as soon as she learned about the work it does. She toured the Institute’s facilities with fellow Armenian students during Genocide Week and recalls, “I was fascinated by the Visual History Archive and immediately recognized the impact it will have on genocide education for future generations.”
/ Monday, July 1, 2013
USC Shoah Foundation recently hosted a number of eminent guests from the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. They included: Jerry Coben, a member of the federation’s board of directors in addition to being an emeritus member of the USC Shoah Foundation Board of Councilors; Jay Sanderson, president and chief executive officer; Andrew Cushnir, executive vice president and chief programming officer; and Shira Rosenblatt, vice president of Jewish education and engagement.
jewish federation, visit, iwitness, education / Monday, July 1, 2013
A simulation of New Dimensions technology as it may appear in a classroom environment.
new dimensions, simulation, promo / Monday, July 1, 2013
/ Monday, July 1, 2013
This year we will be honoring artist and humanitarian George Clooney. We are also happy to announce that the host for the gala will be Jon Stewart. TNT is our presenting sponsor. For more information, call the Gala Benefit Line: 818.777.7876
/ Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Gerda Haas was aware of her upcoming deportation from Berlin, Germany, as of 1942, but was not placed on the deportation list until Mar 17, 1943. She and many other deportees were  first assembled on the Grosse-Hamburger Strasse deportation center and deportation by train took place a few days later. Gerda relates she felt lucky to be sent to the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia and believes it was due to her profession as a nurse.
clip, Gerda Haas, female, déportation, terezin, Theresienstadt, jewish survivor / Tuesday, July 2, 2013
In celebration of the United States’ Independence Day, the holiday that honors the nation’s birth with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, we share a clip from the testimony of Holocaust survivor Israel Baicher. Israel describes immigrating to the United States as his happiest day and recounts the wonderful life he and his wife successfully built together.
clip, male, jewish survivor, immigration, America / Wednesday, July 3, 2013

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