“I think this is very important … what you are doing to keep the memory of the people alive. Because the survivor community is diminishing … because one sentence, one episode that a survivor has to share that nobody else did, is worthwhile.”
—Isaac Goodfriend
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.
This downloadable video contains clips from testimonies of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust from the USC Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive who were born and grew up in the Polish city of Oświęcim, now infamous as the location of Auschwitz camp system created there by the occupying Nazi German administration.
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.
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.