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.

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.

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.”

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.

A simulation of New Dimensions technology as it may appear in a classroom environment.

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

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.

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.

Nechama remembers being taken from her home with her parents to the nearby Seventh Fort, a military fortification in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1941. She and her mother were released shortly thereafter and allowed to return home. Her father, however, remained in the Fort and witnessed the mass killings of Jewish men by German soldiers and the Lithuanian police. Nechama explains how her father was able to survive the mass killings at the time.

Karen Jungblut, USC Shoah Foundation director of research and documentation, participated in the “Digital Testimonies on War and Trauma” conference in June. Held at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the symposium brought together scholars from all over the world to address the use and impact of digitized narrative collections in relating the horrors of warfare.

Aristides de Sousa Mendes may not be a familiar name, but several people, along with their descendants, who owe their lives to him, are working to change that.

Eva speaks of her gratitude to China and the Chinese people.  She explains that despite the hardships related to the refugee experience, her family was able to survive the Holocaust in Shanghai and move on to create a new life in Australia.

Irma speaks fondly of her life in Chongqing, while she lived in China as a German Jewish refugee during the war.

John reflects on the historical reasons of the anti-refugee sentiment he experienced from the local population while living in China as a German Jewish refugee during the war.

Hermine talks about the medical assistance she received from a local Chinese woman when she, a Jewish refugee from Germany, lived in the Hongkew Ghetto in Shanghai during the war.

Gert expresses his gratitude toward Chinese people and explains that Shanghai served his family as a place of refuge during the war.

Gert describes the community established by Jewish refugees from Germany upon their arrival in China on the eve of World War II. He remembers the living conditions in Shanghai and mentions the Hongkew Ghetto formed in the city by the occupying Japanese authorities in 1943.

Eva reflects on the living conditions she had as a child living in Shanghai, China, during the war and discusses her daily activities.

Fred speaks of his enrollment in the Shanghai Jewish School and describes the education he received while living as a German Jewish refugee in China during the war.

While reminiscing on the Jewish life in Shanghai, Eva talks about the customs and observances her family maintained while living as German Jewish refugees in China, and discusses synagogue attendance.  She  recollects social and cultural activities in the local community.

Fred recalls his first impressions of Shanghai while, housed in a refugee camp, he and his family were adapting to life in China after having fled Nazi Germany in 1939.  He notes that soon after their arrival,  his family moved out of the camp to the Shanghai Japanese quarter.

Helen talks about the overcrowded housing conditions she and her family had in Ward Road Heim—a makeshift refugee camp established in Shanghai, China, during the war.

Henri Deutsch, a jewish survivor, who along with his family was rescued by Aristides de Sousa Mendes, recalls the Portuguese diplomat. Sousa Mendes, against orders from the Portuguese government, issued an estimated 30,000 travel visas to people escaping Nazi-occupied France in 1940.

Featuring testimony on Aristides de Sousa Mendes, this video focuses on the theme of diplomats and rescue and relates some of the best-known cases of aid provided by consulates and embassies including the efforts of Raoul Wallenberg, and Chiune Sugihara. Diplomats in countries throughout Europe helped Jews escape persecution by issuing visas and other travel paperwork that allowed Jews to flee Nazi-occupied territory. Featured in the video are the testimonies of Israel Kipen, Per Anger, and Henri Deutsch who recount their personal experiences of rescue during the Holocaust.