In March of 1989, Dr. Sharon Aroian-Poiser traveled to Armenia to help children recover from the trauma of the 6.8 earthquake that crumbled 250 villages and killed tens of thousands of people just a few months before.

But the children, following the lead of the adults around them, remained silent -- until the day Aroian-Poiser pulled out her tape-recorder and demonstrated how it worked.

Almost immediately, the children lined up, and in formal recitation, one after another, told the tape recorder about the day their world collapsed.

‘Dimensions in Testimony Education’ is the first version of the groundbreaking technology available for instruction in classrooms around the world. Teachers and students can ask questions that prompt real-time response from a pre-recorded video of Pinchas—engaging in virtual conversation and redefining inquiry-based education.
My mom always told me, no matter how good you get at sports, no matter how well you do at anything, people will always remember you for your character. And I truthfully feel that way with anyone I interact with. She calls it a big heart.

“Speaking About Sexuality: Male Jewish Intimacy and Agency in Oral History Interviews”

Florian Zabransky (PhD candidate at the Weidenfeld Institute–Centre for German-Jewish Studies at University of Sussex, UK)

2020-2021 Margee and Douglas Greenberg Research Fellow

April 6, 2021

“Research With Testimonies: Featuring the Center's 2020 Lev Student Research Fellows”

Lucy Sun (USC undergraduate student, History major) and Rachel Zaretsky (MFA candidate in Art, USC Roski School of Art and Design)

2020 Beth and Arthur Lev Student Research Fellows

April 14, 2021

This week, more than 20,000 people will attend Liberation 75, a virtual, global gathering for Holocaust survivors, their descendants, scholars, educators, and the wider community. The online conference, taking place May 4 to 9, is cosponsored by more than 200 organizations, including USC Shoah Foundation.

USC Shoah Foundation recently launched the Visual History Archive at Harvard University, establishing a powerful bridge from coast to coast, including a vibrant and timely panel discussion examining hate and disinformation in public discourse and concrete pathways to address the problems we face.

André, on the right, with his parents, Max and Regina, and an aunt at a café in Paris in 1939. Max and Regina were killed in Auschwitz in 1942.

Above: One branch of the Scheinman family, which expanded considerably after cousin Zoe found and reached out to descendants of the ten children of Shmuel and Feige Scheinman, her husband’s great grandparents.

Last summer, Phil Scheinman spent five hours straight watching Joseph André Scheinmann’s testimony on USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive. He was both devastated and riveted.