The Following Op-Ed was published in U.S. News by the USC Shoah Foundation's Finci-Viterbi Executive Director, Robert J. Williams, Ph.D.
January 27, 2025

 

As we commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day today and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, we find ourselves at a critical juncture in history.

On January 27, 1945, Allied Forces liberated the camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Each year on this anniversary, the world observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a solemn occasion for us all to affirm our commitment to Holocaust remembrance and education and to a world that respects and knows the histories of the victims and survivors of this terrible crime. 

The USC Shoah Foundation has released a powerful new testimony-based walking tour (IWalk) of the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex in Yerevan, Armenia, on its IWalk app ( IOS/

USC Shoah Foundation announced today the upcoming release of the Searching for Never Again Podcast which launches on April 22nd. From the heartbreaking to the inspirational, the podcast explores the past and present of antisemitism and hate, and how together we can understand and resist it.

The Division of Academic Programs at the USC Shoah Foundation invites applications from PhD candidates and early-career scholars for its Colloquium in Holocaust Studies. We welcome applications from scholars in any discipline whose research explores the histories and legacies of the Holocaust.

As the 110th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide approaches on April 24, the USC Shoah Foundation is proud to announce the landmark partnership with the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, a hub of research and learning at USC dedicated to studying the contemporary Armenian diaspora and the Republic of Armenia.

Joel Citron, Chair of the USC Shoah Foundation – Institute for Visual History and Education Board of Councilors, concluded his distinguished tenure on June 30.

Joel's connection to the Institute is deeply personal. Both his parents and an aunt are Holocaust survivors, with testimonies preserved in the Institute's testimony archive. That legacy has fueled his passionate advocacy for the growth of the collection and his vision for the Institute's role as a global leader in Holocaust remembrance and the fight against antisemitism.

The Division of Academic Programs at the USC Shoah Foundation and the Shoah Lab at the University of Belgrade Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory invite applications from PhD candidates and early-career scholars for its Colloquium on the Holocaust in the Balkans. We welcome applications from scholars in any discipline whose research explores the histories and legacies Holocaust in this region.

We are saddened to learn of the passing of György Kun, who gave his testimony in October 1999 in Budapest, Hungary. His daughter, Andrea Szonyis, an educator and former colleague at the USC Shoah Foundation, authored a story in the series "Voices from the Archive” about her father.
The university celebrated Shapiro’s gift at an event outside Leavey Library on USC’s University Park Campus, the home of the USC Shoah Foundation. As part of the gift, the foundation’s space at the library has been renamed the Mickey Shapiro Headquarters of the USC Shoah Foundation.