After time goes by without receiving a letter from Willi, Stefan decides to write the German soldier himself. His decision to put down his return address on the envelope seals his fate. Not long after, September 19, 1942, the Gestapo bring Stefan in for questioning.Foreign words in this clip:Haftbefehl (German): arrest warrantHandschenkel (meant to say Handschellen) (German): handcuffsVerhöre (German): police interrogations

After his arrest in September 1942, Stefan Kosinski was incarcerated while awaiting his trial. In this clip, he recounts the conditions in the jail and his memory of seeing his mother out the window of his jail cell keeping vigil. She is also present during his trial before the Nazi court, which sentences Stefan to five years hard labor. Foreign words in this clip:pedo (Polish): derogatory term for a gay personschwul (German): gay, homosexualZuchthaus (German): penitentiary

Hannah Altbush describes the horrible experience of being expelled from her school in Nazi Germany simply because she was Jewish.

Stefan (Teofil) Kosinski’s testimony is the only English-language testimony we have in the Visual History Archive from a homosexual survivor, which is also remarkable for the fact that Stefan is not a native English speaker.

As a young girl Hedy Epstein returned home from school in Nazi Germany to find her house empty, locked and her parents nowhere to be found. She describes the terrifying confrontation with a Nazi when looking for her parents.

John K. Roth Professor of History and George R. Roberts Fellow at Claremont McKenna College, and 2015 USC Shoah Foundation Yom Hashoah Scholar in Residence Dr. Wendy Lower discusses the role of German women in the Nazi killing fields.  

Three women tell their stories of struggle, courage, and resilience, and share their vision of rebuilding societies broken by genocide. 

USC Shoah Foundation Center for Advanced Genocide Research Center Fellow Peg Levine, PhD, EdD, discusses her term Ritualcide and its application during the Cambodian Genocide.

Yehuda Danzing remembers the liberation of Bergen-Belsen by British Armed Forces in April 1945. He describes the confusion of liberation since he didn’t understand English and he thought the British soldiers announcing his freedom were Nazi soldiers giving more orders.

Testimony from USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive played a prominent role in two events in Prague last week: Paideia - The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden’s annual alumni conference and a photography exhibit of the famous “Auschwitz Album.”

Max Iland reflects on personal struggles with faith and suffering. He is brought to tears at the thought of how much his mother and brother must have suffered on their way to the concentration camp and when they were sent to the gas chambers.

Over 100 students and teachers who participated in USC Shoah Foundation’s testimony-based art and writing project in Hungary this year came together last week for a closing celebration that honored the students’ achievements and showcased their thoughtful responses to testimony.

A USC Soá Alapítvány és a Zachor Alapítvány immár harmadik éve hirdetett művészeti pályázatot általános iskola felső tagozatán tanuló és középiskolás diákok számára. Idén január 27-e, az auschwitz-birkenaui láger felszabadulásának 70. évfordulója és a holokauszt nemzetközi emléknapja tiszteletére vártuk a pályaműveket.

Dr. Bertram Schaffner, who served as a military psychiatrist during World War 2, recounts how he dealt with the military's anti-gay policy while evaluating draftees.

100 Days to Inspire Respect Kitty Fischer recounts her time in Auschwitz-II Birkenau when as a young girl she encounters for the first time a gay male prisoner who will turn out to save her life.

Thanks to the quick response of a homosexual prisoner at the Oranienburg-Heinkelwerke labor camp (a subcamp of Sachsenhausen), Douglas Fox escaped from a line of transferred prisoners who were unknowingly being given a lethal injection upon their arrival.

Tibor Pivko remembers when the Nazis destroyed the Czechoslovakian town of Lidice in retaliation for the assassination of high ranking Nazi Reinhard Heydrich, by Czech and British resistance soldiers.

As Ukraine embarks on an effort to radically change its law enforcement culture, USC Shoah Foundation’s international consultant in Ukraine, Anna Lenchovska, is using testimony to teach newly trained police officers tolerance and non-discrimination.

Faigie Libman describes the roll call procedures in the Kovno (Kaunas) ghetto located in Lithuania. She remember being terrified every time she would see the cruel Gestapo sergeant.

Anita Ekstein remembers Soviet troops occupying her home town in Synowódzko Wyzne, Poland (now Ukraine), from 1939-1941. She states her life was not drastically altered by their presence. However, the Soviet troops eventually retreated as German forces closed in, and at this time, Anita and her family were forced into hiding.