Jewish survivor Dennis Urstein explains the importance of learning from the past, which is why he dedicates a lot of his time speaking with young children. He also describes a difficult situation he handled when speaking with a group of young people.

Holocaust survivor Romana Farrington breaks down stereotypes about Catholic Poles during the Holocaust. This clip is part of the new IWitness activity What is "The Danger of a Single Story"?.

Surrounded by his family, Sam Harris explains why he wanted to tell his story. Live audiences will be able to have a virtual conversation with Sam as part of USC Shoah Foundation's New Dimensions in Testimony project.

Renée Firestone had successful career as fashion designer after moving to Los Angeles. She recalls the conversation that convinced her to tell her story.

USC Shoah Foundation communications intern Holly Blackwelder visited the set of New Dimensions in Testimony to watch Madame Xia Shuqin being filmed.

This short documentary tells the remarkable story of Grace Uwamahoro. She was 10 years during the genocide in Rwanda, yet she made a life-changing decision to save an infant destined to become a victim of genocide. Told in Grace's own words 20 years later, this story is a testament to love in the face of deadly consequences.

This short documentary tells the story of Jean-Marie Vianney Gisagara, who was only 27 years old when he became mayor of Nyanza, Rwanda. When Rwanda's president was killed and the new government issued a kill order on all those of Tutsi heritage, Gisagara actively resisted the command, making himself a target. Witnesses recall his story via a tour of the town he so courageously defended.

Jewish survivor William Good shares his incredible escape story from the Ponary massacre in Lithuania.

Benjamin Oudkerk says that he decided to give his testimony so that his grandchildren could hear his story, and also to share how the kindness of one family saved his life.

 Lemyel Amirian touches on the power of courage. The Armenians of Van and the surrounding regions took extraordinary measures to defend themselves – and, like Mr. Amirian, fortunately, many survived to share their stories. 

Eva Szekely shares the incredible story of how she unexpectedly met the same Arrow Cross member who spared her from being shot into the Danube River as a child years later at a swimming competiton.

Michael Preisler explains the story of Maximilian Kolbe volunteering himself in place of another prisoner, who was going to be killed. Preisler was a prisoner at Pawiak prison after Kolbe had been deported from Pawiak to Auschwitz. 

Walter Berger describes his family and upbringing before the war began in Czechoslovakia. His brother, Sam, is the subject of the new book "Roses in a Forbidden Garden: A Holocaust Love Story," written by Sam's granddaughter Elise Garibaldi.

Jean remembers a story where he lied to police about his age. This saved his life, but he never saw his mother again. This clip is part of the Visual History Archive's Montreal Holocaust Memoral Centre collection.

Helen describes how she established a school in the Radomsko Ghetto for young ghetto inhabitants. She introduced her students to “Gone With the Wind” because they longed for a story to take their minds off their harsh surroundings.

In this talk, Julia Werner attempts to tell the story of the ghettoization of the Jewish population in Poland through the lenses of several photographic collections combined with interviews from the USC Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive.

Holocaust rescuer Irene Opdyke gave her testimony to Jewish Family and Children's Services of San Francisco in 1993 and again to USC Shoah Foundation in 1995. Here, she speaks in each interview about why she shares her story.

In this lecture, Professor Atina Grossmann addresses a transnational Holocaust story that remarkably – despite several decades of intensive scholarly and public attention to the history and memory of the Shoah – has remained essentially untold, marginalized in both historiography and commemoration.

Jewish survivor Renata Schondorf shares her very emotional story of how she barely escaped her fate while standing in line, waiting to go to the gas chambers. This clip is part of the Visal History Archive's Living Testimonies at McGill University collection.

Jewish survivor Ze’ev Weiszner shares his painful story of purposely injuring his leg so that he wouldn’t have to work anymore and instead be sent to a hospital. This clip is part of the Visual History Archive's Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre collection.

Sam tells the story of his father being taken away and ultimately sent to Auschwitz. In the process of trying to save his father, Sam's entire family was almost taken prisoner. Sam, his brother, his sister and his mother were all able to escape except his father.

Helen Colin's daughter Muriel explains how their family first discovered the interview her mother gave at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. Helen says she shares her story so that future generations can learn from it. This is part of the follow-up interview Helen gave to USC Shoah Foundation in June 2016.

Jewish survivor Lotte Kramer discusses the way her poetry has transformed her outlook on life and the Holocaust. Feeling like an outsider in an unfamiliar environment brought up a lot of memories, which were then turned into poems. Her writing has allowed her to open up about her experiences and given her an outlet to share her stories in a very beautiful way.

Aurora Mardiganian speaks here as a survivor of the Armenian Genocide. But from 1918-1920, she was also the face of the Genocide to literally millions of Americans and to others throughout the world. Her tragic, horrific story was told through a 1918 semi-autobiographical book, Ravished Armenia, and a 1919 screen adaptation, also known as Auction of Souls. With the immediacy of a newsreel, the human side to the Genocide was brought to the screen.

Chair/Moderador: Douglas Carranza, Central American Studies, CSU Northridge

English translation: “First, I would like to thank Mr. Steven Spielberg for the brilliant idea he had to create the Shoah Foundation so that all the cruelty committed by the Nazis is never forgotten. I hope that all that we spoke about here, and all that is told about the Shoah, be just a small grain of sand in the vast mountain that should be created (formed) for the much-desired  peace in the world. And all that took place in Germany and in Europe should never happen again. I would also like to say that the world should prevent Nazi cruelty from returning with all its might.

English Translation: “Yes, it was very difficult to carry on with my life after my husband’s death and after my son disappeared. But, I must say that I never lost my will to live even after having suffered so much, having lived through a war as I did. However, to see myself now surrounded with so much love, my daughter, my son-in-law and my two granddaughters, I never feel down. I have always been willing to help others not to feel left out.