Today we remember the lives lost at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on October 27, 2018. The Shabbat morning attack, in which 11 worshippers were killed and six wounded—including several Holocaust survivors—was the deadliest act of antisemitic violence in United States history. Synagogue member Judah Samet, a Hungarian-born survivor of the Holocaust, sat trapped in his car in the synagogue parking lot that Saturday morning as law enforcement agents engaged in a gun battle with the shooter.

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently declared that Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day—observed annually on April 24—will become a statewide holiday to be known as Genocide Awareness Day.

USC Shoah Foundation invites applications from advanced-level PhD candidates for the 2023-2024 USC Shoah Foundation Robert J. Katz Research Fellowship in Antisemitism Studies.

USC Shoah Foundation today welcomes Dr. Victoria Walden, a senior lecturer from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, who will spend the next two weeks conducting research at the Institute on digital memory and the Holocaust.

Fifteen hours of interviews describing the actions of a group of World War II-era diplomats who defied official policies to save tens of thousands of lives during the Holocaust have been added to USC Shoah Foundation’s 55,000-strong Visual History Archive (VHA) thanks to a collaboration with the Andrew J. & Joyce D. Mandell Family Foundation.

  Call for Applications from PhD Candidates   Greenberg Research Fellowship USC Shoah Foundation Katz Research Fellowship in Genocide Studies

  Call for Applications from Senior Scholars   2023-2024 Center Research Fellowship Deadline: January 31, 2023  

Pip Wood has worked as a journalist for outlets including ABC and CNN and in communications for the United Nations, multinational development banks, and non-governmental organizations.

USC President Carol L. Folt and scholars from USC and beyond gathered at the global headquarters of USC Shoah Foundation on November 11 for the public launch of the redesigned Visual History Archive, the world’s largest collection of primary source video testimonies from survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides. 

Dr. Kori Street, Deputy Executive Director of USC Shoah Foundation, was recently appointed to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education.  Governor Newsom launched the council last year to promote Holocaust and genocide education with the goal of providing young people with the tools necessary to recognize and respond to bigotry or discrimination.  

USC Shoah Foundation offers a robust collection of resources, events and activities to counter antisemitism for educators and students—on the USC campus and beyond—for the 2022-2023 academic year. Initiatives at USC began with the September 16-18 Stronger than Hate Leadership Summit for student leaders. The three-day event, led by USC Shoah Foundation’s Education Department, consisted of guest speakers, discussions and interactions with IWitness and testimonies from the Visual History Archive. 

The Center announces Call for Applications for research fellowships for senior scholars, PhD candidates, and USC students.

A public lecture by Sina Fabian (Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, History) USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research Visiting Scholar (Join us in person for this lecture or attend virtually on Zoom) Organized by the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research

Held on November 16, 2022, this moderated discussion features Dr. Mehnaz Afridi of Manhattan College and Dr. Sara Lipton of Stony Brook University, who are members of USC Shoah Foundation’s Scholar Lab on Antisemitism program. As part of the discussion, Dr. Afridi and Dr. Lipton present on their research projects examining antisemitism in the Arab world and representations of Jews in medieval Christian sermons, respectively, focusing on the insights they gained into the causes, manifestations and consequences of antisemitism through history and in relation to religion.

Following remarks by USC President Carol Folt and Finci-Viterbi Executive Director Dr. Robert Williams, this discussion and live demo event feature a panel discussion moderated by USC Shoah Foundation's Dr. Kori Street, demonstration of the new features, and opportunities to ask questions and learn from testimony. The VHA redesign, part of the Lee Liberman Visual History Archive Program was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Lee Liberman Foundation, Koret Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies and others.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) today announced the appointment of USC Shoah Foundation Finci-Viterbi Executive Director Robert Williams as Advisor to the IHRA for a three-year term.

Today marks the 84th anniversary of the Kindertransport, the rescue operation that beginning in 1938 helped nearly 10,000 Jewish children escape to the United Kingdom from Germany and Nazi-controlled territory in Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. 

Robert Widerman Clary was among the first 100 Holocaust survivors interviewed for USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive, and he conducted 75 interviews of other survivors. In his testimony, he talks about his instinct and talent for entertaining—honed while he was a child in Paris—saved and shaped his life.

Gerald Szames chokes up easily, especially when talking about his mother. So for years, his daughter has taken it upon herself to tell her father’s story of surviving the Holocaust as a small boy. She speaks to audiences at schools, houses of worship and community centers, often with her father by her side to answer questions. 

It wasn't until Renée received a phone call from the Simon Wiesenthal Center asking her to tell her story that she thought seriously about sharing her testimony with the world. Hearing about a particular antisemitic event that occurred in Los Angeles made Renée reflect on her experiences and motivated her to share her experiences.