USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education has added a collection of testimonies of survivors and rescuers from the 1994 Rwandan Tutsi genocide to its Visual History Archive. This marks the first integration of testimonies outside of Holocaust survivors and witnesses into the Visual History Archive.

In the nineteen nineties, videotape was the most effective format on which to record the testimonies of Holocaust survivors and other witnesses. But like all physical storage media, tape has a shelf life, and in 2008 the Institute and USC Information Technology Services (ITS) started a multimillion-dollar project to digitize the entire Visual History Archive.

The winner of the 2013 Student Voices Short Film competition, Cecilia De Jesus's film tells a compelling story of a young girl's journey through the use of sand animation.

Jayne joined USC Shoah Foundation in 2012, and is based in New York and Philadelphia. Currently the Director of Community Engagement & Outreach Programming, Jayne served as Managing Director of Advancement from 2012-2022. Prior to joining USC, Jayne was President of The ARJAY Group and spent over 25 years as a special event, fundraising and volunteer management consultant. She is a graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Nicole Watkins serves as the Director of Donor Relations for USC Shoah Foundation’s Advancement team and is responsible for managing our donor relations program, stewarding our community of donors and producing the Annual Impact Report. Prior to joining USC 12 years ago, Nicole managed the Los Angeles region of Operation Hope’s Banking on Our Future program. Nicole received her MBA, Masters in Television, Radio and Film, and undergraduate degree in Speech Communication from Syracuse University.

Doug works in the Institute’s technology group as a Technical Project Leader on a variety of different technology projects including the current, major re-development of the Institute’s web applications, IWitness and VHA. Doug has worked for the Shoah Foundation since 2000, starting originally as a Historical Content Analyst to help index English language testimonies and has worked in numerous roles over the years. Doug received a MA in History from California State University, Los Angeles, and both a BA in English Literature and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.

Mills Chang is the Senior Software Architect leading the software development of USC Shoah Foundation ITS Department. Mills received his Master in Computer Science from USC in 2002 and joined USC Shoah Foundation in May 2008.

Daryn Eller manages the Institute’s institutional media collection and participates in cataloging the Visual History Archive testimonies. She previously worked as a magazine and book writer, has an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley, and a masters in library and information science from San Jose State University.

Zachary Goode fulfills most filming and editing requests that come to ITS.  He also helps oversee the digitization and quality control of new collections. He received his M.F.A in Film Production from the Chapman University.

Michael Russell is a lead web developer at USC Shoah foundation. He received a BA in French from University College London, England, and has been a software engineer in the Los Angeles area since 1983.

Inna Gogina is the archivist of the USC Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive. Prior to that, she has worked at USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education in a variety of capacities since 1999, including assistant production coordinator, historical content analyst, coordinator of international programs, and international digital education associate.

Crispin Brooks is the curator of the Institute’s Visual History Archive. He holds a M.Phil. in Russian Literature from the University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies and a diploma in translation from the Chartered Institute of Linguists. His academic publications include two works on Russian avant-garde poetry; his current research interests include the Holocaust in Ukraine and the North Caucasus.

View “The USC Shoah Foundation Story,” a video about the Institute's history and its current mission at the University of Southern California.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND—Echoes and Reflections, a groundbreaking multimedia curriculum on the Holocaust, has been honored for its use of visual history testimony and its educat

Auschwitz (Poland: Concentration Camp)(generic)Ravensbrück (Germany, Concentration Camp)Auschwitz II-Birkenau (Poland: Death Camp)Drancy (France: Concentration Camp)Neustadt-Glewe (Germany: Concentration Camp)

Biographical Information about Barbara Gerson Born May 30, 1924Warsaw, Poland Date of Interview December 4, 1997 Location of Interview California, U.S.A. Length of Interview 2:29:15 Ghetto(s) Czestochowa (Poland: Ghetto) Camp(s) Tschenstochau (Poland: Concentration Camp) (generic) Other experiences

Biographical Information about Ralph Fischer Born November 28, 1922Lódz, Poland Date of Interview February 5, 1996 Location of Interview California, U.S.A. Length of Interview 1:14:43 Ghetto(s) Lódz (Poland: Ghetto) Camp(s) Mauthausen (Austria: Concentration Camp)Auschwitz II-Birkenau (Poland: Death Camp)

Biographical Information about Jack Lewin Born April 13, 1927Lódz, Poland Date of Interview January 27, 1995 Location of Interview California, U.S.A. Length of Interview 2:56:35 Ghetto(s) Lódz (Poland: Ghetto) Camp(s) Auschwitz (Poland: Concentration Camp) (generic)Auschwitz II-Birkenau (Poland: Death Camp)

Biographical Information about Henry Wellner Born February 16, 1920Sosnowiec (Kielce), Poland Date of Interview November 29, 1995 Location of Interview California, U.S.A. Length of Interview 2:16:41 Camp(s) Gross Rosen (Germany: Concentration Camp)Gross Sarne (Germany: Concentration Camp)Klettendorf (Germany: Concentration Camp)

Biographical Information about Sam Steinberg Born September 1, 1928Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland Date of Interview March, 27, 1995 Location of Interview California, U.S.A. Length of Interview 1:18:49 Ghetto(s) Tomaszów Mazowiecki (Poland: Ghetto) Camp(s) Auschwitz (Poland: Concentration Camp) (generic)Flossenbürg (Germany: Concentration Camp)

Biographical Information about Engelina Billauer Born July 29, 1927Berlin, Germany Date of Interview March 1, 1995 Location of Interview California, U.S.A. Length of Interview 1:30:22 Camp(s) Bergen-Belsen (Germany: Concentration Camp)Stutthof (Danzig (FC): Concentration Camp)Goldfields (Estonia: Concentration Camp)Ereda (Estonia: Concentration Camp)

Biographical Information about Paula LebovicsBornSeptember 25, 1933Ostrowiec (Kielce), PolandDate of InterviewMarch 16, 1995Location of InterviewCalifornia, U.S.A.Length of Interview3:12:50Ghetto(s)Ostrowiec (Kielce, Poland: Ghetto)Camp(s)Auschwitz II-Birkenau (Poland: Death Camp)

Biographical Information about Fela Gipsman Born September 5, 1926Bedzin, Poland Date of Interview October 17, 1994 Location of Interview California, U.S.A. Length of Interview :53:41 Camp(s) Sosnowitz (Poland: Concentration Camp) (generic)Blechhammer (Germany: Concentration Camp)Schatzlar (Czechoslovakia: Concentration Camp) Liberated by

Biographical Information about Julia Lentini Born April 15, 1926Eisern, Germany Date of Interview November 12, 1995 Location of Interview California, U.S.A. Length of Interview 3:06:32 Camp(s) Auschwitz ll-Birkenau (Poland: Death Camp)Schlieben (Germany: Concentration Camp)  

Biographical Information about Joseph Aleksander Born August 3, 1923Warsaw, Poland Date of Interview June 23, 1995 Location of Interview California, U.S.A. Length of Interview 1:57:03 Ghetto(s) Warsaw, Poland Camp(s) Auschwitz (Poland: Concentration Camp)(generic)Buchenwald (Germany: Concentration Camp)Majdanek (Poland: Concentration Camp)