USC Shoah Foundation

USC Shoah Foundation Do you know a Holocaust survivor with an experience to share? IWitness is the Institute’s signature educational website for teachers and their students.
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USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education is dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides a compelling voice for education and action. The Institute currently has more than 55,000 video testimonies, each one a unique source of insight and knowledge that offers powerful stories from history that demand to be

explored and shared. The testimonies are preserved in the Visual History Archive, one of the largest digital collections of its kind in the world. They average a little over two hours each in length and were conducted in 62 countries and 41 languages. The vast majority of the testimonies contain a complete personal history of life before, during, and after the interviewee’s firsthand experience with genocide. The Visual History Archive is digitized, fully searchable via indexed keywords, and hyperlinked to the minute. With more than 115,000 hours of testimony stored in the Archive, indexing technology is essential for enabling users to pinpoint topics of interest. Indexing allows students, teachers, professors, researchers and others around the world to retrieve entire testimonies or search for specific sections within testimonies through a set of more than 64,800 keywords and phrases, 1.86 million names, and 718,000 images. Using testimony from the Visual History Archive, the Institute has developed innovative learning tools geared toward middle and high school students and teacher training programs that optimize the use of testimony in diverse educational settings worldwide – providing an experience that takes students beyond textbooks for more impactful learning. The free site has been used by students and educators in all 50 states and over 80 countries including Poland, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hungary, Australia and France. Stored on the IWitness platform are 2,224 full-length testimonies from the Visual History Archive. The platform’s built-in learning activities are designed around short, curated clips. IWitness learning activities enhance existing curriculum across many subject areas including social studies, English Language Arts, government, foreign language, world history, American history, and character education. The Center for Advanced Genocide Research is the research and scholarship unit of the Institute. Founded in 2014, the Center is dedicated to advancing new areas of interdisciplinary research on the Holocaust and genocide, specifically discussing the origins of genocide and how to intervene in the cycle that leads to mass violence. The Center holds international conferences and workshops and hosts fellows and scholars in residence to conduct research using the vast resources available at the University of Southern California. It distinguishes itself by focusing on interdisciplinary study organized around three themes to advance the analysis of genocide and systematic mass violence on an international scale.

05/29/2026

In the first episode of the 2026 Daniel & Marisa Klass USC Shoah Foundation , host Dr. Brian Hughes speaks with Hillel International’s Dr. Mara Lee Grayson on the “myth of Jewish whiteness” and how it affects academic and cultural spaces.

In this clip, Dr. Grayson breaks down the joke of “two Jews, three opinions” and how it connects to debate, interpretation, and knowledge-sharing in Jewish culture.

Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel: https://ow.ly/n2KN50Z5nE4

05/27/2026

We mourn the loss of Daisy Miller, Holocaust survivor and longtime contributor to the USC Shoah Foundation. She passed away May 16 at the age of 87.

Daisy was among the first child survivors of the Holocaust to share her experiences in a group setting. She helped mobilize the formation of the World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust & Descendants in 1985 and worked full time for the USC Shoah Foundation for 20 years in community outreach and fundraising.

In her USC Shoah Foundation testimony, recorded in 1999, Daisy reflects on the significance of seeing the Statue of Liberty on her journey to the U.S. after WWII.

May her memory be a blessing.

Read our full tribute to Daisy: https://ow.ly/jR2P50Z4IfC

05/25/2026

WWII veteran Arthur Langhorst worked as a surgical technician on the front lines as part of the U.S. Army’s 4th Auxiliary Surgical Group.

In his USC Shoah Foundation testimony, recorded in 1998, Arthur recalls a moment he shared with a young wounded soldier.

On , we remember and honor all U.S. military personnel who died in service.

05/23/2026

In May, we celebrate , honoring the history, culture, and lasting contributions of Jewish Americans in the United States. After World War II, many Holocaust survivors immigrated to the United States, forging new paths and helping shape the fabric of the nation we know today.

Holocaust survivor Ragna Bosset immigrated to the United States from France after WWII and recalls the kindness she experienced, which allowed her to grow in her new city.

05/21/2026

Holocaust survivor Kathy Fuchs remembers one of her favorite holidays growing up in Czechoslovakia, , and the traditional dishes that accompany it.

Chag Shavuot Sameach to all who celebrate!

05/15/2026

This May, we celebrate , honoring the history, culture, and lasting contributions of Jewish Americans in the United States. After World War II, many Holocaust survivors immigrated to the United States, forging new paths and helping to shape the fabric of the nation we know today.

After surviving the Holocaust, Gertrud Mainzer, her husband, and her two children immigrated to the United States. She raised her children and attended school to be a librarian. Later in her life, she attended NYU Law and worked in private practice and then as a family court judge in New York City. She also worked as a professor at the Cardozo School of Law, where the program in Family Law, Policy and Bioethics is named in her honor.

In her testimony, recorded with the USC Shoah Foundation in 1998, Gertrud shares how she followed her dream late in life.

05/13/2026

in 1939, the German transatlantic ship, the St. Louis, sailed from Hamburg, Germany, to Havana, Cuba, with more than 900 passengers on board—most of them Jewish and fleeing the Third Reich. Due to rising xenophobia, antisemitism, and the ongoing Great Depression, the U.S. government and Cuban officials did not permit the refugees to enter the country and the ship never disembarked, returning to Europe.

Holocaust survivor Gisela Feldman, a passenger of the St. Louis, remembers the heartbreak of not making it to safety.

05/12/2026

The USC Shoah Foundation mourns the passing of Abraham H. “Abe” Foxman, Holocaust survivor and longtime national director of the Anti-Defamation League. He was one of the most influential Jewish leaders in the global fight against antisemitism and hate. He was 86.

For decades, Foxman led efforts to confront antisemitism and extremism. He also opposed Holocaust denial and all forms of bigotry. A Holocaust survivor, he turned his personal history into a lifelong commitment that guided his advocacy, education, and moral responsibility.

May his memory be a blessing.

Read our full tribute to Abe: https://sfi.usc.edu/news/2026/05/37866-abraham-h-foxman-holocaust-survivor-and-defining-voice-against-antisemitism

05/10/2026

“What I’m going to tell you now, it’s a miracle because none of us were in control of our own life.”

In honor of , we listen to Holocaust survivor Eva Aigner as she shares the extraordinary story of her mother’s escape from a cattle train bound for a concentration camp and her 10-day journey back to her daughters. Upon finding them, she bribed an Arrow Cross guard and saved them from being killed alongside the Danube River.

05/09/2026

On May 8, 1945, known as (Victory in Europe Day), celebrations erupted around the world to mark the end of WWII in Europe.

For many who endured profound loss during the war, the day was not easy to celebrate. Odoska Morgante, an Italian doctor who worked to hide Jews during the war, found it difficult to find joy due to the tragedies she had witnessed.

In her testimony, recorded with the USC Shoah Foundation in 1997, Odoska remembers the overwhelming sorrow she felt on VE Day.

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