121056_16pgr_PF_Winter 12/10/09 4:25 PM Page C1 Winter 2010 PastForward autumn 2007 PastForward THE NEWSLETTER OF THE USC SHOAH FOUNDATION INSTITUTE Teacher Innovation Network: Empowering Educators to Change the World USC SHOAH FOUNDATION INSTITUTE FOR VISUAL HISTORY AND EDUCATION www.college.usc.edu/vhi C1 121056_16pgr_PF_Winter 12/10/09 4:26 PM Page IFC2 Board of Councilors Wel Steven Spielberg Honorary Chair Edgar M. Bronfman Honorary Co-chair Renée Crown Honorary Co-chair Lew Wasserman Honorary Co-chair in Memoriam Wallis Annenberg Russel Bernard T Gerald Breslauer Jerome Coben Stephen Cozen Susan Crown David Eisman Phyllis Epstein Emanuel Gerard Eric Greenberg Marc Grossman Yossie Hollander PastForward Robert Katz winter 2o1o William Lauder Lee Liberman Skip Paul Bruce Ramer Welcome Special Coverage Harry Robinson 1 Touchstone of Humanity 8 Steven Spielberg Honored Michael Rutman with Liberty Medal for Mickey Shapiro Accessibility Humanitarian Work Erna Viterbi 2 “The Courage to Tell”: Casey Wasserman Testimonies of Rwandan Accessibility Genocide Survivors 9 New Visual History Archive Founding Executive Directors Search Interface June Beallor 3 Online: First Testimonies James Moll on the Internet 9 Preserving the Testimonies Founding Advisory Committee Research Giving Karen Kushell 4 Genocide Survivor Testimony 1o Donor Highlight: Branko Lustig in Documentary Film: Its Vera and Paul Guerin Gerald R. Molen Afterlife and Its Legacy 1o ACE Charitable Foundation Executive Staff 5 International Conference to Support Local Rwandan Stephen Smith Slated for March 2010 Testimony Project Executive Director 5 USC Faculty Stipends 1o Making a Difference: Kim Simon Awarded Harvey Chaplin Managing Director Sam Gustman Education 11 Extraordinary Leadership: Chief Technology Officer Bruce Ramer 6 Teacher Innovation Network: Karen Jungblut Empowering Educators to 11 How You Can Make Director of Research Change the World a Difference and Documentation 12 Partners in History Steven Klappholz and the Future Executive Director of Development Ari Zev On the Cover: Renée Firestone (right), Director of Administration a survivor of the Holocaust, speaks with educators at the Teaching with Testimony workshop in August. For more about the workshop and the USC Institute’s Teacher Innovation Network, SHOAH turn to page six. (Photo by Kim Fox) FOUNDATION INSTITUTE FOR VISUAL HISTORY AND EDUCATION 121056_16pgr_PF_Winter.r1 12/14/09 1:17 PM Page 1 PastForward winter 2010 Welcome Touchstone of Humanity eally, why would you come to the USC Shoah Foundation “rInstitute?” This question has been put to me almost daily since I became executive director in August. Why, after being involved in Holocaust education and genocide prevention projects in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world, would I move to Los Angeles to commit myself to a collection of audio-visual Holocaust testimonies? The answer is that the how visual history can shape testimonies have set before us? Institute’s archive of the future, as well as unlock Will our distinctive academic testimony presents a the past. programs and research help unique, once-in-a-life- It has been fifteen years since set the standard of our struggle time opportunity to speak the Shoah Foundation Institute across the field? Will students to our world about the began with a vision to ensure and scholars who come to the causes and consequences that a record of the living Institute draw from that experi- of the Holocaust through voices, the memories, and the ence throughout their lives? the undeniable voices of messages of Holocaust survivors And will the archive become those who experienced it and other witnesses would that touchstone of humanity, firsthand. The 52,000 testimonies of Shoah “Now I am asking, ‘What will the next fifteen survivors are arguably the years bring?’ Will the life stories of Holocaust compelling voice of our age. eyewitnesses, and their warning from history, They make the Holocaust real be taught in classrooms and communities for people’s lives today and focus us on our mission for in every corner of the world?” tomorrow. People of many dif- — Stephen Smith ferent languages from many countries will be inspired to endure for every generation. to help us face the reality of examine their attitudes about To be part of the team that is human behavior and shed some others, to distinguish individu- custodian to these “timeless light on the ways to change it? als from stereotypes, and to truths” is a daunting privilege. These demands and ques- think about how to make right Now I am asking, “What will tions are implicit in the voices choices at critical moments, the next fifteen years bring?” we hear in the archive. I look when history is in our hands. Will the life stories of forward to struggling for As part of a world-class academ- Holocaust eyewitnesses, and answers with you. ic and research institution, we their warning from history, be have the chance to establish taught in classrooms and com- Stephen Smith a center of excellence at USC, munities in every corner of Executive Director which will one day become the the world? Will we be able to destination for understanding meet the challenge that the www.college.usc.edu/vhi 121056_16pgr_PF_Winter.r1 12/14/09 1:16 PM Page 2 Accessibility As many as 1 million people rather than just listening were killed over the next three emotionally. I was taking into AC months, often by their own consideration what would be neighbors. “Those are pictures useful to end-users and trying that are always in my soul,” to make sure every detail is O Gatali said, remembering what accounted for, such as names, he witnessed, including the places, and dates.” o “The Courage to Tell”: murder of his pregnant cousin. “From a genocide survivor’s “I will always see them.” point of view,” she added, “it Testimonies of Rwandan Gatali and two other survivors was very hard to listen to the Genocide Survivors “w s d I s t t S h c N m m t “Their testimonies made me a realize that we can do so much p more than just grieve alone. t Just having the courage to tell I our stories is making sure the w world knows what happened.” h — Consolée Uwamariya t Above: Consolée Uwamariya, a sur- a vivor of the Rwandan Tutsi genocide, mmanuel Gatali, a of the Rwandan Tutsi genocide testimonies again and again. S learns how to index using the testimo- ny of Holocaust survivor Peter Hersch 34-year-old survivor gave their testimonies in 2008. But we used Holocaust sur- D (Photo by Kim Fox). Right: Emmanuel of the Rwandan Consolée Uwamariya, a survivor vivors’ testimonies for training, t Gatali, a survivor of the Rwandan e Tutsi genocide, gives his testimony. Tutsi genocide, of the genocide who lives in and that was a wake up call for r remembers when he and his Los Angeles, recently indexed me. Their testimonies made me t family heard explosions not far these interviews (assigned realize that we can do so much b from their home on the early keywords to specific video more than just grieve alone. Just o morning of April 7, 1994. segments) to make them having the courage to tell our f “We sent [someone] to go searchable once they become stories is making sure the world check out what was going on,” part of the Institute’s Visual knows what happened.” T Gatali recalled. “He told us that History Archive. T they had started killing people.” “It was a very eye-opening To support the Institute’s effort v process,” Uwamariya said. to interview survivors of the Y Rwandan Tutsi genocide, visit “Approaching the testimonies college.usc.edu/vhi/donate. v as an indexer made me think in-depth while listening, usc shoah foundation institute for visual history and education 121056_16pgr_PF_Winter.r1 12/14/09 1:05 PM Page 3 PastForward winter 2010 ACCESSIBILITY A new frontier: Visual History Archive on the Internet Online: First Testimonies As part of its effort to provide online access to the testimonies, on the Internet the Institute is developing the s Visual History Archive on the Internet (VHA-I), which will deliver 1,000 English- hat prompted language testimonies me to tell over the Web. Set to “w my story,” pilot in April 2010, the Holocaust VHA-I will use Web survivor Nathan Offen said 2.0 and social network- during his interview with the ing technology to help Institute in 1996, “is because I teachers make educa- see the hate and destruction in tional use of testimony this world, and the denial, that in and out of the class- there never was a Holocaust… room. Students will So it has to be told. People be able to work with have to learn.” testimony and other Now, with an Internet resources, individually connection, one can learn from or cooperatively, in an Nathan’s story. His is one of online environment more than 100 full-length testi- moderated by their monies that can be viewed on teachers, and acquire the Institute’s YouTube channel, valuable digital literacy a new point of access that is skills while exploring part of a larger effort to bring As part of the effort to make the testimonies accessible online, the Institute has the life stories of Holocaust posted more than 100 full-length interviews on its YouTube channel. the testimonies onto the survivors and other witnesses. Internet in coming years. ing in 2009, the Institute’s services holds strong potential “Nearly 52,000 individuals YouTube channel has steadily as a platform from which to To support online access who experienced the Holocaust grown with content that now raise awareness of the testi- to the testimonies, visit have entrusted their memories includes scholarly lectures monies and encourage their college.usc.edu/vhi/donate.