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DREXEL COLLABORATES WITH USC SHOAH FOUNDATION TO ACCESS VISUAL HISTORY ARCHIVE OF HOLOCAUST AND OTHER GENOCIDES
States News Service
September 12, 2013 Thursday
PHILADELPHIA, PA
The following information was released by Drexel University:
Drexel University is now the second collegiate site in Pennsylvania
with access to the USC Shoah Foundation's entire Visual History
Archive of nearly 52,000 testimonies of survivors and witnesses to
the Holocaust and other genocides.
The announcement was made by Executive Director Stephen D. Smith and
the Board of Councilors of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for
Visual History and Education in conjunction with the 20th Anniversary
Benefit Screening of Steven Spielbergs epic film Schindlers List,
commemorating both the films release and the establishment of the
USC Shoah Foundation. The event was held Thursday, Sept. 12 at
the newly-reopened Prince Music Theater and featured special guest
Liam Neeson, who starred as German industrialist Oskar Schindler in
the film.
We are delighted to welcome Drexel University as the 45th site
worldwide to have full access to the Visual History Archive, said
Smith. The testimonies will support scholarship and research for
Drexel students and faculty across their wide range of academic
disciplines. The USC Shoah Foundation is looking forward to Drexels
contributions to our shared mission of educating the next generation
Stephen A. Cozen, longstanding member of the USC Shoah Foundations
Board of Councilors and Founder and chairman of noted international
law firm Cozen OConnor, who, with Smith made the announcement at
the event, said, As one of the finest academic institutions in the
country, Drexel brings honor to the group of archive sites across
the globe. On behalf of the USC Shoah Foundation we look forward to
a successful collaborative relationship that will help us continue to
grow and increase our impact on future generations through education
and such educational initiatives as IWitness.
Established in 1994 by Steven Spielberg to collect and preserve
the testimonies of survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust,
the USC Shoah Foundation's Institute for Visual History and Education
maintains one of the largest video digital libraries in the world with
nearly 52,000 video testimonies in 33 languages and from 57 countries,
and is now expanding its collection to include testimonies from the
1994 Rwandan Tutsi genocide, and fundraising to add collections from
the Armenian and Cambodian genocides.
I am delighted that the USC Shoah Foundation has chosen Drexel to
share the Visual History Archive, and excited that our mission
of advancing knowledge and society will include connecting our
community and all of Greater Philadelphia to this unique resource,
said Drexel President John A. Fry. Eyewitness testimonies like these,
and the scholarship they inspire, can be powerful tools in the quest
to overcome intolerance.
The Shoah Foundation has a long history in Philadelphia where its
regional office was based and helped coordinate the training of local
residents as interviewers and videographers. More than 600 testimonies
were taken in Pennsylvania. Additionally, more than 900 teachers
across Pennsylvania and over 12,000 nationally have been trained
on Echoes and Reflections, a multimedia curriculum developed by the
Institute and partners the Anti-Defamation League and Yad Vashem.
States News Service
September 12, 2013 Thursday
PHILADELPHIA, PA
The following information was released by Drexel University:
Drexel University is now the second collegiate site in Pennsylvania
with access to the USC Shoah Foundation's entire Visual History
Archive of nearly 52,000 testimonies of survivors and witnesses to
the Holocaust and other genocides.
The announcement was made by Executive Director Stephen D. Smith and
the Board of Councilors of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for
Visual History and Education in conjunction with the 20th Anniversary
Benefit Screening of Steven Spielbergs epic film Schindlers List,
commemorating both the films release and the establishment of the
USC Shoah Foundation. The event was held Thursday, Sept. 12 at
the newly-reopened Prince Music Theater and featured special guest
Liam Neeson, who starred as German industrialist Oskar Schindler in
the film.
We are delighted to welcome Drexel University as the 45th site
worldwide to have full access to the Visual History Archive, said
Smith. The testimonies will support scholarship and research for
Drexel students and faculty across their wide range of academic
disciplines. The USC Shoah Foundation is looking forward to Drexels
contributions to our shared mission of educating the next generation
Stephen A. Cozen, longstanding member of the USC Shoah Foundations
Board of Councilors and Founder and chairman of noted international
law firm Cozen OConnor, who, with Smith made the announcement at
the event, said, As one of the finest academic institutions in the
country, Drexel brings honor to the group of archive sites across
the globe. On behalf of the USC Shoah Foundation we look forward to
a successful collaborative relationship that will help us continue to
grow and increase our impact on future generations through education
and such educational initiatives as IWitness.
Established in 1994 by Steven Spielberg to collect and preserve
the testimonies of survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust,
the USC Shoah Foundation's Institute for Visual History and Education
maintains one of the largest video digital libraries in the world with
nearly 52,000 video testimonies in 33 languages and from 57 countries,
and is now expanding its collection to include testimonies from the
1994 Rwandan Tutsi genocide, and fundraising to add collections from
the Armenian and Cambodian genocides.
I am delighted that the USC Shoah Foundation has chosen Drexel to
share the Visual History Archive, and excited that our mission
of advancing knowledge and society will include connecting our
community and all of Greater Philadelphia to this unique resource,
said Drexel President John A. Fry. Eyewitness testimonies like these,
and the scholarship they inspire, can be powerful tools in the quest
to overcome intolerance.
The Shoah Foundation has a long history in Philadelphia where its
regional office was based and helped coordinate the training of local
residents as interviewers and videographers. More than 600 testimonies
were taken in Pennsylvania. Additionally, more than 900 teachers
across Pennsylvania and over 12,000 nationally have been trained
on Echoes and Reflections, a multimedia curriculum developed by the
Institute and partners the Anti-Defamation League and Yad Vashem.