Holocaust Collection to Be Housed at USC

The Shoah Foundation, a repository of Holocaust testimonials established by filmmaker Steven Spielberg, will become part of USC’s College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, officials announced Friday.

Under an agreement between the university and the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, the repository of 52,000 testimonials from Holocaust survivors and witnesses will be transferred to USC in perpetuity Jan. 1.

The collection comprises the largest visual history archive in the world, officials said in a statement.

In addition, the new USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education will conduct research and scholarship in the humanities and social sciences.

“The foundation’s preeminent collection of Holocaust materials will advance academic research and scholarship for centuries as we continue to honor the memory of Holocaust victims and survivors,” said USC President Steven B. Sample.

Spielberg, the foundation’s chairman and a USC trustee, said moving the collection to USC would ensure its preservation and access to the public.

“All of us know that the survivors and witnesses have given us a precious gift whose wise use will build a better world for this and future generations,” Spielberg said in the statement.

The testimonials will be housed in the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Library, which has helped pioneer development of digital libraries.

The Shoah Foundation’s stated mission is to overcome prejudice, intolerance and bigotry through the use of the visual history testimonials.