Visual History Archive (VHA) of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute  

The Visual History Archive (VHA) of the Shoah Foundation Institute of the University of Southern California (USC) is a collection of filmed testimonies from survivors of the Holocaust. The digitized Archive stored at USC contains nearly 52,000 testimonies in 32 languages (about half in English) from 56 countries.

A small portion of the VHA is hosted locally by the Syracuse University Library and can be viewed immediately. Other testimonies can be requested and will normally become available within 48 hours.

The VHA can be accessed only via a computer on the Syracuse University network.  First-time users of the VHA must register. Registration is free.

The VHA database can be searched a number of ways -- Quick Search; Global Keywords Search; People Search (i.e., for specific interviewees' or person's names); or Biographical Search (i.e., for persons in any of nine “experience groups,” including Jewish Survivors, Homosexual Survivors, Survivors of Eugenics Policies, Liberators and Liberation Witnesses, Rescuers and Aid Providers, Political Prisoners, War Crimes Trials Participants, Sinti and Roma Survivors, and Jehovah’s Witness Survivors). Searches can be limited by place or language.

Any given testimony in the VHA will fall into one of three availability status categories:  "Viewable now" (locally available immediately); "Viewable within 48 hours" (can be requested and will be made locally available within 48 hours); or "Not yet viewable" (could be requested, but not yet digitized, so local availability date would be indeterminate).  If you request a testimony from the VHA and do not receive notice of its transfer within 24 hours, please contact Lydia W. Wasylenko, History Librarian, 315-443-4692, lwwasyle@syr.edu.

For additional information on using the VHA at SU, please consult our FAQ guide.  The USC Shoah Foundation Institute's comprehensive on-line User Manual provides more detailed information, including tips for advanced searches of the database.

If you are planning a visit to Syracuse University Library to use the VHA, please get in touch ahead of time, so that the Library staff can work with you to make your visit more productive. Group viewings of VHA material can be arranged upon request; complete an on-line request form (http://library.syr.edu/services/getting_help/instruction/forms/groupviewingform.php) or call Julie Belle (315-443-2730), allowing at least one week’s notice.

1. What is the VHA?      The University of Southern California Shoah Foundation Institute's Visual History Archive (VHA) is a collection of filmed and digitized testimonies from survivors of the Holocaust. The Archive contains nearly 52,000 testimonies in 32 languages (about half in English) from 56 countries. A small portion of the Archive is hosted locally by the Syracuse University Library and can be viewed immediately. Other testimonies can be requested and will normally become available within 48 hours.

2. Where can I access this database?      You must be logged onto the SU computer network to access the VHA. It is not available off campus.

3. How can I access this database?      You can access the VHA through the SU Library Website (http://library.syr.edu/). The simplest way to access the VHA is to type visual history archive in the “Search” box on the SU Library home page.  Just click on “Electronic resource:” in the first record that displays in your search results to get to the “Visual History Archive enter” page. An alternative way to access the VHA is to go to the “FIND” tab on the SU Library home page and select “Databases.” Once you are on the “Find database” screen, select “V” from the alphabetical list and this will take you to a page with a “Visual History Archive” link. Clicking on that link will take you to the “Visual History Archive enter” page.

4. How do I log in?      To use the VHA, you must first register on the VHA website. Registration is free. You will be asked to create a username and password. (This is different from your NetID.)

5. Are there any special technical requirements?     The current version of the VHA can be viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox on PCs, and with Safari on Macs. The following special instructions apply to Firefox and Safari:    Firefox (PC) -- Install a Windows Media Player plug-in the first time a video is viewed. Instructions for installing the plug-in will appear automatically in the video area of the viewing screen. Safari (Mac) -- First install the Flip4Mac Media Components for QuickTime, available on the Web.

6. Can I view VHA testimonies in the Library? Is it possible to reserve a space for a group viewing?      If using a public computer in the Library, you can either bring your own headphones or obtain some (yours to keep) at a Learning Commons service desk. If you have a small group (up to four people), you can borrow a jack box from the service desk to view the testimony together. You can request a room for a group viewing of the VHA by calling 315-443-2730 or by completing the form at http://library.syr.edu/services/getting_help/instruction/forms/groupviewingform.php.

7. Am I able to view any VHA testimonies right away? If I need to request a specific testimony, how long will I have to wait for it?      About 120 testimonies are locally available for immediate viewing at any given time. These are labeled “viewable now.” Other testimonies can become available, by request, within 48 hours. (In the VHA database, these will be labeled “viewable within 48 hours.”) Testimonies labeled “not yet viewable” have not been digitized yet, but may be available at a later date.