Research Guides: Visual History Archive (VHA): Archive of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education

Background Information and General Guides

History of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute and Its Visual History Archive (VHA)
In 1994, Steven Spielberg, director of the film “Schindler's List,” established the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation with a goal to “record on videotape the testimonies of 50,000 survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust from around the world for educational purposes before it was too late." This initial undertaking was completed in 1999. While most of the original 51,696 Holocaust testimonies came from Jewish survivors, testimonies were also obtained from survivors of persecution against the Sinti and Roma (Gypsies), Jehovah's Witnesses, and homosexuals, from survivors of Nazi eugenics policies, and from political prisoners and forced laborers, as well as from rescuers and aid providers, liberators, and participants in war crimes trials. Subsequently, in keeping with the USC Shoah Foundation's mission “to overcome prejudice, intolerance, and bigotry — and the suffering they cause — through the educational use of the Visual History Archive," the Archive was expanded to include testimonies provided by eyewitnesses to a number of other genocides.
Scope of the Visual History Archive (VHA)
The VHA is an online portal that allows users to search through and view over 53,000 streaming video interviews of survivors and witnesses of the European Holocaust (1939-1945) and other genocides. The Archive includes cataloged and extensively indexed testimonies from the Armenian Genocide (1915-1923); the Nanjing Massacre in China (1937-1938); the Cambodian Genocide (1975-1979); the Guatemalan Genocide (1978-1996); and the Tutsi Genocide in Rwanda (1994). Interviews were filmed in 63 countries, with testimonies given in over 40 different languages.
VHA Metrics and Details
The USC Shoah Foundation's Visual History Archive, distributed by ProQuest, is a fully streaming video collection of primary source testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other crimes against humanity. It is the largest archive of its kind, preserving history "as told by the people who lived it, with each testimony offering unique insight and knowledge rarely available in traditional content." Most testimonies contain complete personal histories of life before, during, and after interviewees’ firsthand experiences with genocide. The Archive includes:
• More than 54,400 video testimonies at an average of two hours each.
• Roughly 116,000 hours of film (equal to 13 years’ continuous streaming content).
• Transcripts being added over time (initially over 900 German transcripts and almost 1000 English transcripts).
• Almost 65,000 index terms in English, applied at the one-minute segment.
• Over 719,000 images (photographs, documents, works of art, artifacts from war, etc.).
• 1.9 million names of family members and prominent figures.
• Roughly 49,000 location references.
• 2,500 recitations of literary works (poems, letters, diaries).
• Over 2,100 musical recitals.
USC Guide Created by Visual History Archive Curator Crispin Brooks

Visual History Archive (VHA) FAQ

1. How can I access this database? You can access the VHA via the "Databases" menu on the SU Libraries Website (https://library.syr.edu/).

2. How do I log in? The first time you use the VHA, you must register on the VHA Website. Registration is FREE. You will be asked to create a personal account with a username and password. (This is different from your NetID.)

3. How do I search the VHA to find testimonies of interest? The database can be searched in a variety of ways, including: Quick Search; Experience Groups Search (e.g., in the case of testimonies from the Holocaust/ World War II era, "Jewish Survivors," "Rescuers and Aid Providers (Holocaust)," "Sinti and Roma Survivors," "Liberators," "Political Prisoners," "Jehovah’s Witness Survivors," "War Crimes Trial Participants," "Miscellaneous [Individuals] (World War II)," "Eugenics Policies Survivors," "Non-Jewish Forced Laborers," and "Homosexual Survivors"); Index Search (searching or browsing on indexing terms in the USC Shoah Foundation Thesaurus); People Search (i.e., for specific interviewees' or persons' names); and Places Search (browsing, searching, or zooming in on a Google Map). A search can be limited by language of interviews and/or gender of interviewees.

Social Science Librarian

Winn Wasson

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Subjects: African American Studies, African Studies, Anthropology and Archaeology, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, East Asian Studies, Economics, European Studies, History, Latin American Studies, LGBTQ+ Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Native American and Indigenous Studies, Political Science, Public Administration, Sociology, South Asian Studies, Women's and Gender Studies