The University of Southern California Shoah Foundation, founded by director Steven Spielberg, announced a new and unique collaboration with the National Library of Israel, the goal of which is to allow all residents of Israel unlimited access to unique archival documents, which were until now only accessible to selected researchers around the world.
The archive contains the filmed testimonies of over 52,000 Holocaust survivors, which until now have been exclusively accessible to about 180 research institutions and museums around the world.
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Now, for the first time, these testimonies will be accessible to the general public in Israel through the National Library website. In addition, Israelis will have access to hundreds of previously undisclosed testimonies of survivors of the October 7 massacre, as well as the testimonies of hostages who have been returned to Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Chairman and CEO of USC's Holocaust Foundation, Dr. Robert J. Williams, and National Library Chairman Sallai Meridor announced the exclusive partnership during a signing event held on Monday at the National Library in Jerusalem. As part of the agreement, the USC Shoah Foundation created a customized page on the NLI website allowing anyone with an Israeli IP address to search, stream and download the testimonies.
"The work of the USC Shoah Foundation with the National Library of Israel is a strong sign of what is possible when major institutions work in partnership in ways that elevate each other's missions. Together, we are creating a resource that not only helps inform the global struggle against antisemitism, but one that also builds awareness and understanding of the Jewish people," said Williams, who serves as UNESCO Chair on Antisemitism and Holocaust Research and Advisor to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
"It is vitally important that all our testimonies are available in Israel, where nearly half of the world's remaining Holocaust survivors and the vast majority of Oct. 7 survivors live. The USC Shoah Foundation's archive contains uniquely powerful sources that inform education, research and awareness-raising initiatives that bring people and societies face-to-face with the human beings who survived the world's oldest hatred. By giving scholars, educators and the wider public additional access to these testimonies through the National Library of Israel, we are helping connect the past with the present in ways that can secure a better future for Israel and the wider international community," he added.
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Dr. Robert J. Williams, executive director of the USC Shoah Foundation, left, and Sallai Meridor, chairman of the National Library of Israel
(Photo: Menachem Schloss)
"The National Library of Israel is the keeper of national memory for the Jewish people and the State of Israel," Meridor said. "This outstanding agreement will deepen the understanding of Israelis of all backgrounds and faiths as to humanity's nadirs and zeniths, from the lowest levels of cruelty, brutality and malice to the highest points of resilience, faith and courage. We invite all users of the National Library website to watch and witness these testimonies, and hope fervently that our resolute pledge of 'Never Again' will continue to guide generations to come."
The March 4 National Library of Israel event opened the USC Shoah Foundation's four-day Israel Solidarity Mission designed to foster cooperation in the fight against antisemitism. The mission also includes meetings with President Isaac Herzog, a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, and conversations with Oct. 7 survivors and the families of hostages currently held in Gaza, as well as visits to sites of Oct. 7 mass atrocities in southern Israel.
Over the past five months, the USC Shoah Foundation has gathered more than 400 testimonies of Oct. 7 survivors and eyewitnesses. The National Library of Israel, which opened its new building in the shadow of the war on Oct. 29, will serve as a central repository cataloging October 7 testimonies collected by the USC Shoah Foundation and other organizations.