WHAT:       The launch of the University of Pennsylvania’s access to the USC Shoah Foundation Institute’s entire Visual History Archive that contains nearly 52,000 video testimonies of survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust from 56 countries and in 32 languages.

WHO:         Penn President Amy Gutmann will be joined by Stephen D. Smith,  USC Shoah Foundation Institute executive director; Stephen A. Cozen, Institute Board of Councilors member; Beth S. Wenger, Penn history professor; additional Institute representatives; and other Penn faculty, staff, students and alumni at ceremonies launching the partnership.

Penn's partnership with the Shoah Foundation Institute is supported by the efforts of the Annenberg School for Communication, 

Penn Libraries and the Division of Information Systems and Computing.

WHERE:     Lobby of the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts,

                     3680 Walnut St.

WHEN:       Monday, April 23

Media preview: 4 p.m.          

Press conference: 4:30 p.m.  

Ceremonies: 5 p.m.   

Program/Speeches: 5:20 p.m.          

DETAILS: The media is invited to an exclusive preview of the Institute’s Visual History Archive at 4 p.m.  At 4:30 p.m., media representatives will have the opportunity to interview:

• Daisy Miller, a child survivor of the Holocaust and USC Shoah Foundation Institute staff member
• Beth Wenger, professor of history and director of the Jewish Studies Program at Penn, and Jennifer Rodgers, doctoral candidate, both of whom can provide insight into this historical treasure and its significance to the Penn scholarly community
• Penn subject specialists, who can provide background on the video archive and explain how it works.
• Additional USC Shoah Foundation Institute staff members, including Ari Zev, director of administration, and Karen Jungblut, director of research and documentation