Robert J. Williams will help guide history and education components of the USC Shoah Foundation. (photo courtesy of the USC Shoah Foundation)

The USC Shoah Foundation has selected Robert J. Williams as the new Finci-Viterbi Executive Director of the foundation’s Institute for Visual History and Education.

Williams, who began his new role on Oct. 31, most recently served as deputy director of international affairs at the United States National Holocaust Museum. He considers the USC Shoah Foundation one of the pillars of Holocaust research, with its unique mission to develop empathy, understanding and respect through testimony with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides.

“In order to know where we are going, we need to know where we came from,” Williams said. “While the voices of our survivors will live on forever, we have reached a point where many won’t be in person to share their stories, so it is our responsibility to carry forth and learn from the legacy of this history.”

“Rob is a well-respected leader known for his talent, vision and compassion” USC Shoah Foundation president Carol L. Folt said. “He’s exactly the person to ensure this treasured and irreplaceable archive of humanity will be protected and preserved for all time. And, he will draw on his experience at the USNHM to make sure the institute becomes even more accessible and impactful in the world.”

Joel Citron, the new chair of USC Shoah Foundation’s Board of Councilors, said he is looking forward to working with Williams’ global network of leaders, heads of non-governmental organizations and experts on governmental issues. Williams has already collaborated with the staff.

“I think that provides an opportunity for a fabulous future,” Citron added.

During his tenure at USHMM, Williams established a long-standing relationship with the institute, which has more than 55,000 video testimonies preserved in its Visual History Archive, one of the largest digital collections of its kind in the world. The institute’s interviewers have collected testimony from survivors in 65 countries. Most include the personal history of a survivor’s life before, during and after their first-hand experience with genocide. Scholars use the testimonies — most of which are around two hours long – to create books, articles, dissertations and multi-media presentations.

“The Holocaust is something that’s been twisted and misused,” Williams said. “The reason they’re able to twist and misuse the Holocaust as propaganda is because we, on the other side, haven’t done a good enough job of understanding the history and talking to the global public. It’s a very important moment for Holocaust history. You have a lot of the same challenges that we’re facing today, including encroaching totalitarianism, refugee crises, mass atrocity crimes and human rights violations.”

The USC Shoah Foundation hosts lectures, events and programs on the Holocaust for students and faculty. For information, visit sfi.usc.edu.