Steven Spielberg helps USC open new genocide study center
This image provided by the University of Southern California shows director Steven Spielberg speaking during the USC Shoah Foundation's announcement of the Center for Advanced Genocide Research at University of Southern California, Friday, April 25, 2014, in Los Angeles. Spielberg announced the creation of a research center that will study how and why genocide occurs, its impact and what steps might be taken to prevent such mass violence. Spielberg, whos a Shoah Foundation trustee, says the research will provide a a beacon of hope in breaking the cycle that leads to mass violence. (AP Photo, USC, Gus Ruelas)
This image provided by the University of Southern California shows director Steven Spielberg, right, with USC President C.L. Max Nikias, making their way to the USC Shoah Foundation's announcement of the Center for Advanced Genocide Research at University of Southern California, Friday, April 25, 2014, in Los Angeles. Spielberg announced the creation of a research center that will study how and why genocide occurs, its impact and what steps might be taken to prevent such mass violence. Spielberg, whos a Shoah Foundation trustee, says the research will provide a a beacon of hope in breaking the cycle that leads to mass violence. (AP Photo, USC, Gus Ruelas)
LOS ANGELES — A new USC center devoted to genocide will study how and why mass killings occur, their impact — and how to stop them.
The University of Southern California and director Steven Spielberg on Friday announced creation of the Center for Advanced Genocide Research.
It’s an expansion of the USC Shoah Foundation, which was founded by Spielberg 20 years ago after the release of his Holocaust film, “Schindler’s List.”
The foundation has collected more than 50,000 testimonies from witnesses to the Holocaust and Rape of Nanking in World War II and the 1994 Rwanda massacres.
Spielberg, who’s a Shoah Foundation trustee, says the research will provide a “a beacon of hope in breaking the cycle that leads to mass violence.”
