Des Moines Public Library customers can view several compelling visual histories by Iowa Holocaust survivors and other witnesses in the Des Moines Visual History Collection, part of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. The viewing station is located on the second floor of the new Central Library, 1000 Grand Avenue.
The Des Moines Visual History Collection is at the core of the Testimony to Tolerance Initiative, funded by James and Andrea Gordon in memory of their fathers Ben Schwartz and Bennett Gordon. The Collection includes seventeen English language testimonies that were conducted in Iowa. Each is a unique life story that includes personal memories of prewar life, the struggle to survive, and the aftermath of the war. Materials are available for viewing on a designated computer at the library, and for checkout on DVD from Central, Franklin Avenue, and South Side Libraries.
The Des Moines Visual History Collection comprises a regional collection of testimonies videotaped in Iowa. Participants include:
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