Executive Director, USC Shoah Foundation, L.A., U.S.A.

 

Stephen D. Smith is committed to making the testimony of survivors of the Holocaust and of other crimes against humanity a compelling voice for education and action. A theologian by training, he has a particular interest in the impact of the Holocaust on religious and philosophical thought and practice. He wrote his dissertation on the Trajectory of Memory examining how Holocaust survivor narrative – and in particular visual history – has developed over time and shapes the way in which the implications of the Holocaust are understood. He founded the UK Holocaust Centre in Nottinghamshire, England, and co-founded the Aegis Trust for the prevention of crimes against humanity and genocide. He was also the inaugural Chairman of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. Dr. Smith is involved in memorial projects around the world. He was the project director responsible for the creation of the Kigali Memorial Centre in Rwanda and provided consultation for the Cape Town Holocaust Centre. He is also a member of the National Advisory Panel for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting’s American Archive Content Inventory Project. His publications include: Making Memory: Creating Britain’s First Holocaust Centre (2002); Forgotten Places: The Holocaust and the Remnants of Destruction (2001) and The Holocaust and the Christian World (2000). He has taught extensively in Lithuania and has been a member of the International Task Force for Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research since its inception in 1998.

Contact: smithsd@dornsife.usc.edu