Benjamin Nestor, a PhD candidate in Holocaust and Modern German History at Marquette University, spent a week at the USC Shoah Foundation Center for Advanced Genocide Research conducting research on survivor perspectives of the Einsatzgruppe C, paramilitary death squads responsible for mass killings in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Nestor, who was in the Los Angeles area visiting family, decided to spend a week at the Center in order to conduct dissertation research. Although his dissertation focuses on Einsatzgruppe C during the Holocaust, and is effectively a perpetrator oriented study, he consulted survivor testimonies in the Visual History Archive in order to see whether a broader study of them might provide different perspectives on perpetrator behaviors. By watching testimonies from survivors of Einsatzgruppe C living at the time in the District of Galicia, Nestor found valuable details regarding specific events he is researching. 

In particular, Nestor was surprised to find survivors mention some of the exact towns and areas in which the unit operated and committed atrocities. He also found testimonies from translators who were part of the Einsatzgruppen Trial. Although he isn't sure that this material will make it into his current research project, his time in the Visual History Archive provided him with valuable context and diverse perspectives which deepened his understanding of the topic.