‘There are unmistakable echoes of history in our current climate,’ said Steven Spielberg.

Speaking on Monday while accepting an honor from the University of Southern California, Steven Spielberg offered words of caution and hope.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker gave a speech during a celebration honoring him for his contributions to the USC Shoah Foundation, which he established in 1994 with the goal of documenting and preserving his interviews with Holocaust survivors and witnesses.

Spielberg observed that “the echoes of history are unmistakable in our current climate” after hearing the survivor’s stories.

According to Spielberg, extreme viewpoints bring about “a dangerous environment” and “a society that no longer celebrates differences.”

Below is a complete text of the iconic director’s statements, which are as emotional as his best works.

One of the last surviving members of Oskar Schindler’s List, Celina Biniaz, 92, was also recognized at the occasion. Because her parents worked for Schindler, a German industrialist who hired Jews to keep them safe from the Nazis, Biniaz was able to survive the Nazi rule. The Los Angeles Times reported that she escaped the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp when she was thirteen years old.

The Countering Antisemitism Through Testimony Collection effort of the Shoah Foundation has been gathering testimony from survivors of the October Hamas assaults in Israel.

“This project, which involves interviewing survivors of the October 7 attacks and gathering testimony from the Holocaust, aims to carry out our commitment to the survivors: to document and disseminate their narratives in the pursuit of historical preservation and the creation of a world devoid of hatred or antisemitism,” Spielberg stated in an announcement in November.

Spielberg established the USC Shoah Foundation in the wake of his 1993 motion picture “Schindler’s List.” Spielberg founded the foundation, which currently houses an archive of over 56,000 testimonials of witnesses to the Holocaust and other crimes against humanity, as a result of his interactions with survivors who came to the film’s set.

“Never again”

Spielberg’s entire statements are as follows:

“Good afternoon to all of you. Thirty years after the founding of the Shoah Foundation and twenty years after the University of Southern California became our committed partner in this endeavor to reflect on all that we hope to still achieve and celebrate what we’ve accomplished, it fills me up, as my late mother Leah used to say. And I owe a huge debt of gratitude to President (Carol) Folt for uniting us and for her unwavering support and leadership. Together, let me express our gratitude for her continued support of our mission.

I’ve had the incredible good fortune to devote a significant portion of my professional life to telling stories for many years. The basis of history is stories. Narratives possess a certain enchantment. They have the power to inspire, terrify, and leave a lasting impression. Additionally, they provide a glimpse into the beauty and sorrow of humanity. And they are one of our strongest weapons in fight against antisemitism and racial and religious hatred. The Holocaust, or as my parents called it ‘the great murders,’ is one of the stories I heard growing up.

My grandma Jenny taught English to Hungarian Holocaust survivors in the Cincinnati, Ohio, where I was raised till the age of three. And I would frequently join her at the table for these lessons. That’s where I learned to count—not in school, but through the numbers that survivors had inked on their skin.

A man lifted up his sleeve and demonstrated to me the appearance of the numbers three and five. He gave me a seven-fold. “Want to see a trick?” he then said. I give it a nine. But when I go like this, now it’s a six. It’s a nine you see, Steve? And it’s a six.’ I was only three, but I have never forgotten that.

A few years later, I attended a small Californian high school where I was one of the few Jews. Additionally, I had the opportunity to personally witness the negative effects of antisemitism—both vocal and physical as well as quiet isolation. It served as a sobering reminder that, despite the passage of many years since the Holocaust, there wasn’t much of a barrier between my grandmother’s table and the hallways of my high school. Furthermore, prejudice towards Jews did not originate or terminate with the Second World War.

I had to immerse myself in the gloom of the Holocaust in the years preceding and during the filming of Schindler’s List. The one constant that broke through the gloom was the visits by Holocaust survivors to our home in Krakow. Each survivor, as I recall, had a tale to share. However, I also recall how hurt I was that their testimonies were not being recorded as evidence of the atrocities committed against them and all of Europe’s Jews.

A permanent record will be preserved for the families, for history, for education, and for every future generation by bravely coming out to share these stories on camera. This turned become my goal. This became the Shoah Foundation’s work and ours. And now, thirty years later, we’re still committed to giving their voices every chance to be heard. Our collection of 56,000 testimonials is vital in imparting to future generations the lessons that survivors have been echoing for the past eight decades. Never once more. Never once more. Never once more.

It’s clear from listening to them that the current environment has historical undertones. Radical intolerance and unsafe environments brought about by the emergence of extremist viewpoints eventually cause society to turn against celebrating differences and instead work together to condemn those who are different to the point of creating the other.

The concept of the other contaminates conversation and drives a deadly wedge into our society. Othering justifies discrimination. It promotes purposeful truth denial and distortion in order to uphold prejudices. The other is the spark that ignites illiberalism and extremism. And we see every day how the machinery of extremism is being used on college campuses, where now fully 50% of students say they have experienced some discrimination because they are Jewish. This is also happening alongside anti Muslim, Arab and Sikh discrimination. The creation of the other and that dehumanization of any group based on their differences are the foundations of fascism. It’s an old playbook that has been dusted off and being widely distributed today. Those who cannot remember the

And the possibility that we will be forced to relive history and struggle for our basic right to be Jews worries me more and more. We have always been a strong, caring people who recognize the value of empathy, even in the face of cruelty and persecution.

We can be furious about the horrific crimes done by the October 7 terrorist and condemn the murder of defenseless women and children in Gaza. Because of this, we stand out as special agents of good in the world, and this is the reason we are here today to honor the Shoah Foundation’s work, which is even more important than it was in 1994.

In the wake of the tragic October 7 shooting, it is imperative. It is essential to putting an end to political violence brought on by ignorance, conspiracy theories, and false information. It is important because reversing the tide of hate crimes and antisemitism is vital to the future of democracy in the developed countries as well as the health of our democratic republic.

And with that, let me return to our celebration of thirty years of telling stories that the world will never forget. The cornerstone for building bridges is the 56,000 testimonies we have collected, and the USC Shoah cornerstone is responsible for constructing those bridges.

An 82-year-old woman called Hana Rychik stated at a gathering of survivors a few months ago what I know so many of us are hoping for: that the hostages who are being held in Gaza should be safe and have hope that they will return home. She continued, saying, “We need peace,” which I know means something to each and every person in this room. Harmony and comprehension. Respect is due to one another.

I want the stories of bravery from the past that the Shoah Foundation will continue to document to be shared with future generations, and I want them to hear Hana’s story when they sit at their grandparents’ dinner table, as I did so many years ago. I also want children to know that by honoring Jewish survival and vigor, we have battled to prevent history from repeating itself. I want them to know that we support Hana’s unwavering wish for harmony, compassion, and human decency and that we think there should be justice for all.

We may live in a world where all nations, people groups, and religions share our fundamental freedoms if her request is granted. And the happiest tale ever told will be that one.