Grace Shaffer (she/her) is a PhD student in the Van Hunnick History Department at the University of Southern California. In 2023, she graduated with Bachelor's degrees in both History and Classics from the College of Charleston. Grace's research interests include the experience of LGBT+ individuals during the Holocaust, the role of women and femininity within fascist movements, and postal censorship under the Nazi regime. In addition to her work on the Pink Triangle Legacies Project, she was also the research intern at the Zucker/Goldberg Center for Holocaust Studies in Charleston, South Carolina. 

 

During her PTL Project Internship (September - December 2023), Grace contributed strategic insights that were instrumental in getting the Pink Triangle Legacies Project off the ground. She also created content calendars for social media posts across our channels. Additionally, she research, wrote, and designed new profile resource kits on Frieda Belinfante and Josef Kohout for our LGBTQ+ Stories from Nazi Germany initiative.

 

Reflecting on her tenure at the Pink Triangle Legacies Project, Grace said, "To me, this internship was a way to expand my knowledge of the LGBT+ experiences during the Holocaust as well as gain more experience in the field of public history. As a lesbian myself, I think that these stories are essential to fostering a sense of community throughout the LGBT+ world. Without this, it becomes harder to defend against numerous and increasing attacks on our rights. Accessibility in every form is also deeply important to me, and I am excited to have helped make this essential portion of history available to various audiences."