United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Announces $10 Million Gift to Name the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, one of the country's leading philanthropies, has awarded the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum $10 million to ensure the growth, vitality, and impact of Holocaust studies in the United States and abroad. The Museum's Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies has been renamed the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies.

The Mandel Center is the leading academic institution sponsoring new Holocaust scholarship, investing in successive generations of scholars who will lead the field, undertake multidisciplinary research worldwide, and ensure this history is taught at the highest levels in the United States and around the world. 

The Center hosts an average of 27 visiting fellows every year from North America, Europe, and Israel, as well as places such as East Asia and North Africa. These scholars represent  multiple academic disciplines—history, literature, philosophy, economics, law, film studies, and others—reflecting the varied fields in which new Holocaust research is being pursued and through which today's college students may have their first serious academic encounter with the Holocaust.

Also supporting the growth of the field, a robust publication program has generated several National Jewish Book Awards, most recently for the Center's multivolume Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945. 

"The Mandel family generously helped establish the Museum in its early years, and now through this campaign gift they are helping us lay the foundation for the institution's future, ensuring the permanence of Holocaust memory, relevance, and understanding," said Museum Director Sara J. Bloomfield. "As the Holocaust recedes in time and the eyewitness generation diminishes, keeping Holocaust memory alive will depend upon a dynamic field of study. The Mandel Center will be at the forefront of advancing new knowledge about how the Holocaust happened—and was allowed to happen—that will shape how future generations understand its significance and are inspired to act on its lessons."

"Our Foundation is delighted to have been an ardent supporter of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum since its inception," stated Morton L. Mandel, Foundation Chairman and CEO. "We are pleased to place the Mandel name on the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, one of the world's principal venues for Holocaust scholarship." 

"We still have much to learn about the Holocaust, and the opportunities for new scholars to enhance our understanding and enrich teaching about this critical subject are unparalleled. This gift will allow us to intensify our work with the next generation of scholars and pursue a number of strategic initiatives on understudied topics, such as the Holocaust in the USSR. Over a third of all victims perished on Soviet territory and we are bringing millions of pages of newly digitized, never before accessible, Soviet archival documentation to the Museum for study," said Paul Shapiro, director of the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. "The Center's staff, the Museum, and the field of Holocaust studies owe the Mandel Foundation an immense debt of gratitude for their support."

About the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation
The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation's primary mission is to provide outstanding leadership for the nonprofit world. The Foundation supports leadership education programs in its own institutions and at selected universities and organizations. The Foundation believes that exceptional leaders are the critical factor that enables organizations to contribute most significantly to society. The priority areas of activity include leadership of nonprofit organizations, higher education, Jewish education, strengthening the State of Israel, and urban neighborhood renewal.

About the Campaign
Through its national campaign Never Again: What You Do Matters, led by honorary chair Elie Wiesel, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum seeks to make critical investments to keep Holocaust memory alive as a relevant, transformative force in the 21st century. The $540 million comprehensive goal includes building a stronger endowment, increased annual fund, and new Collections and Conservation Center. Visit www.ushmm.org/campaign to learn more about how you can join us in this urgent effort. 

About the Museum
A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. Its far-reaching educational programs and global impact are made possible by generous donors.

For more information about the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies visit www.ushmm.org.

SOURCE United States Holocaust Memorial Museum