A new £1m Holocaust Exhibition and Learning Centre opened at the University of Huddersfield in September. The centre was created by the Leeds-based charity the Holocaust Survivors’ Friendship Association working in partnership with the University. It contains historical artefacts from concentration camps and filmed testimony from survivors, a number of whom settled in Yorkshire.
The centre has received significant support from numerous benefactors, including more than £600,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and support from notable regional businesses, including Leeds corporate law firm Shulmans LLP which has provided pro-bono legal assistance on the project. The Association of Jewish Refugees, the Pears Foundation and the Toni Schiff Memorial Fund also provided funding.
The exhibition contains artefacts from daily life in the Nazi concentration camps and testimony from survivors.
Six million Jews and millions of other people were murdered in the Holocaust, before and during World War Two.
The centre is not a memorial, but is a learning centre and is aimed at providing a hands on learning and research facility in Yorkshire for school students and communities.
Simon Jackson, Partner at Shulmans LLP, who assisted the Holocaust Survivors’ Friendship Association on the project, said:
“Over 70 years have passed since the end of the Holocaust. It is absolutely vital that we preserve the accounts of survivors and teach the younger generations who visit the centre that this must never happen again. Shulmans has been involved in this project since its inception and we were delighted to be asked to support this most important project. We are very hopeful that with the backing of the University over the next 25 years this will be a great success,” Jackson said.
