• New ten-year Fellowship Programme named in memory of five members of the Isaacsohn and André families who perished in the Holocaust
• The project will see eminent global academics in Jewish and Holocaust studies bring their expertise to the University of Sussex as Visiting Fellows
• The University has also received around half a million pounds in funding from the Jusaca Charitable Trust for the Sussex Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish studies

The University of Sussex is announcing, on Holocaust Memorial Day, a new ten-year Fellowship Programme in Jewish and Holocaust Studies, in memory of five members of the Isaacsohn and André families who perished in the Holocaust.

The Isaacsohn André Fellowship Programme will run for ten years initially, and will see leading academics from universities around the world joining Sussex experts in Jewish and Holocaust studies as Visiting Fellows, for a period of up to three months each. This will deepen Sussex’s research in this field and enrich the programmes offered to students. The Fellows join both the Sussex Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish Studies, within the University’s School of Media, Arts and Humanities, and the Centre for German-Jewish Studies based at the University of Sussex.  They will have the opportunity to form affiliations with other research centres across the University to promote even greater collaboration on the subject.

The University’s Sussex Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish Studies has also received a donation of just under £500,000 from the Jusaca Charitable Trust. This donation will primarily support the core costs of running the Sussex Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish Studies and the Centre for German-Jewish Studies, which has a strong outreach programme at its heart.

The Sussex Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish studies was launched in 2019 memory of the late Lord Weidenfeld, a long-term supporter of the University of Sussex’s renowned work in German-Jewish studies, with the aim of broadening the remit of the Centre for German-Jewish Studies to focus on the Jewish experience and how it relates to contemporary issues such as growing antisemitism and the marginalisation of minorities.

The University of Sussex hosts its annual Holocaust Memorial Day during the afternoon of Wednesday 1 February 2023. At the event,  Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg BEM will share his experiences followed by a Q&A chaired by Professor Ivor Gaber of the School of Media, Arts and Humanities. The film Reckonings, directed by award-winning filmmaker Roberta Grossman, will be screened followed by a discussion of issues raised in the film. 

Vice-Chancellor, Sasha Roseneil, said of the donations:

“Holocaust Memorial Day is an important annual reminder of the atrocities committed during the Holocaust. As a University community, we have a responsibility to research and educate future generations about the Holocaust and to play our part in ensuring it can never be forgotten.

“These generous donations will help us to foster academic collaboration in Jewish and Holocaust Studies and to raise understanding of this important topic. They will enable University of Sussex experts to continue to deepen their work in this field as they educate others.

“I look forward to welcoming Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg BEM to campus on 1 February to speak about his experiences with our students and staff.”

Prof Gideon Reuveni, Professor of European History in the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, and Emanuel Director of the Sussex Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish Studies, said:

“Memory divorced from historical research can become a powerful instrument for distortion and manipulation. Indeed, events in the past years have demonstrated how politics grounded in uncritical memory can destroy the empirical attitude that is necessary for the responsible use of power. Holocaust Memorial Day is an occasion where we reflect on such threats. It is a powerful reminder of the important work we do here in the University. As a social institution, the University is committed to foster a culture of creativity and to encourage the exchange of diverse ideas, both within and beyond its institutional boundaries. The core of our work is scholarship. We live in times in which we need to remind ourselves the value and significance of intellectual attainment.”

Holocaust Memorial Day will additionally be marked at the University on Thursday 2 February, with the screening of a documentary entitled: Tacheles - The Heart of the Matter at the Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts.  This documentary tells the story of a young man who attempts to make a computer game about his grandmother's experiences. On Saturday 4 February, the University will host a workshop for UK-based teachers and Holocaust educators on international approaches to digital Holocaust education.

The University of Sussex has a long-standing commitment to Holocaust education and research. The University's History department offers courses on the Holocaust. The Centre for German-Jewish Studies conducts research on the Holocaust and its aftermath and works to raise awareness of the Holocaust.