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University of Sussex Media Release.
. NEW HOME FOR GERMAN-JEWISH STUDIES

24 January 2000
For immediate release

A new archive and research unit for the Centre for German-Jewish Studies will be opened this week at the University of Sussex by the University's Chancellor, Lord Attenborough.

The ceremony, which takes place in the University's Library at 6pm on Thursday 27 January, will coincide with the official Holocaust Remembrance Day in Germany and the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

On display will be the centre's current research projects, which include Monitoring Racist and Holocaust Denial Material on the Internet (funded by Marks & Spencer) and the Arnold Daghani Collection, which comprises artistic and commemorative works by a Holocaust survivor.

Richard Attenborough will recall his childhood experiences during the 1930s, when his family welcomed two Jewish refugee girls into their home. Replying to his speech, the centre's director, Professor Edward Timms, and Julius Carlebach, Emeritus Professor of German-Jewish Studies, will highlight the importance of teaching and research in this field at a British university.

The inauguration follows the University of Sussex winter degree ceremony, at which an honorary doctorate will be conferred on Max Kochmann, chairman of the centre's support group, who was himself among the 50,000 refugees from Nazi Germany who found sanctuary in Britain in the 1930s.

Since it was founded in 1994, the purpose of the centre has been to study the contribution of German-Jewish communities to modern life and to research the experiences and achievements of refugees and their families. Financial support has come from a range of educational trusts and donors, including Steven Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation and the Anne Frank-Fonds.

The centre is also developing a group of projects relating to commemorations of the Shoah, which are directly relevant to issues of Holocaust denial and government proposals to establish a Holocaust Remembrance Day in Britain.

Notes for editors

For further information, please contact Alison Field, Communications Officer, University of Sussex Tel: 01273 678888, Fax: 01273 877456, email: A.Field@sussex.ac.uk

For an electronic version of this release or more information about the University, visit Sussex on the Web at: http://www.sussex.ac.uk To receive University of Sussex releases by email, please email information@sussex.ac.uk Include the name of your media outlet, your title, postal address, phone and fax numbers, and the headline of this news release.

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