The Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building: A Leading Educational and Community Resource

The Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building is developing into an epicenter for Holocaust and Jewish studies, while also memorializing the six million Jews and other victims, as well as survivors, of the Holocaust and other genocides. The Wallachs provided a $11 million lead gift toward the building and pledged an additional $9 million from their estate to establish the Wallach Institute for Holocaust and Jewish Studies.

Since the initial gift, philanthropic support has continued from the community, further cementing the building’s significance as a leading educational and community resource in South Florida and beyond.  

“Our reason for donating this building is twofold,” said Marilyn Wallach. “The first is to honor the memory of the more than 200 members of my husband’s family that were murdered in the Holocaust. The second is the hope that this undertaking will prevent other families from having the same loss that he endured. Our world today is full of hate, and that is the breeding ground for the next Holocaust. Let us hope that our mantra at Florida Atlantic, ‘Education is Our Best Hope Against Hatred,’ will make a difference.”

While Kurt Wallach passed away in September 2021, the Wallach’s legacy and desire to educate the community about the Holocaust and its atrocities continues.  In addition to Jewish and Holocaust studies, the building will bring together educational programs that champion leadership and diplomacy, including the Leon Charney Diplomacy Program and the Center for Peace, Justice, and Human Rights. Several spaces are designed to foster these programs and engage the community, including a recital/ lecture hall, traveling exhibition hall, Holocaust Museum, the George and Irina Schaeffer interactive Dimensions in Testimony display, and a multi-media studio.

Inspired by the Wallach’s gift, several others have made contributions supporting both the building and its programs. Arthur Gutterman, who previously established the Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Family Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education, made additional gifts to provide general support for the building and programs it will house.  An endowment from the Davidowitz family is expanding the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Program for K-12 educators in South Florida by establishing the Davidowitz Family Program Director within the Gutterman Family Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education.

A significant gift from Craig and Barbara Weiner and the Holocaust Learning and Education Fund is creating the Craig and Barbara Weiner Holocaust Museum of South Florida at Florida Atlantic University. The 2,000 square foot space, accessed from the Weinberg grand lobby, will display the Weiner’s substantial collection of authentic artifacts from the Holocaust.

“The museum will be a legacy to the Weiner’s tireless work in educating future generations about the atrocities of the Holocaust,” said Michael Horswell, Ph.D., dean of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. “The museum will also be a distinctive addition to the Wallach building’s prominence as an educational and cultural destination.”

Victims and survivors of the Armenian genocide will be remembered on a special plaque within the Marta and Jim Batmasian Memorial Pavilion, named in recognition of a gift from the Batmasians. The Wallach building’s lobby will be known as the Marilyn and Jay Weinberg Grand Lobby in recognition of the Weinberg’s gift to fund comfortable seating within the lobby and create an endowment to support faculty, equipment, staff, programming, students and ongoing care of the building in perpetuity. A second gift received will enhance the interior of the building.

To learn more about how Florida Atlantic is dedicated to tackling tomorrow’s challenges today through Transcend Tomorrow: The Campaign for Florida Atlantic University, visit transcendtomorrow.fau.edu