Pears Foundation funds renewal of IWM’s Holocaust galleries 16 Oct 2015

The Imperial War Museum is beginning a £15m project to renew their Holocaust galleries using a £5m gift from the Pears Foundation.  First created in 2000, the galleries attract one million visitors each year, including 21,000 schoolchildren.  The redevelopment will put more user testimonies at the heart of the exhibition as well as making more links to contemporary issues.  The work will be part of a wider redevelopment of IWM’s Second World War galleries.  

The Pears Foundation is committed to Holocaust education, and also runs a training programme for teachers on how to address the subject.  Executive Chair Trevor Pears said, “we strongly believe   that   the   refurbishment   of   the   Holocaust Exhibition  at  IWM  London  has  the  potential  to  be  of  ground-breaking  importance  in  the  way  the Holocaust is taught, contextualised and understood, both nationally and internationally.”  IWM is also putting in a bid to house the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre which is a Government initiative led by the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation.  IWM, Pears Foundation, Museums Journal