Roman Abramovich made a more than $10 million pledge to Yad Vashem earlier this week to support efforts in the realm of Holocaust research and remembrance.
The pledged funding will go toward enriching Yad Vashem’s world-renowned International Institute for Holocaust Research and the creation of two new Book of Names. It makes Abramovich the museum’s second-largest private donor. Only Miriam Adelson and the late Sheldon Adelson provide more private funding.
“Yad Vashem’s work in preserving the memory of the victims of the Holocaust is instrumental to ensure that future generations never forget what antisemitism, racism and hate can lead to if we don’t speak out,” Abramovich said.
Specifically, the funding will help Yad Vashem establish a new home for the International Research Institute on Yad Vashem’s Mount of Remembrance campus in Jerusalem. The museum will also create two new versions of The Book of Names.
The books list Holocaust victims’ names in alphabetical order, when possibly including birth dates, hometowns and places of death. There are blank pages to acknowledge still-unnamed victims.
One of the new books will be permanently featured at Yad Vashem, while the second will serve as a mobile commemorative display.