Florida Atlantic University has received a $20 million gift to create an institute for Holocaust and Jewish studies.
Entrepreneur Kurt Wallach and his wife Marilyn made the donation, the largest in the university's history, the school announced Tuesday. The institute will be named after them.
Wallach, 94, fled Nazi Germany with his family in 1933, his father taking them to Holland. From there, they moved to New York in 1936.
After serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II, Wallach started several businesses, including Kurtell Growth Industries, a real estate investment firm.
“We speak for those who cannot speak. We remember all the victims including our family members who perished needlessly,” Wallach said in a statement. “No one should ever be subjected to such horror. We hope that through the education we can provide that lives will be saved and history will not be repeated.”
