The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity named the University of South Florida (USF) and the Florida Holocaust Museum as the permanent home of the papers and artifacts of Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor who became an esteemed humanitarian, writer and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Wiesel’s physical and digitized papers, including correspondence with world leaders, unfinished manuscripts, photographs and video and audio recordings will be housed and catalogued at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library’s Special Collections Department on the USF St. Petersburg campus. Artifacts from his collection, including his Nobel Prize, the contents of his personal office and library, and a variety of artworks will become a cornerstone of the permanent exhibition at the museum, which is located in downtown St. Petersburg, FL. 

The announcement was made at the Florida Holocaust Museum’s annual “To Life” Gala on February 3.

With this trove of historical documents and research materials, USF plans to create the Elie Wiesel Center for Humanitarian Ethics. The new center will feature an historical archive and searchable database, allowing researchers and educators to delve deeper into the Holocaust and apply Wiesel’s teachings to contemporary genocides, crimes against humanity and assaults on human rights. 

“We are honored to work together with the Florida Holocaust Museum to create a hub of humanitarian activity and education worthy of such an extraordinary man,” said Rhea Law, president of the University of South Florida. “Together, we will build a center of intellectual activity that reflects Wiesel’s own life and learning. We are grateful for the trust placed in our university and stand ready to turn this vision into a reality.”

You can read more in an artilce by Matthew Cimitile published in the stpetersburg.usf.edu web site at: http://tinyurl.com/rf68xb2a.