Spielberg Gives $1M to Jewish Museum

Today: November 20, 2008

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Spielberg Gives $1M to Jewish Museum

Posted: Fri 18th July 2008 3.29 PM | Author: Sam Hailes

Director Stephen Spielberg donated $1M to a Jewish history museum in Pennsylvania last week. The money means that the museum is now $39million away from the $150million target needed to build the new five-story building.

The money was given through the Righteous Persons Foundation - a charity set up by Spielberg in 1994 ‘dedicated to supporting efforts that build a diverse and vibrant Jewish community in the

United States

.’

Spielberg started the Righteous Persons Foundation after directing the film ‘Schindler's List’ which tells the story of Oscar Schindler, a German businessman who turns his factory into a refuge for Jews during World War 2. Based on a true story, Schindler is able to save over 1100 Jews from death in the gas chambers.

As a Jew himself, Stephen Spielgerg is committed to the Foundation and what it stands for. Thanks to his generous gift,

the National Museum of American Jewish History is expected to open in the autumn of 2010.