Elie Wiesel Archive, Crown Jewel of Gratz College’s New Digital Collections 
Platform

Gratz has been selected by the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity to host and 
curate the world’s first digital archive dedicated to the life’s work of Elie 
Wiesel, Nobel laureate and pivotal public figure in Holocaust education and 
remembrance. The archive will provide freely available, searchable access to 
scholars, students, humanitarians, and the public-at-large.



About choosing Gratz to digitize his father’s archive, Elisha Wiesel comments, 
“Access to this collection will contribute significantly to increased 
scholarship and impact in the arena of Holocaust and Human Rights education at 
a time when this knowledge is needed more than ever. Gratz College is ideally 
suited to do so in a way that honors and advances my father’s legacy.”



According to Gratz President Zev Eleff, the Wiesel Collection will be “the 
crown jewel of the Grayzel Digital 
Platform<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.gratz.edu/students/research/library/grayzel-digital-collections__;!!KGKeukY!zttq0olRSv5Dymz_MW2RRI3rg-MtoDI0PM6jnEb_a88AnfHOHBTHHAJa8omphjgqsLxOg0BtWHSaGJSvJLyvTg$
 >, an online repository of digital collections named for the historian and 
longtime Gratz College professor Solomon Grayzel. The platform aims to 
democratize Jewish learning through the production of a state-of-the-art web 
platform and a modular database full of texts, images, videos, and sounds that 
capture the complexities of the Jewish experience in the modern world. Grayzel 
will deepen intellectual inquiry for Gratz students and emerge as one of the 
most powerful open-access websites for anyone eager to engage in modern Jewish 
history and culture.”



The Grayzel Digital Archive organizes unique, historically significant 
collections in three key project areas: American Jewish history and culture; 
the Holocaust and Jewish life in prewar Europe; and Judaism’s contribution to 
social justice.

In addition to the Wiesel archive, Grayzel will launch with the following 
unique, historically significant collections:  Holocaust Oral History 
Archive,<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://hoha.digitalcollections.gratzcollege.edu/__;!!KGKeukY!zttq0olRSv5Dymz_MW2RRI3rg-MtoDI0PM6jnEb_a88AnfHOHBTHHAJa8omphjgqsLxOg0BtWHSaGJSm-IzAAg$
 > Rebecca Gratz 
Correspondence,<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://rebeccagratz.digitalcollections.gratzcollege.edu/__;!!KGKeukY!zttq0olRSv5Dymz_MW2RRI3rg-MtoDI0PM6jnEb_a88AnfHOHBTHHAJa8omphjgqsLxOg0BtWHSaGJTj1FyXiw$
 > Dr. 
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1709221109/gratzedu/rawallsqap1f5jvyst4i/LenaAllenShorePapersFindingAid2.pdf__;!!KGKeukY!zttq0olRSv5Dymz_MW2RRI3rg-MtoDI0PM6jnEb_a88AnfHOHBTHHAJa8omphjgqsLxOg0BtWHSaGJTnGCn6JA$
 > Lena Allen-Shore 
Papers,<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1709221109/gratzedu/rawallsqap1f5jvyst4i/LenaAllenShorePapersFindingAid2.pdf__;!!KGKeukY!zttq0olRSv5Dymz_MW2RRI3rg-MtoDI0PM6jnEb_a88AnfHOHBTHHAJa8omphjgqsLxOg0BtWHSaGJTnGCn6JA$
 > and 
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1709221109/gratzedu/rawallsqap1f5jvyst4i/LenaAllenShorePapersFindingAid2.pdf__;!!KGKeukY!zttq0olRSv5Dymz_MW2RRI3rg-MtoDI0PM6jnEb_a88AnfHOHBTHHAJa8omphjgqsLxOg0BtWHSaGJTnGCn6JA$
 > Gratz College - Eric Mandell Digital Jewish Music 
Collection<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.gratz.edu/news-and-events/event-calendar/default-dynamic-news-page/*board/news-and-events/post/mandellmusicarchive__;fg!!KGKeukY!zttq0olRSv5Dymz_MW2RRI3rg-MtoDI0PM6jnEb_a88AnfHOHBTHHAJa8omphjgqsLxOg0BtWHSaGJQYCZgO8w$
 
>.<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1709221109/gratzedu/rawallsqap1f5jvyst4i/LenaAllenShorePapersFindingAid2.pdf__;!!KGKeukY!zttq0olRSv5Dymz_MW2RRI3rg-MtoDI0PM6jnEb_a88AnfHOHBTHHAJa8omphjgqsLxOg0BtWHSaGJTnGCn6JA$
 >

<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1709221109/gratzedu/rawallsqap1f5jvyst4i/LenaAllenShorePapersFindingAid2.pdf__;!!KGKeukY!zttq0olRSv5Dymz_MW2RRI3rg-MtoDI0PM6jnEb_a88AnfHOHBTHHAJa8omphjgqsLxOg0BtWHSaGJTnGCn6JA$
 >

Dr. Alison Joseph, Gratz Director of Digital Scholarship, leads the ambitious 
multi-phased Grayzel initiative. Grayzel will feature advanced search and 
filter/sort tools, high quality UI/UX, high standard cybersecurity protections, 
and a user-friendly dashboard. It will support significant visitor traffic, 
include visually powerful and interactive displays, and ensure ADA compliance 
for accessibility.

About the purpose of the Archive, Joseph remarks:

“Over the past few years, we have seen that the future of Jewish learning is 
online. Grayzel will bring previously unseen sources to the internet, making 
them accessible in a graphically attractive and digitally sophisticated way for 
learners of all levels from around the world. The robust search and filter 
tools will pull the collections together, putting them into conversation around 
specific themes and topics. With this platform, we seek to establish Gratz as a 
leader in the emerging field of digital Judaica.”

For the Grayzel project’s first phase, Gratz has secured major gifts from the 
Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), the 
German Government Office of Foreign Affairs, Josephine Cohen Charitable 
Foundation, the Barbara and Fred Kort Foundation, Gene R. Hoffman, and 
individual donors.

The Grayzel Digital Platform is anticipated to launch in Spring 2025.



# # #

About Gratz College

Gratz College, a private non-profit institution based in the Philadelphia area, 
is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). 
Founded in 1895, Gratz College is the oldest independent college for Jewish 
studies in North America. Today, Gratz enrolls a diverse population of students 
from around the world in graduate-level programs that reflect its historic 
focus on Jewish studies and education. An early adopter of online education, 
Gratz's premiere programs include Doctorates in Holocaust/Genocide Studies and 
Education Leadership, as well as the only Master’s in Antisemitism Studies in 
the United States.







Alison L. Joseph, PhD (she/her)

Director of Digital Scholarship and Assistant Professor of Bible

GRATZ COLLEGE

ajos...@gratz.edu <mailto:ajos...@gratz.edu>

215-635-7300 x144



[cid:7b7a6fce-afb6-43ed-83e7-eeb0e5a3859e]
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