ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 25, 1996 TAG: 9607250023
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: The People Column
Steven Spielberg has received more backing for his Holocaust documentation project, which will include interviews with more than 50,000 survivors.
U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Barbara Boxer presented Spielberg with a $1 million federal grant Tuesday. The director said the funding will allow him to approach other governments for additional grants.
``This single gift will open the floodgates to get all the funding necessary,'' he said.
About $40 million has been raised so far, and Spielberg estimated he needs $20 million more.
The interviews, as well as family photographs and other artifacts, will be preserved electronically. He said the information will be available to museums and schools ``to teach teachers to teach tolerance.''
Spielberg, who has been working on the project for 16 months, said the idea came after directing the Oscar-winning film ``Schindler's List,'' the story of a German businessman who rescued 1,161 Jews from Nazi extermination.
LENGTH: Short : 29 linesby CNB