The Holocaust Centre, Beth Shalom, in Nottinghamshire has been awarded £500,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The money comes in the form of an endowment grant which the centre must match by raising the equivalent sum over the next four years.

Helen Whitney, CEO of the Holocaust Centre, said she was “thrilled”.

“It is vital that the centre’s work, education programmes, and unique exhibitions grow and flourish, ” she said.

“We have one of the only exhibits in the world on the subject of the Holocaust that is appropriate for primary school children,” she explained. “The endowment will help ensure that our work can continue in perpetuity.”

The centre has a permanent exhibition on the Holocaust, as well as research and seminar facilities. The money will be used to develop the centre’s education and outreach programmes, which provide for children, parents, adults and disadvantaged communities.

Beth Shalom is one of only 13 UK organisations to have successfully applied for an endowment - one of the others is the Wiener Library in Russell Square, central London, which this week it had been awarded £1 million.