Peer donates £2m to Cambridge college in memory of Auschwitz survivor mother

A peer has donated £2m to a Cambridge University college in memory of his late mother Paula, who was a Hungarian Auschwitz survivor.

Lord John Browne, the former CEO of BP, has donated the sum to the university’s Murray Edwards College, its largest single donation since 2008.

The money will go towards creating the Paula Browne House, allowing the women-only college to increase both its accommodation and teaching capacity significantly, particularly benefiting those from under-represented backgrounds.

“She was a great influence in my life, and when I made my money, I said: ‘I’m going to make sure I give some away to a cause that she believed in, something that meant a lot to her,’” Lord Browne told Jewish News.

“She always believed in women being themselves, not just appendages to men they were married to, and she was always very keen on people getting on in life.”

Scholarships are already awarded at the college under Paula’s name, typically awarded to women from Eastern European countries who would not otherwise have the opportunity to study at the University.

The president of Murray Edwards, Dame Barbara Stocking, said the college is currently limited in the accommodation it can provide but that the donation  “will enable us to change all that – allowing the College to educate more outstanding young women, particularly those from backgrounds that have been traditionally under-represented at Cambridge.”