European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI)

What is the aim of EHRI?

The European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) focuses on linking and promoting transnational Holocaust research, remembrance and education. The main challenge in this context is the fragmentation of sources and expertise across institutions, countries and continents. EHRI overcomes this fragmentation by connecting sources, institutions and people.

What does EHRI offer?

EHRI's core research and training services include:

  • The EHRI Portal provides access to information on archival material on the Holocaust in institutions in and outside Europe.
  • The EHRI Conny Kristel Fellowship Programme allows research stays of 1-6 weeks at one or more EHRI partner institutions. Information on application modalities and new calls can be found on the programme's homepage.
  • The EHRI online courses provide source material and background information and give an overview of current trends in Holocaust historiography in five thematic units.
  • The EHRI Document Blog offers the possibility to analyse and present working theses, (preliminary) research results and interesting source findings to a wider audience with the help of digital tools.
  • The EHRI Online Editions, are freely accessible and, thanks to metadata tagging and georeferencing, are not bound to fixed thematic or chronological patterns, but are searchable at any time according to different thematic interests and are contextualised by interactive maps (currently available editions: https://begrenzte-flucht.ehri-project.eu/, https://early-testimony.ehri-project.eu/ and https://diplomatic-reports.ehri-project.eu/).
  • The EHRI seminars are particularly aimed at doctoral students and early postdocs. The one-week events offer an overview of methodological developments in the field of Holocaust studies, exchange with experts, opportunities to present one's project and to gain an insight into the culture of remembrance of the region in which the seminar takes place.

The working language of the project, as for the majority of the specific offers, is English.

Who is part of the EHRI consortium and how is the research infrastructure funded?

The EHRI consortium currently consists of 25 partners that are among the leading institutions in Holocaust research (e.g. Yad Vashem (Israel), United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - USHMM (USA), NIOD, Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (Netherlands), Jewish Historical Institute (Poland), National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania "Elie Wiesel" (Romania), Bundesarchiv (Germany), Arolsen Archives (Germany)) or have considerable expertise in data management and preservation or digital humanities (e.g. King's College (UK), Data Archiving and Networked Services - DANS (Netherlands). A complete overview of the partner institutions can be found here.

The Leibniz Institute of Contemporary History, which has been represented by the Centre for Holocaust Studies since its foundation in 2013, has been an important partner in EHRI since the beginning of the project. Through its participation in the Project Management Board and the central coordination of numerous work packages, the Centre is involved in many activities and all important decisions of EHRI.

EHRI has already been successfully funded twice by EU funding programmes (Phase 1: 2010-2015 by 7th Framework Programme (7FP), Phase 2: 2015-2019 funded by Horizon 2020). EHRI is now in its third funding phase (EHRI-3), again funded by Horizon2020 (2020-2024).

What are the future plans for EHRI?

he task of EHRI-3 is to continue to offer and expand key activities and initiatives of the project. Work will focus on expanding the reach of the EHRI portal, particularly concerning micro-archival holdings; developing new digital tools to connect dispersed Holocaust sources and relevant holdings; providing state-of-the-art training and education opportunities for researchers and archivists; and continuing and expanding the EHRI Conny Kristel Fellowship.

In addition to EHRI-3, which is responsible for the continuation and expansion of project activities, the work of the EHRI Preparatory Phase (EHRI-PP) is dedicated to the challenge of anchoring EHRI in the research (infrastructure) landscape in a long-term and sustainable manner. EHRI was included in the roadmap of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) in 2018 and in this context received further Horizon2020 funding (2019-2022) to implement the necessary legal, financial and strategic steps to be fully operational as a stand-alone, permanent organisation (s.g. European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC)) from around 2025.

Questions about EHRI? Please contact Johannes Meerwald, who is in charge of the project at the Centre.



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