Supporting a sustainable UK Holocaust research infrastructure

Yesterday, 26 January 2025, marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp at Auschwitz Birkenau.

To coincide with this historic moment, an international group signed EHRI into being as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium at an event in Warsaw, with the UK as a founding member.

Transnational Holocaust research

EHRI enables transnational Holocaust research, commemoration and education by connecting sources, institutions and people.

UK membership of EHRI, and the development of the UK’s own Holocaust research consortium, have been supported by funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

This investment will provide important opportunities for UK-based researchers while raising the profile and accessibility of collections, archives and data held in this country.

Preserving for the future

As AHRC Executive Chair Professor Christopher Smith says:

It is an obligation of the highest seriousness for us to preserve and share the memory of the Holocaust, a critical turning point in our history and a near-unimaginable tragedy.

This infrastructure is a key mechanism that brings the fragile and scattered records into the digital world, to preserve it for the future.

I am proud that AHRC has supported the UK’s presence in a powerful European consortium.

As Elie Wiesel wrote, ‘The same smoke floats over all our heads. Help one another. It is the only way to survive’.

Connecting UK collections and researchers

The UK holds a unique collection of records relating to the Holocaust and refugees who fled Nazi oppression.

These archives, museums and data will be supported by the EHRI-UK, which will create a national digital research infrastructure to facilitate access, understanding and cooperation.

EHRI-UK is the UK national node of EHRI and will find and connect source material in the UK, whilst facilitating researcher access to internationally held collections and projects.

Celebrating creation of EHRI-UK

To celebrate the creation of EHRI-UK, on 28 November 2024, invited guests from across the UK arrived at Friends House, London for its launch, with representatives from:

governmental bodies
existing and potential partners in Holocaust archives, museums and collections
research and educational institutions

Speakers at the event included Deputy German Ambassador, Karl-Matthias Klause, who acknowledged the importance of the UK and Germany working together and emphasised how the study of humanities ultimately creates ‘better people’.

Sally Sealey, on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, confirmed the British government’s support for this important international research.

The Director of Research, Strategy and Innovation at AHRC, Dr Jaideep Gupte, described EHRI-UK as an excellent example of the importance of investing in humanities research. Dr Gupte confirmed AHRC’s enthusiasm for the project and the opportunities for expanding the UK network with international collaborations.

The Director of EHRI, Dr Reto Speck, acknowledged that the UK has played an incredibly important role in EHRI since its inception. EHRI welcomes the formation of the UK node and how it is bringing new partners into the wider network.

What is EHRI?

Long-standing collaboration

EHRI is a long-standing collaboration of archives and research institutions spanning Europe, Israel and the US.

For over 14 years, its mission has been to support transnational Holocaust research.

The core areas of EHRI’s work are:

the integration of information about dispersed Holocaust archives and the provision of access to these archives both online and in-person
the innovation of Holocaust research and archiving through new digital approaches
the training of young researchers and archivists
the fostering of new networks of experts by bridging national and disciplinary boundaries

Opportunities to advance mission

Establishing EHRI as a permanent organisation has been a crucial step for EHRI as it provides many new opportunities to advance its mission.

Most importantly, it allows EHRI to move beyond short project cycles to ensure the continuity and sustainability of its work and its lasting impact.

This facilitates fact-based Holocaust knowledge supporting education and combating Holocaust denial and antisemitism.

Strong working relationships across Europe

EHRI has already built strong working relationships with other European research infrastructures including:

EHRI looks forward to continuing to build partnerships and networks across Europe.

How will EHRI-UK continue this work?

Representing different areas of research

The UK research consortium has been created by myself, Dr Rachel Pistol, as director and Dr Christine Schmidt as deputy director to represent different areas of UK Holocaust research.

These include:

The Wiener Holocaust Library, one of the world’s leading Holocaust archives
The Parkes Institute at the University of Southampton, a world-renowned centre of Jewish studies and associated archives
the UK National Archives with their extensive collections and technical skills
the Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London

EHRI-UK has been designed to bring new perspectives, knowledge and areas of expertise to EHRI’s work, as well as extending EHRI’s services, reach and impact.

Reaching an international audience

By having the EHRI-UK network firmly integrated into the European organisation, it will also ensure that the UK Holocaust research community and their activities can reach an international audience through established EHRI services.

Equally they will benefit from the knowledge and expertise of their continental counterparts. This process has already begun with a knowledge exchange visit by staff from the National Archives to Kazerne Dossin in Belgium to understand how archives interact with the EHRI Portal.

Amongst other services, EHRI-UK will be running a funded fellowship scheme for researchers to conduct their work with member institutions in the UK, complementing the international EHRI Conny Kristel fellowships.

Additionally, a new placement scheme is being created that will enable archival and cultural heritage institutions to gain assistance with their work whilst helping university students to gain valuable skills in the sector.

Cooperate and collaborate beyond boundaries

The support, enthusiasm, encouragement and investment made by AHRC in EHRI-UK will enable the project to bring together different expertise, encourage researchers, archivists and heritage professionals to cooperate and collaborate beyond institutional boundaries.

This will open up new research opportunities and creating greater impact through a powerful research consortium.

EHRI-UK seeks to transform the current landscape by combatting the fragmentation of expertise and documentation that has previously been a weakness of disseminating Holocaust and refugee research.

Further information

For further information and to contact the project:

Top image: From left to right: AHRC Director Dr Jaideep Gupte, EHRI Director Dr Reto Speck, EHRI-UK Director Dr Rachel Pistol, Karl-Matthias Klause, Deputy German Ambassador. Credit: Mike Stone