New tools for the future of remembrance

Berlin, March 26, 2015

Historians and archivists can and will preserve remembrance of the Holocaust. Before long there will be no survivors left who can testify about their experiences. Their contribution cannot be replaced. But by developing and using new tools for documentation and research the lack of eyewitnesses will – at least partially – be compensated.

On 26 March, EHRI – the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure – presented its online portal. It provides access to rich information about more than 1,800 Holocaust-related archival institutions in 51 countries, and to descriptions of tens of thousands of archival materials. Starting out in 2010 as a EC-financed initiative, scholars in 20 institutions in Europe and Israel worked together to make archives accessible and to connect collections.

Watch the short EHRI Film The Future of Remembrance that premiered at the EHRI Presentation in Berlin.

Education

‘The EHRI portal can play an important role in the democratisation of knowledge of the Holocaust’, says Dr. Conny Kristel, coordinator of EHRI. Not only academic researchers but also the public at large can use the online facility for scientific or personal purposes. Moreover the portal will support education on the Holocaust. According to EHRI, recent events in different parts of Europe have shown how important this work on Holocaust material remains as a reminder of the not so distant past.

About EHRI

The field of Holocaust studies relies on a wide variety of archives. Central to EHRI’s mission is the creation of an online inventory of Holocaust-related archival institutions and collections. The EHRI portal offers access to information on Holocaust-related archival material held in institutions across Europe and beyond.

EHRI is not only a digital infrastructure, but also a human network. Through a varied programme of fellowship opportunities, summer schools, workshops and conferences, EHRI is fostering new connections among Holocaust researchers, archivists and digital humanists. It thereby promotes new interdisciplinary and transnational approaches to Holocaust research.

From now on, the EHRI portal is ready to be accessed by researchers. In the near future, even more collections from more institutions, from Western and Eastern Europe as well as the USA will be connected to the EHRI portal.

EHRI was financed under the EU 7th Framework Programme and coordinated by NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam.

To use the EHRI portal please visit https://portal.ehri-project.eu.

Click here for the programme of the official presentation.

Photo: Front row at EHRI Presentation, from left to right: Polish State Secretary Prof. Marek Ratajczak, Dutch State Secretary Sander Dekker, EHRI Project Director Conny Kristel, DG Research and Innovation, EC, Robert-Jan Smits, German State Secretary Cornelia Quennet-Thielen, EHRI ET Member Tobias Blanke. Photographer Marko Priske.