On the 7th November, EHRI partner The Wiener Library: For the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide celebrated the eighty years since it began its work as a record and archive of Nazism and anti-Semitism. 

The 80th anniversary event coincided with the opening of the Library’s new exhibition, ‘The Wiener Library at 80: The Endurance of Truth’ which puts some of it’s the most interesting parts of its collection on public display. The Wiener Library was founded in 1933 by Dr Alfred Wiener, a German Jew who had spent years warning the wider world about the dangers posed by Hitler and the Nazis.

Visitors are invited to explore the timeline of the Library’s extraordinary journey from Berlin, via Amsterdam, to London and its establishment as Britain’s largest and most varied collection of Holocaust material. Also on display are five photographic portraits by famous photographer Nadav Kander, who in the past has photographed Barack Obama. These beautiful portraits are of people who have worked with the library and have a personal connection with its work.

Alongside these artworks the library is exhibiting six newly commissioned photographs of items in the Archives, photographed by photographer Ali Mobasser. Around one hundred invited guests came to an evening celebration of the library’s work and prominent role as one of the foremost Holocaust archives and research libraries in Europe.

Lord Finkelstein OBE (Alfred Wiener’s grandson) spoke about the prescience of his grandfather’s work in documenting Nazi anti-Semitism, particularly since he saw the dangers of it as far back as 1919. Ed Vaisey, The Coalition Government’s Minister for Heritage also discussed the Library’s importance as a source of research and truth for future generations, passing on the congratulations of the Prime Minister David Cameron.

As part of the 80th Anniversary, a photo book has been produced which features library staff speaking about their personal interest in selected items form the collections, an image of which can be seen above. The book will be avialble  at the library.

The Exhibition is free and open to the public until February 19th 2014.

Read more at www.wienerlibrary.co.uk/The_Wiener_Library_at_80.

The Exhibition was Made possible with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and with the generous support of David Graham.

Photo: Ali Mobasser and Russell Weeks.