What is EHRI - the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure?

EHRI's Mission and Vision

Watch EHRI's Mission in a 90 seconds' video

Modern, democratic Europe developed out of the ashes of Auschwitz. It is therefore crucial that research into the Holocaust continues to progress. Only thus can our history's darkest chapter be reread and refined by new generations. For Europeans to understand this shared past, the endeavour must transcend national borders.

Trans-national Holocaust research, commemoration and education is the mission of the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI), and its main challenge is the wide dispersal of sources and expertise across many institutions. EHRI overcomes such fragmentation by connecting sources, institutions and people. The EHRI Portal enables online access to information about Holocaust sources, no matter where they are located. The Conny Kristel Fellowship gives researchers access to the resources of the world's twenty leading Holocaust archives. EHRI's extensive programme of networking and training brings people together. Last but not least, EHRI promotes innovative tools that advance the digital transformation of Holocaust research.

Although EHRI’s primary impact is scientific, it also advances a wider social and political agenda. The recent rise of antisemitism, xenophobia and aggressive nationalisms demonstrate that Holocaust research is never a purely academic concern, but a prerequisite for open and non-discriminatory societies across Europe and beyond. Read more "Two Projects">

Watch EHRI's Mission in 90 seconds:

Two projects, one mission

EHRI is currently supported by two project consortia consisting of 27 partners from across Europe, Israel and the United States.

The EHRI-3 project will run from 2020-2024. It deepens the integration of Holocaust archives and research that has been undertaken by EHRI since 2010. The project will lead to:     

  • a substantial increase in the coverage of the EHRI Portal, particularly with regards to the holdings of micro-archives;
  • the development of new digital tools that connect dispersed Holocaust sources;    
  • the delivery of state-of-the-art training and education opportunities for researchers and archivists;
  • the continuation and enhancement of the Conny Kristel Fellowship Programme.

The EHRI Implementation Phase project (EHRI-IP) will run from February 2024 - January 2026. EHRI was added to the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Roadmap in 2018 and is currently transforming itself from a project into a permanent organisation  that will help secure the future of trans-national Holocaust research, commemoration and education. EHRI will undertake all the necessary legal, financial and strategic work to have this permanent organisation fully operational by January 2025, the 80th-anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

EHRI is coordinated by NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust  and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam.

For an overview of all 27 EHRI partners, please consult this page.

EHRI-3 is funded through the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme; EHRI-IP through Horizon Europe.

EHRI is an ESFRI project.

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