This new EHRI Blog post, by Madeline Vadkerty, looks at letters written by Alžbeta Helena Donathová, a young Jewish-Slovak woman, to the president of Slovakia. They are an example of the thousands of letters asking for clemency from anti-Semitic measures during the Holocaust in Slovakia.

The post analyses the strategies in her appeal and looks at the information such entreaties reveal about how Jews experienced persecution in rural Slovakia. In doing so, the post also offers an insight into the collection of such appeals and entreaties to Slovak President Tiso, which is held at the Slovak National Archive.

Read the Document Blog Post

A New web application to study the spatial exclusion of Jews in Nazi-occupied Prague, published on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Where did the Jewish residents of Prague live during World War II before they were deported? Which places were they not allowed to visit during the occupation? In which places were they detained for violating anti-Jewish prohibitions and regulations?

Answers to these and other questions can be found in the new MemoGIS Prague web application, which will be published on 27 January 2022 on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. MemoGIS can be used from mobile devices on site or from a home or school computer. As of now, the app is available in Czech and an English version is under preparation.

An Analysis of the Correspondence of Dr Joseph Thon | Invitation to Polish speaking scholars

The latest EHRI Document Blog Post, wiritten by Charlie Knight, contextualises the correspondence between the representative of the Polish Jewish Refugee Fund in Geneva, Joseph Thon, and five Polish citizens forced to flee to England in 1939-1940. By looking into the specific connections and relationships that joined the refugees, the post analyses how they exercised their connection with Joseph Thon in Geneva to procure information on, and support for, their families and friends in Poland.

The post also invites Polish speaking scholars to do further research on the letters in the Abraham Silberschein deposit at Yad Vashem to create a fuller picture of Thon’s activities in Geneva and the networks which existed.

Objective:

The objective of this call for proposals is to support projects aimed at commemorating defining events in modern European history, including the causes and consequences of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, and at raising awareness among European citizens of their common history, culture, cultural heritage and values, thereby enhancing their understanding of the Union, its origins, purpose, diversity and achievements and of the importance of mutual understanding and tolerance.

Policy initiatives supported: