Article by Kylie Thomas

The image of a young boy standing in the street in Amsterdam during the Second World War, is perhaps the most famous of Emmy Andriesse’s images that portray the terrible effects of war and starvation on the Dutch population. The child’s small somber face can be seen from the side, the light illuminating his fragile ear and his hair which seems to be standing up around his head from the cold. His thin hands are holding a large dark metal pot, a visual metonym for his empty stomach. He is dressed in an over-sized coat which covers his emaciated body up to his waist. Beneath his coat are short pants that end at his knees and his bare legs protrude below and hardly seem strong enough to bear his weight. His shoes also appear to be too large and, in spite of the cold, he is not wearing socks. The child is shown at the centre of the image and the gaze of the viewer is drawn to his face and to the quiet suffering his expression transmits. He is standing still in the frame and all the senseless suffering of war seems to be concentrated in his small body and seems to be bearing down upon him, making him seem even smaller.

The Wiener Library is pleased to announce that from Friday 21 April 2017 they will be offering researchers onsite access to the archive of the UN War Crimes Commission (UNWCC). This large archive contains a wide variety of documentation relating to the handling of war crimes by the Allied powers between 1943 and 1949, including: lists of alleged war criminals, files of charges brought against them, minutes of meetings, reports, correspondence, trial transcripts and other related materials. Further information about the full contents of the archive can be found in their Online Catalogue, and access information can be found on their website.

International Workshop within the Framework of the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure

23-25 October 2017.

Location: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, USA

Call for Proposals for an international EHRI workshop on authenticating Holocaust documentation to be held at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, on October 23–25, 2017.

International Workshop

The Holocaust in the Borderlands: Interethnic Relations and the Dynamics of Violence in Occupied Eastern Europe, Munich, 7-9 February 2018