INSTITUTUL NATIONAL PENTRU STUDIEREA HOLOCAUSTULUI DIN ROMANIA "ELIE WIESEL"

Their core work

Romania's National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust "Elie Wiesel" is the country's primary institution dedicated to Holocaust research, documentation, and remembrance. Within H2020, the institute contributes to building the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI), a pan-European effort to make dispersed Holocaust archives, testimonies, and historical records digitally accessible and interoperable. Their role involves connecting Romanian Holocaust archives and collections — including documentation on the persecution of Jews and Roma in Romania and Transnistria — into a unified European research platform. The institute bridges national archival holdings with international digital infrastructure, enabling cross-border historical research at scale.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

The institute's H2020 trajectory follows a single, deepening commitment: the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure. From the initial EHRI project (2015–2019) focused on building the infrastructure, through EHRI-PP (2019–2023) preparing its transition to a permanent European research infrastructure (ERIC status), to EHRI-3 (2020–2025) which continues expanding the platform. Rather than diversifying, the institute has doubled down on its core mission — a sign of deep specialization and institutional commitment to this specific infrastructure becoming a permanent fixture of European research.

The institute is moving from project-based participation toward becoming a permanent node in a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), suggesting long-term institutional commitment and growing integration into pan-European research networks.

How they like to work

The institute operates exclusively as a participant, contributing its national archival expertise and collections to large, coordinated European consortia. With 26 unique partners across 17 countries from just 3 projects, they work in broad, multinational teams — typical of major research infrastructure initiatives. Their loyalty to the EHRI consortium across three successive projects signals reliability and deep institutional embedding, making them a stable long-term partner rather than a project-hopping opportunist.

Despite participating in only 3 projects, the institute has built connections with 26 partners across 17 countries — a remarkably wide network driven by the pan-European nature of EHRI. Their reach spans most of the EU and includes major Holocaust research institutions, national archives, and memorial organizations across the continent.

What sets them apart

As Romania's official Holocaust research institute, they hold a unique national mandate and exclusive access to Romanian Holocaust archives and documentation — materials essential for any comprehensive European Holocaust research infrastructure. No other Romanian organization can provide this combination of institutional authority, archival holdings, and established integration into the EHRI network. For consortium builders in cultural heritage, digital humanities, or historical research infrastructure, they are the natural and often only Romanian partner for Holocaust-related work.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EHRI
  The foundational project that established the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure, connecting dispersed archives across Europe for the first time at this scale.
• EHRI-PP
  The preparatory phase for transforming EHRI into a permanent European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) — a significant institutional milestone.
• EHRI-3
  The most recent and longest-running phase (2020–2025), representing the institute's continued and deepening commitment to the infrastructure with the largest single funding allocation (EUR 121,515).