MEMORIAL DE LA SHOAH

Their core work

Mémorial de la Shoah is France's leading Holocaust museum, archive, and documentation center based in Paris. It preserves and provides access to extensive archival collections related to the Holocaust and the history of antisemitism. Within H2020, the organization contributes its archival expertise and collections to the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI), a pan-European effort to integrate dispersed Holocaust-related sources into a unified, digitally accessible research ecosystem. Their role centers on making primary historical sources findable, accessible, and interoperable for researchers across Europe and beyond.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Mémorial de la Shoah's H2020 participation shows remarkable consistency rather than evolution — all three projects (2015–2025) are successive phases of EHRI. The trajectory moves from an initial research infrastructure action (EHRI, RIA) through a preparatory phase (EHRI-PP, CSA) toward a more mature, institutionalized infrastructure (EHRI-3, RIA), suggesting the organization is helping EHRI transition from a project into a permanent European research infrastructure. No keyword data is available to track thematic shifts, but the funding pattern — smaller contributions in later phases — suggests the infrastructure is maturing and distributing effort across more partners.

Mémorial de la Shoah is on a path toward becoming a permanent node in an ERIC-level European research infrastructure for Holocaust studies, making them a long-term institutional partner rather than a project-based collaborator.

How they like to work

Mémorial de la Shoah operates exclusively as a participant, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a content-providing institution within a larger infrastructure consortium. With 26 unique partners across 18 countries from just 3 projects, they work in large, internationally diverse consortia typical of research infrastructure initiatives. Their repeated participation across all EHRI phases signals high reliability and institutional commitment — a partner that stays for the long haul.

Despite only 3 projects, Mémorial de la Shoah has collaborated with 26 distinct partners across 18 countries, reflecting the broad pan-European scope of the EHRI consortium. Their network spans nearly every EU member state with significant Holocaust archives and memorial institutions.

What sets them apart

Mémorial de la Shoah is one of the world's foremost Holocaust documentation centers, holding archival collections that are irreplaceable for European historical research. Unlike university partners in EHRI who contribute analytical expertise, the Mémorial provides direct access to primary sources — making them essential rather than substitutable in any Holocaust-related research infrastructure. For consortium builders in digital humanities, cultural heritage, or historical research infrastructure, they bring both institutional credibility and unique content that cannot be replicated elsewhere.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EHRI
  The flagship first phase (2015–2019) with the largest EC contribution (EUR 202,250), establishing the foundational European Holocaust Research Infrastructure.
• EHRI-3
  The most recent phase (2020–2025) signals the infrastructure's progression toward permanence, with Mémorial de la Shoah confirmed as a long-term institutional partner.