WIENER WIESENTHAL INSTITUT FUR HOLOCAUST-STUDIEN VWI FORSCHUNG DOKUMENTATION VERMITTLNUG

Their core work

The Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI) is an Austrian research centre dedicated to Holocaust research, documentation, and public education. It serves as a key node in the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI), contributing archival expertise, historical documentation, and research capacity to pan-European efforts aimed at making dispersed Holocaust-related sources accessible and interconnected. Their work bridges academic historiography with public memory and education, making fragmented archives across Europe discoverable and usable by researchers worldwide.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

VWI's focus has remained remarkably consistent across its entire H2020 participation — all three projects are successive phases of the same European Holocaust Research Infrastructure. The progression from EHRI (2015) through the Preparatory Phase (EHRI-PP, 2019) to EHRI-3 (2020) shows the infrastructure maturing from a research network into a permanent European institution. Their growing funding share (from EUR 81,760 to EUR 198,000) suggests an expanding role within the consortium over time.

VWI is deepening its commitment to EHRI as it transitions toward becoming a permanent European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), suggesting long-term institutional stability for partners.

How they like to work

VWI operates exclusively as a consortium participant, never as coordinator, which is consistent with its role as a specialized contributing institution within a large multinational infrastructure project. With 26 unique partners across 17 countries, they are embedded in a broad European network of archives, memorial institutions, and research centres. Their repeat participation across three consecutive EHRI phases signals reliability and institutional commitment — they are a loyal, long-term partner rather than a project-hopping organization.

VWI collaborates with 26 partners across 17 countries, reflecting the pan-European nature of the EHRI consortium which connects archives, museums, and research institutions from Western and Eastern Europe, including countries with significant Holocaust heritage collections.

What sets them apart

VWI is one of very few research institutions that combines Holocaust historiography with active participation in building European-scale digital research infrastructure. Its Vienna location places it at the crossroads of Western and Central/Eastern European archival traditions, a critical position for an infrastructure connecting dispersed Holocaust sources. For consortium builders in humanities research infrastructure or digital heritage, VWI brings both deep subject expertise and a decade of experience in large-scale EU infrastructure projects.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EHRI-3
  Largest funding allocation (EUR 198,000) and the most recent phase, representing the push toward making EHRI a permanent European Research Infrastructure Consortium.
• EHRI-PP
  The Preparatory Phase is a critical milestone — it signals EU-level endorsement of EHRI as a future permanent infrastructure on the ESFRI roadmap.