International Holocaust research facility gets headquarters in the Netherlands

The international research facility European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) was launched today as the European Research Infrastructure and will have its headquarters in the Netherlands. On 26 January, on the eve of the commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz 80 years ago, the inauguration ceremony took place at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. The research infrastructure brings together available public data on the Holocaust from several European countries. The ceremony took place in the presence of Minister Bruins (Education, Culture and Science) and representatives from several European countries. The research institute marks an important step in international cooperation in Holocaust research, education and remembrance. The headquarters of this important research facility will be in Amsterdam. This was decided by the European Commission.

Last summer, Minister Bruins (Education, Culture and Science) and State Secretary Karremans (Health, Welfare and Sport) sent a plan for the establishment of EHRI-ERIC to the European Commission on behalf of several countries and in cooperation with, among others, the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies. The research facility, entitled European Holocaust Research Infrastructure, aims to collect and make accessible public information on the Holocaust from a large number of countries, for the benefit of , and to create standards for Holocaust research. Last Monday, the European Commission (EC) took the decision to establish the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC). With this decision, the European Commission confirms the value and importance of Holocaust research. In addition, this decision ensures that EHRI-ERIC is now an official EU research facility. 

Minister Bruins: 'Examining your past is the best guarantee for a better future. EHRI collects public information on the Holocaust, making it more accessible to researchers and other interested parties. My sincere wish is that EHRI can continue to give a face to the horrors of the Holocaust to future generations. Knowledge and research on our past can be a powerful antidote to contemporary anti-Semitism in our societies, and a lasting reminder of the dark period from which Europe emerged. It is an honour to welcome this important research institute to the Netherlands.'

Head office in the Netherlands

Much information about the Holocaust is available such as photographs, videos, and paper and digital documents However, this information is scattered across thousands of archives, libraries, museums and other research institutions in Europe and beyond. This fragmentation makes it difficult for researchers to find and access the information they need. The EHRI-ERIC solves this problem by collecting information on all sources documenting the Holocaust and provides researchers and citizens with easy access to those sources. A large part of the sources at EHRI-ERIC will soon be digitally searchable. The research facility will also be accessible to the general public, for example people researching their family history.

The establishment of this Holocaust research facility and the necessary staff will be paid for by the member states. The Netherlands is the host country and will host EHRI's central office within the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam. National networks will be established in all member states of this new EHRI-ERIC, bringing together relevant stakeholders to unlock all knowledge.

The government annually reserves an amount of €300,000 for the Dutch contribution to EHRI-ERIC. This is funded from the budgets of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

Multiple countries

The European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) is an initiative of research centres, archives and museums from a large number of countries. EHRI was founded in 2010 as a project from NIOD and has been coordinated by NIOD ever since. The new research infrastructure will unite several countries, namely the Netherlands Germany, Israel, Croatia, Austria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. Belgium plans to join EHRI-ERIC in 2025 and EHRI-ERIC is committed to involving other countries as well.

Holocaust research

Through the establishment of EHRI-ERIC, the objectives of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance as set out in the Stockholm Declaration of the International Holocaust Research Alliance of 2000 and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Ministerial Declaration of 2020 are fulfilled. Among other things, it agreed to encourage research and education on the Holocaust and to open its archives to this end. Participation in EHRI and the establishment of its headquarters in the Netherlands underlines the great importance the government attaches to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive.