Forschungs-
projekte
Das VWI führt seit Beginn an Forschungsprojekte durch, die aus Drittmitteln finanziert werden. Selbst initiierte, konzipierte und bei nationalen, europäischen und internationalen Fördereinrichtungen eingereichte Vorhaben spielen dabei ebenso eine tragende Rolle wie transnationale Forschungsprojekte. Das Institut ist regelmäßig Konsortialmitglied in bilateralen und internationalen Projekten. Mit seinen Archiven und digitalen Access Points bietet es Forscher:innen erstklassigen Service.
Die eigene Forschung konzentriert sich auf die nachhaltige Nutzbarkeit und digitale Transformation der betreuten Archive sowie auf die Einbindung des VWI und Österreichs in die internationale Holocaustforschung.
Cataloguing and preserving the collection of documents received by Simon Wiesenthal and his Jewish Documentation Centre in Vienna (1959–2005)
The holdings of the Simon Wiesenthal Archive (SWA) represent a unique collection and the documentary legacy of Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal and his fellow campaigners of the Jewish Documentation Center (JDC), who dedicated their life to the fight for justice for the victims and their goal of bringing Nazi perpetrators to court.
Collecting, documenting and informing were the immediate reactions of many survivors to the Holocaust. The SWA is one of the few of such collections that has not only survived many decades, but has also been institutionalized, making it unique far beyond Austria. This project finalizes the cataloguing and preserving of the documents received by Wiesenthal and the JDC (VWI.SWA.III. series 9: 1959–2005). The collection painstakingly illustrates the obstacles of seeking justice in a mainly indifferent postwar Europe as well as the tireless efforts and networking of survivors, NGOs, lawyers, prosecutors, historians and others in order to overcome these very obstacles.
