Heidemarie Uhl (1956–2023)

Mit großem Bedauern vernahmen wir die Nachricht des Ablebens der renommierten Historikerin Heidemarie Uhl (1956–2023). Die langjährige Mitarbeiterin der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften bzw. des Instituts für Kulturwissenschaften und Theatergeschichte (IKT) war eine der wichtigsten und prägendsten Stimmen der österreichischen Gedächtniskultur in den Bereichen Nationalsozialismus, Antisemitismus und Holocaust. Das Wiener Wiesenthal Institut für Holocaust-Studien (VWI) verdankt ihr zahlreiche konstruktive und bereichernde Beiträge. Ihre Arbeit und ihr Engagement bleiben uns genauso in Erinnerung wie ihre grundehrliche, unterstützende und stets kollegiale Art. Ein unermesslicher Verlust für die Forschungslandschaft.

It was with great sadness that we heard the news of the passing of the renowned historian Heidemarie Uhl (1956-2023). A long-time staff member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Institute for Culture Studies and Theatre History (IKT), she was one of the most important and influential voices in the Austrian culture of memory in the areas of National Socialism, anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. The Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI) owes her numerous constructive and enriching contributions. We will always remember her work and commitment as well as her honest, supportive and always collegial manner. An immeasurable loss for the research landscape.

Now online: Wiesenthal in Linz - A Virtual Exhibition

We are happy to announce the publication of our newest project: Wiesenthal in Linz - A Virtual Exhibition. The online exhibition presents the so-called “Linz documents” - a set of documents that form the basis of the Jewish Documentation Centre's (JDC) archival collection. Like many other Holocaust-related Jewish collections after WWII, the documents are highly dispersed: While the majority of the DP camp files are held by the Yad Vashem Archives in Jerusalem, the six folders Simon Wiesenthal brought to Vienna himself are located in the archives of the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI). Other relevant documents can be found in the archives of the Jewish communities in Linz and Vienna, in the DP camp collection of the YIVO Institute in New York, and in the archives of “The Joint”.

Wiesenthal in Linz - A Virtual Exhibition is the result of a three-year project of the VWI funded by the Claims Conference. The goal was to start reconnecting, at least virtually, this closely related collection of documents from Simon Wiesenthal’s time in Linz and to provide a single place to find information on the history and characteristics of the material for researchers.

Gender Equality and Diversity Statement 2023-2025 published

Starting in 2023, the VWI committed to establish a roadmap to promote and implement measures to strengthen gender equality and diversity in its organisational structure, academic and programmatic work as well as in its representation and external communication. This process will build on International, European and national legislation. The full text of the Gender and Equality Statement 2023-2025 can be found here.