The Programs on Ethics, Religion, and the Holocaust of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem, and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College are pleased to announce a virtual workshop on Archives, Power, and Truth Telling: Catholic Archives and Holocaust Memory. In light of the 2020 opening of the Vatican archives relating to the Pontificate of Pius XII, we welcome the submission of papers that present and discuss new archival research—previously unpublished or ongoing—on the Catholic Church and the Holocaust, as well as theoretical and conceptual papers on the possibilities and limitations of archival research for scholarship, truth-telling, and memory. Scholars and researchers from all disciplines, including religious studies, history, literature, sociology, political science, gender studies, and philosophy are welcome to submit proposals. Applicants should be working with (or preparing to work with) materials from one or more Catholic archival collections relating to the Holocaust, including but not limited to the Vatican archives, nunciatures, diocesan archives, religious orders, Catholic universities and institutions, and relevant personal collections. This workshop will address the roles of the institutional and local Church and of individual Catholic actors, as they relate to the actions and motivations of the Church and its adherents, and the role of archival research in scholarship and the potential contribution of these findings to Jewish-Christian Relations.
How to Apply
Workshop applicants must be actively engaged in relevant archival research with appropriate academic credentials. Independent scholars and doctoral candidates will be considered. Applicants must fill out the short application and also submit: (1) a curriculum vitae; and (2) a 300-500 word paper proposal that indicates the archival sources (to be) consulted. Accepted submissions will be grouped into thematic sessions; applicants are also welcome to submit a panel with 3-4 colleagues total. Please fill out the application here. If you are unable to upload your documents through the form, please email your materials to perh@ushmm.org.
Applications must be received in electronic form no later than May 15, 2021. For questions, please contact Julia McStravog, jmcstravog@ushmm.org. All applicants will be notified of the results of the selection process by June 15, 2021.
This workshop is made possible by the Hoffberger Family Fund and by Joseph A. and Janeal Cannon and Family at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and with the generous support of the Gutwirth Family Fund at Yad Vashem.
