Spotlight on… the EHRI National Node in Germany: EHRI-DE
In this episode of Spotlight on… we focus on EHRI in Germany, and talk to Johannes Meerwald, National Coordinator.
Hi Johannes, you represent EHRI-DE. How big is the German National Node?
Until September 2026, six institutions have joined the node. The Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History (IfZ), a research institution covering 20th century Germany history, coordinates the node.
I serves as the National Coordinator of EHRI-DE and am an historian specialising in Holocaust history. I have already been involved with EHRI for four years, leading two work packages in two EHRI projects, preceding EHRI-ERIC.
Florine Miez (Communication and Education) and Miriam Reichlmaier (Digital Affairs) help to organise EHRI-DE and are responsible for project development.
Could you tell us a bit about the other institutions of the node?
The Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv) is the largest archival institution in Germany. Key papers for the understanding of the Holocaust lie within its repositories. These records are accessible to users through archival finding aids and modern databases.
The Arolsen Archives are the international center on Nazi persecution with the world’s most comprehensive archive on the victims and survivors of National Socialism. They provide easy access to a broad base of knowledge about Nazi persecution, Nazi forced labor, the Holocaust, and the consequences of discrimination and racial hatred. The collection has information on about 17.5 million people and belongs to UNESCO’s Memory of the World.
The Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO) is one of the leading research and educational institutions for the study of the history and culture of Central and Eastern Europe. Its research focuses on some of the most urgent issues of our time: dynamics of globalisation and migration, knowledge systems and competing historical narratives, environmental challenges and violence.
The Fritz Bauer Institute is an independent research and educational institution focusing on contemporary history from an interdisciplinary perspective. The institute moreover focuses on scholarly, pedagogical, ant artistic engagements with the National Socialist politics of annihilation and its aftermath reaching into the present day.
The German National Library’s German Exile Archive 1933–1945 is a platform for discussing the subjects of exile and emigration during the Nazi era. It collects testimonies of exile such as publications, institutional and personal legacies – from all walks of life and regardless of the prominence of the individual concerned.
Do these institutions have a long history with EHRI and the associating projects?
The Institut für Zeitgeschichte/Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History has been involved in EHRI from the very beginning of the first project in 2010, among other things taking responsibility for the enrichment of the EHRI Portal in Germany, the EHRI training and education, as well as the EHRI Conny Kristel Fellowship Programme. The IfZ also played a key role in the early development of EHRI-ERIC, particularly during the EHRI-PP (Preparation) and EHRI-IP (Implementation) projects.
Alongside the IfZ, the Federal Archives and the Arolsen Archives have been involved in several EHRI projects. For example, the Federal Archives developed the online course ‘ Modern Diplomatics of the Holocaust‘ in EHRI-2, which fed into a very well received in-person seminar in Berlin in 2023. During the EHRI-3 project, the Arolsen Archives played a key role in engaging regional and local communities of experts in Holocaust documentation and research, as well as supporting and connecting micro archival communities.
We are particularly delighted to welcome three newcomers to the EHRI consortium: The GWZO, the Fritz Bauer Institute, and the German Exile Archives 1933–1945. The latter has organised the methodological EHRI Seminar “Holocaust and Exile” in Frankfurt am Main together with the IfZ in 2024, meaning they already have experience in delivering EHRI training events.
How was it to follow the process of forming and becoming accepted as a National Node member?
The IfZ started to work on a proposal in 2023. The Federal Archives and the Arolsen Archives supported the IfZ during this period, and are therefore part of the EHRI-DE founding consortium. The rest of the partners joined the project consortium in 2025.
Finally, EHRI-DE became operational in April 2026, and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) until January 2030. Also since April 2026, EHRI-DE has been part of the BMFTR’s SSH framework programme “Orientierung für eine Welt im Wandel” (2026–2032).
What are your plans as National Node of your country?
Firstly, our declared mission is to develop the necessary bodies within the node, and to establish workflows between the partners, and between the consortium and EHRI-ERIC. Furthermore, we are working to grow our consortium and network organically in Germany and beyond and to secure a sustainable long-term perspective for the node.
In terms of content, we are developing an infrastructure project relating to personal data of Nazi victims. In addition, we are designing an educational programme to connect practitioners and experts in Holocaust education in Germany. Last but not least, we are working on further integrating collection descriptions of German archival institutions into the EHRI Portal.
What are the benefits of having a node and being part of a bigger organisation such as EHRI-ERIC?
Holocaust research is inherently transnational due to the global dispersal of relevant sources. As a leading transnational network in Holocaust Studies, EHRI-ERIC provides crucial opportunities for multilateral cooperation, knowledge exchange, and the development of innovative approaches across national borders. We therefore greatly value the programme of transnational activities, which enables us to develop and deliver workshops and seminars together with our international partners. For visibility and exchange, for us it is also of great benefit to actively contribute to EHRI-ERIC’s Working Groups and the Conny Kristel Fellowship Programme.
Perhaps most importantly of all, EHRI has always been a human network, and we are delighted to continue our personal relationships with our many colleagues in Europe and beyond.
“We firmly acknowledge Germany’s historical responsibility and its continuing significance for our work today. Consequently, our goal is to establish a strong national network that is fully integrated into the transnational framework offered by EHRI-ERIC, thereby facilitating cutting-edge research, documentation and education on the Holocaust for a growing user community.”
Thank you, Johannes!
Visit the national node’s website for more info on EHRI-DE.