EHRI-NL Meeting

Some forty participants gathered in the auditorium at 1 pm for a full program. Almost all present were researchers, historians, scholars, collection specialists, writers or archivists with a relationship to the Holocaust or World War II. Several Dutch institutions, from the VU Amsterdam to the Jewish Cultural Quarter, from the National to the Gelderland Archives, from the NIOD to Westenbork Memorial were represented.

Researchers and archivists/collection specialists together in one meeting is less common than you might expect. The theme was, “How Holocaust researchers and archivists are generating new insights together. EHRI-NL’s scholarly program in relation to the digitization of the Central Archive on Special Jurisdiction (CABR),” The CABR serving as a case study to examine the interaction between researchers and collection holding institutions.

After the introduction to the CABR, the participants explored what the optimal collaboration between archivist and researcher might look like, based on this particular case study. The main, shared observation was that greater interaction between the two domains can help to remedy blind spots on either side. Deeper knowledge about the background against which archives and collections were created can increase researchers’ awareness of the possible selective nature and coloration (bias). Conversely, the knowledge, experience and wishes of the researcher can help the archivist to make better informed acquisitions, selections (for digitization, for example) and enrichment.

If you would like to know more about EHRI-NL or its network meetings, please reach out to ehri-nl@niod.knaw.nl for more information.

Below: the panelists explore the optimal collaboration between archivist and researcher. Left to right: Frank Uiterwaal (chair: NIOD), Edwin Klijn (WO2NET), Petra Links (Gelders Archief), Marjolein Uittenbogaard (NIOD) and Robin te Slaa (independent researcher).