The document discusses the EHRI (European Holocaust Research Infrastructure) project. EHRI aims to integrate key Holocaust-related archival collections from across Europe into a central portal to support research. It is doing this by harvesting and creating new metadata descriptions of archival collections and integrating them into the EHRI portal. So far EHRI has harvested over 11,000 archival descriptions and created over 1,000 new descriptions. The portal also includes information on historical figures, camps, events and terms to provide context. EHRI involves collaboration between 19 organizations from 13 countries and aims to encourage new Holocaust research methodologies.

1. KVAN-dagen – 17 June 2014
CONNECTING
COLLECTIONS
Tim Veken & Petra Links
NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide
Studies

2. Outline
1. EHRI project
2. Metadata integration
3. Virtual helpdesk

3. Facts & figures
EHRI (European Holocaust Research Infrastructure)
 Funded by the 7th Framework Programme for Research and
Technological Development (FP7) of the European Union
 Duration: 48 months (2010-2014)
 Coordinator: Dr. Conny Kristel (NIOD Institute for War,
Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam)
 Nineteen organisations from thirteen countries form the
EHRI Consortium
 EU financial contribution: € 7 million
 www.ehri-project.eu

4. Overall objectives
EHRI wants to support the Holocaust
research community by:
1.integrating key archival
collections into a portal
2.encouraging Holocaust research
and investigating new methodologies

5. Integration of collections
This is necessary because of the fragmentation
and dispersal of archival sources, due to
 geographical scope of the Holocaust
 attemps to destroy the evidence
 emigration of Holocaust survivors
 multiplicity of documentation projects after the war

6. Metadata integration
 Reuse of existing descriptions
 Harvesting

7. Metadata – EHRI Survey

8. Part of the collection catalogued in digital metadata
Bron: Survey Report on Digitisation in European Cultural Heritage Institutions 2014
(ENUMERATE), page 21

9.  Reusable digital descriptions not
available
 Descriptions don’t describe the
Holocaust related content
 Need for new descriptions
Newly created metadata required

10. Metadata integration – work in progress
 57 Country Reports
 1,792 Repositories in 50 Countries
 69,829 Archival Descriptions in 95 Repositories
 11,833 top-level descriptions via harvesting
 1,233 top-level descriptions newly created

11. Metadata integration
 1,178 Historical Agents of 730 Corporate Bodies and
448 Persons
 3,162 Concentrations Camps and Ghettos
 76 Events
 882 Terms in 10 Languages

12. EHRI - Alpha

13.  Archival mediation
 Descriptions of Collection Holding Institutions
Virtual Helpdesk

14.  EHRI Portal
 Reuse of existing metadata
 New metadata created on several
levels
 Possibilities for new services
Summary

15. NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and
Genocide Studies (NL)
CEGES-SOMA Centre for Historical Research
and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society (BE)
Jewish Museum in Prague (CZ)
Institute of Contemporary History Munich – Berlin (DE)
YAD VASHEM The Holocaust Martyrs’ and
Heroes’ Remembrance Authority (IL)
The Wiener Library – Institute of Contemporary History (UK)
Holocaust Memorial Center (HU)
HL-senteret Center for Studies of Holocaust
and Religious Minorities (NO)
NAF National Archives of Finland (FI)
The Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute (PL)
King’s College London (UK)
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen – Göttingen
State and University Library (DE)
Athena RC/IMIS (GR)
DANS Data Archiving and Networked Services (NL)
Shoah Memorial, Museum, Center for Contemporary
Jewish Documentation (FR)
ITS International Tracing Service (DE)
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (DE)
Terezín Memorial (CZ)
Beit Theresienstadt (IL)
VWI Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for
Holocaust Studies (AT)