Holocaust Letters: The Wiener Library

Holocaust Letters showcases the family correspondences of Jewish persecutees, including primarily those of German and German-speaking Jews, held at The Wiener Holocaust Library, the oldest archive of the Holocaust and the Nazi-era in the world located in London. Through letters held in the WHL’s archive and private collections, the exhibition uncovers how people exchanged information about the Holocaust across borders, in defiance of censors and in the midst of chaos, deportations and destruction. Visitors have the chance to see letters warning family and friends to escape the coming storm alongside pleas for help and stark examples of strict concentration camp censorship. The exhibition shows the letters as sites of knowledge production and thus as evidence of the earliest form of Holocaust knowledge before the term itself was used. Holocaust Letters will be shown at The WHL in London’s Russell Square from 22 February – June 2023 as part of the Holocaust and Genocide Research Partnership between The WHL and the Holocaust Research Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London. The dedicated site for the exhibition is https://bit.ly/HolocaustLetters, where you can find upcoming events (more to be added!) and past recordings.

The GHS grant will support the transformation of the physical exhibition into a virtual exhibition, which will be launched at a virtual panel event on the evening of 14 June 2023, in partnership with the German Historical Institute-London, German Historical Institute-Washington, and the Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway University of London.