Local archives in the European cultural mosaic

The Holocaust, European Values and Local History:
Local Archives in the European Historical and Cultural Mosaic

Archival pedagogy, microhistories of the Holocaust and the shared European narratives

The project “The Holocaust, European Values and Local History” aims to develop, pilot and introduce sustainable methodologies and tools for an innovative approach in archival pedagogy, particularly in smaller local archives. Our objective is to empower and train the archivists to create own educational outreach programs about the times of the Holocaust based on own archival materials and local history, and to incorporate archival pedagogy in their long-term approach and activities, presenting in the same time local micro-histories to global audiences.

A new publication, available for free download:
The Holocaust, European Values and Local History

Published by Terraforming and the Archives of Vojvodina, 2021; Editor in chief: Miško Stanišić, Editor: Dr. Nebojša Kuzmanović, Editor: Milana Meytes

CONTENT

Part I: Local Archive: An Interface for Collective Memory, Knowledge and Education
Part II: Unboxing The History
Part III: The Past in the Present

Some of the authors and articles:

Dr. Olga Manojlović Pintar: Remembrance Culture and the Emancipation of Archivists
Dr. Gerhard Baumgartner: Beyond the Crystal Ball
Lewis Levin: Encapsulating a Difficult History
Dr. Milan Koljanin: The Journey of a Document: From a Private Collection, through Archive Shelves, to Publication
Misko Stanišić: Breaking Into a Gallop – An Educational Graphic Novel about the Persecution of the Roma
Zoltan Toth: Specialized Archives and Holocaust Education

as well as:
Berit Zimmerling, Tijana Kovčić, Dr. Martin Korčok, Dr. Matej Beranek, Dr. Dora Pataricza, Andrea Szony, Dr. Dienke Hondius, Aleksandar Bursać, Monika Mazur Rafal, Marija Đuričanin and Aleksandar Vranić

Partners:

The project is developed and managed by:

Terraforming, Novi Sad, Serbia
The Archives of Vojvodina, Novi Sad, Serbia

in partnership with:

The Arolsen Archives, Germany
The Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW), Austria
Museum of Jewish Culture in Bratislava, Slovakia
National Archives of Hungary, Hungary
Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest, Hungary
Foundation Humanity in Action Poland, Poland
Jewish Museum in Prague, Czechia
The Historical Archive of the City of Novi Sad, Serbia
The Historical Archive of Sombor, Serbia
The Historical Archive of Subotica, Serbia
The Jewish Community of the City of Novi Sad, Serbia
Roma Editorial Board of RTV – the Public Broadcasting Service of Vojvodina, Serbia
Foundation Novi Sad European Capital of Culture 2021, Serbia
UDI Euroclio, Serbia

The project is implemented in 2020-2021

The project objective is to explore and develop methodologies and tools to introduce an innovative approach in archival practice within the context of archival pedagogy, particularly in smaller local archives, with aim to empower and train archivists to identify, promote, make available and safeguard important Holocaust-related materials by creating own educational outreach programs based on local materials and local history, and incorporate archival pedagogy in their long-term approach and activities.

Partners from Serbia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Germany, and Austria, as well as project participants from Israel, UK, US, Greece, and the Netherlands, will exchange best practices, and support 5 archives in Vojvodina province in Serbia with the aim to empower and train local archivists:

TO IDENTIFY IMPORTANT ARCHIVAL RECORDS ACCORDING TO TWO CRITERIA:
– the IHRA’s working definition of Holocaust-related materials;
– materials with a particular value/potential for use in education;
TO USE THESE LOCAL MATERIALS TO CREATE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAMS FOCUSING ON LOCAL HISTORY,
TO PERMANENTLY INCORPORATE THESE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAMS AS PART OF ARCHIVE’S EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES AND TASKS, AND MAKE THEM AVAILABLE FOR VISITORS, LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCES.

These experiences will be compiled in the final project publication, and used for future implementation of similar programs in local archives in other parts of Europe, particularly South-East and East Europe.

The project is developed by Terraforming and The Archives of Vojvodina from Novi Sad, Serbia.

Kick of Event

22. April 2021, online launch of the project

Terratalks

A series of talks with experts, practitioners, activists, and stakeholders about the inclusive culture of remembrance, microhistories, archival pedagogy, and contemporary education about the Holocaust, antisemitism, antigypsyism, and Holocaust distortion.

ACTIVITIES

Symposium “Microhistories of the Holocaust and Archival Pedagogy”

2021-09-28

У Архиву Војводине одржан је међународни стручни симпозијум "Микроисторије Холокауста и архивска педагогија" који заједнички организују Тераформинг и Архив Војводине.

2021-04-29

Conference „Microhistories of the Holocaust and its European Character“

Terraforming

2021-04-04

Conference: Microhistories of the Holocaust and its European Character

2020-12-29

Webinar “Testimonies in Education and Collective Memory“

Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies

2020-12-03

Webinar 3: Testimonies in Education and Collective Memory

2020-06-22

Webinar 2: Local Archive – an Interface for Collective Memory, Knowledge and Education

Educational programs in local archives

Responding to the needs of modern society, archives are adapting in order to provide services to the local and global communities. A huge modernisation is happening in the area of archival pedagogy. As recent development, archival pedagogy has not yet been systematically organised. As a result, most of the smaller historical archives in Central Europe and the Balkans still does not have specific educational outreach strategies, or departments specialised in archival pedagogy. In parallel, the European evolving cultural heritage infrastructure of digital humanities is rapidly creating new spaces and opportunities for exchange and presentation of the rich and multilayered European culture and heritage. In this process of shaping of new European identity and narratives there is a growing interest in the interaction between micro- and macro-levels of history and culture.

Lack of knowledge about micro-histories and local cultural identities on European level

The aim of the project is to explore the ways for smaller local historical archives to take a more prominent role in presenting local histories, experiences and narratives, contributing that way to the more balanced and inclusive representation of local communities and identities in the historical and cultural mosaic of Europe. Lack of knowledge about micro-histories and local cultural identities is not evident only on European level, but also between local communities in the same countries and regions. There is a space for local archives to step up in education, addressing current social challenges using contemporary pedagogy and appealing aids such as educational graphic novels, and new-media based teaching tools, in order to attract young people.

The Archives of Vojvodina is the principal partner in the project

Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia with population of 2 million (nearly 1/3 of Serbia’s population) consisting of 26 ethnic groups, with six languages in official use by the provincial administration. The Archives of Vojvodina was founded in 1926 as the State Archives in Novi Sad. Today, the Archives of Vojvodina is a public institution with task to record, take over, protect, arrange, process, publish and enable the public availability of archives and registry material created by the work of legal bodies and prominent individuals in Vojvodina. It house and professionally maintain around 9.000 meters of archival materials created from the 12th century to the year 2010 in 566 archival funds and collection. As central archive institution in Vojvodina Province, with 69 permanent staff members, the Archive of Vojvodina head the city archives network in Vojvodina, including the other local archives involved in the project.

The project is part of the official program of the Novi Sad European Capital of Culture 2021

Novi Sad is the European Capital of Culture in 2021. A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. The European Capital of Culture was established in 1985 in order to emphasise richness and diversity of European cultures, strengthen cultural connections between citizens of Europe, connect people from different European countries, meet other cultures, promote mutual understanding and strengthen the sense of Europeanism. Novi Sad in Serbia is the first city from a candidate country for EU membership (non-EU-member) to hold the title.

Supported by

More info on www.visegradfund.org

More info on holocaustremembrance.com

More info on www.bmbwf.gv.at

The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe. More info…

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1998 which unites governments and experts to strengthen, advance and promote Holocaust education, research and remembrance and to uphold the commitments of the Stockholm Declaration. More info…

The Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research of the Republic of Austria (BMBWF) creates the best possible environment for schools, universities and research institutions, and represents the interests of Austria as a location for science, research and business on the international stage. More info…

More info on www.kultura.gov.rs

Among other tasks and responsibilities, the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia is in charge of protection of cultural heritage. The Ministry provides co-financing for international project cooperation in the field of culture. More info…