News

Eighty years after the end of World War II, practices of Holocaust remembrance continue to evolve across generations, regions, and political contexts. While addressing local, national, and transnational memory cultures, we are particularly – though not exclusively – interested in research focusing on East Central Europe.

Research on public and private memorials, their ideological and material backgrounds, and the mnemonic practices for approaching them still seems insufficient. In accordance with recent trends of transnational memory studies, it is especially worth looking at the connections between commemorative forms undertaken “on site”, i.e., where the mass murders of Jews took place, and those raised in other parts of the world. Furthermore, many private and family-based forms of remembrance have received scholarly attention only in recent years. Personal acts of memory – such as preserving family archives, conducting genealogical research, engaging in ritual practices, creating digital memorials, or producing artistic works – play a crucial role in shaping contemporary understandings of the Holocaust. These practices often challenge, complicate, or reinterpret dominant institutional narratives.

Private and familial memory work across three to four generations of survivors frequently intersects with the activities of non-Jewish memory activists who organize local ceremonies, exhibitions, and festivals. In doing so, they act as mediators between different memory communities and contribute to the negotiation of shared, contested, or multidirectional pasts. At the same time, governmental agencies, cultural institutions, and international organizations continue to introduce new memorial practices, educational curricula, legal frameworks, and cultural policies that reflect shifting political priorities, collective identities, and international relations.

This conference will examine the evolving relationship between individual, activist, and institutional forms of Holocaust remembrance and the broader social, political, and cultural forces that shape them.

The conference will focus on the following topics (though the list is not exhaustive):

1. Individual and Family Commemorations

• individual and family forms of remembrance (personal archives, letters, photographs, documents, testimonies, rituals, objects, artistic or literary practices),
• practices of remembrance at sites of mass murder and in a transnational context,
• survivors’ testimonies and their evolving forms (written, oral, digital, intergenerational),
• post-memory practices among descendants

2. Community and Grassroots Initiatives

• grassroots and community initiatives (local commemorative projects, museums, festivals, activism),
• relationships between local histories and national and transnational narratives of memory,

3. State, Institutional, and Official Commemorations

• national museums Initiatives, monuments and memorial complexes
• educational programmes and government-mandated curricula
• state, institutional and political frameworks for Holocaust remembrance,
• legal, educational and museum approaches (memorial laws, restitution policies, regulations on public history)
• international organisations (e.g. IHRA) and transnational standards of commemoration

4. Digital Transformations of Memory

• digital Holocaust memorial sites, digitisation of family archives and survivors’ collections
• digital transformations of memory (digital archives, social media, artificial intelligence, VR/AR),
• methodological and ethical issues in memory studies.

Scientific Committee
Haim Shaked (University of Miami)
Vladimir Levin (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Samuel D. Gruber (International Survey of Jewish Monuments)
Michał Trębacz (Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute)
Magdalena Saryusz-Wolska (German Historical Institute in Warsaw)

Call for Submissions

The conference is currently accepting submissions.
We welcome scholars from history, memory studies, anthropology, political science, Jewish studies, cultural studies, museum studies, digital humanities, and related disciplines, at all career stages.

Deadline for abstract submissions (300–400 words): May 31, 2026
Notification of acceptance: June 15, 2026
Conference dates: November 15–17, 2026, Warsaw
Conference language: English

The organizers will provide accommodation and offer partial travel reimbursement for eligible participants (subject to available funding).

Submissions: conference@jhi.pl

Submission Guidelines

Please submit an abstract of 300–400 words. Please include a short biographical note (up to 150 words).

Individual paper proposals as well as panel proposals related to the conference themes are welcome. Scholars at all career stages, including early-career researchers and doctoral candidates, are encouraged to apply.

Join us for a critical discussion on the shifting relationships between intimate, grassroots, and institutional forms of Holocaust remembrance.

The conference is organized by the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute.

In cooperation with:

 Photo: Treblinka Memorial Monument, Wikimedia Commons