Holocaust Studies and the Politics of Knowledge Production

“Political and moral values have most importantly contributed to what the past has been like; they truly are an important component of the historian’s ‘object’ of investigation.”
(Frank Ankersmit)

From the Holocaust to its aftermath to today, public depictions and historiographical narratives of the genocide have been intertwined with politics. Considering the grave consequences of World War II and the Holocaust, the focus on politics and ideology is both understandable and necessary. But all too often, that also prevents people from accepting other people’s views and understanding the needs and concerns of others. This workshop explores how politics shape knowledge production in relation to the Holocaust. We look at the political considerations behind images, emotions, commemorations, and decolonial interventions and investigate the actions of individual researchers, survivors, artists, etc. in various media, genres, and sources. In four thematic sessions, we will return to the original meaning of the term workshop (Werkstatt) and explore approaches towards the ways in which writings, exhibitions, re-enactments, films or other forms of Holocaust representation and performance are shaped by political and moral values and structures. We will further investigate concepts of monstrosity, sacrifice, desire, and excess at the limit of democracy.

We aim to connect the analysis of politics in past forms of knowledge production with the reflection of political stakes when doing Holocaust Studies today. Since the Israel-Gaza war, the field of Holocaust Studies is increasingly divided along political lines and governments rewrite national histories to fit present needs. What happened to the “heuristic power” or status of the Holocaust in explaining genocides after October 7, 2023? The current situation invites reflection on the role of the political in various aspects of work in this field. The workshop will analyse the role of political orientations in moving historical subjects to act but also calls for reflection on the political intentions of those working in this field, and for the self-reflection of researchers and the consequences of their work. We understand this workshop to be a political intervention into a field of research characterised by fierce antagonisms, hierarchical forms of discussion and ever harsher mechanisms of exclusion.

Many who are dealing with the Holocaust do so from an activist perspective and want to change the present by learning from the past. Conflicts and genocides of the past 80 years clearly showed the limitations and failures of those intentions. We would like to participate in an attempt to understand why and how to change it.

Registration

To take part in the Workshop, please register via anmeldung@vwi.ac.at by 6 October 2026.

Separate registration via anmeldung@vwi.ac.at is required for The Politics of Jewish Museums Today: Evening talk with Hanno Loewy on Sunday, 11 October 2026.

Please note that the number of participants is limited.

Organised by the Holocaust Culture Network in cooperation with the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute and the University of Vienna.

Funded by the University of Vienna, National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism, Zukunftsfonds der Republik Österreich, and Stiftung Zeitlehren.