Wiener Holocaust Library
| The Wiener Holocaust Library | |
|---|---|
| 51°31′18″N 0°07′41″W / 51.52161°N 0.12800°W | |
| Location | 29 Russell Square London, WC1B, United Kingdom |
| Established | 1933 |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Books, pamphlets, serials, photographs, family papers, films & documentaries |
| Size | 70,000 books and pamphlets 2,000 document collections 45,000 photographs 3,000 periodical series |
| Access and use | |
| Access requirements | Open to anyone |
| Other information | |
| Director | Dr Toby Simpson (director) |
| Website | [1] |
The Wiener Holocaust Library (German pronunciation: [ˈviːnɐ] ⓘ) is the world's oldest institution devoted to the study of the Holocaust, its causes and legacies. Founded in 1933 as an information bureau that informed Jewish communities and governments worldwide about the persecution of the Jews under the Nazis, it was transformed into a research institute and public access library after the end of World War II and is situated in Russell Square, London.
In 2017, and following a campaign by Daniel Plesch (director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS University of London) and other researchers, directed at the UN, the library published an online and searchable version of the catalogue of the archive of the UN War Crimes Commission. It is also home to the UK's digital copy of the International Tracing Service archive, the physical copy of which is held in the Arolsen Archives – International Center on Nazi Persecution in Bad Arolsen, Germany.
Alfred Wiener, who founded the library, was the maternal grandfather of Lord Daniel Finkelstein OBE, a British journalist and former political adviser. The formation of the library and the struggles to maintain it are outlined in Finkelstein's book about his family's experiences during the Holocaust.