Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies

The Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies stands in the centre of Vienna on Rabensteig. It is a research centre that studies antisemitism, racism and the Holocaust. The institute was designed by Simon Wiesenthal and Austrian and international researchers. The City of Vienna and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research finance the institute. It opened in 2009 after years of planning and moved to its present building in 2016. The institute is worth the journey because it carries forward Simon Wiesenthal’s vision. The Jewish Community Vienna and other institutions began the project in 2002. The City of Vienna matched funds from the Republic of Austria to make it possible. A dispute over archive use was settled in 2009, allowing the institute to proceed. International partners such as the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance later joined. Today the institute runs fellowships and research projects with scholars from many countries. Visitors find a scholarly library and archive on Holocaust-related documents. The institute organises lectures, book presentations and conferences open to the public. It also hosts workshops and media events to remember the Shoah. The building in the city centre provides space for fellows and staff to work. Exhibitions and public programmes help bring the institute’s research to a wider audience. The surroundings include nearby archives and cultural institutions that support its mission.