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Core events

Holocaust Memorial Day

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) on 27 January is a national commemoration day in the United Kingdom dedicated to the remembrance of Jewish people and others who suffered in the Holocaust under Nazi persecution. It was first held in January 2001. The chosen date is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp by the Soviet Union in 1945, the date also chosen for the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and some other national Holocaust Memorial Days.

Since 2005, Holocaust Memorial Day has been supported by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, a charity set up and funded by the UK Government. ‘Ordinary People’ was the chosen HMD theme for 2023.

Each year, the Weidenfeld Institute organises several events to mark HMD. We will update this page with more information for the HMD 2024 series.

Max and Hilde Kochmann Summer School for PhD Students in European-Jewish History and Culture

The call for 2023 is currently closed. We will update this page with the call for 2025 in due course.

Every two years, the Sussex Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish Studies in cooperation with the Center for Jewish Studies of the Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz invites PhD students to apply for the Max and Hilde Kochmann Summer School for PhD students in European-Jewish History and Culture.

The biennial Summer School brings together early career researchers who are currently working on topics in Jewish history and culture, giving them the opportunity to present and discuss their projects in an informal and friendly atmosphere with leading scholars in the field. The Kochmann Summer School continues the tradition of previous events, creating an interdisciplinary network of new scholars engaged in areas of European-Jewish Studies, Thought and Culture from the early modern period to the present day.

Donations

We are delighted to count the governments of Germany and Austria, various foundations and some individuals as early supporters of our endeavours. Thanks to the German Government’s support, we appointed a Professor of Jewish Eastern European History in 2021. The Austrian Government has enabled us to arrange a cohort of Visiting Research Fellows to work with us. Foundations have enabled us to engage scholars to carry out PhDs at the Institute.

We are seeking additional supporters to provide funding that will enable the Institute to continue in its transformative work and help to consolidate its success. Funding is required to grow the new Visiting Fellowship programme; to offer PhD scholarships for outstanding scholars, as well as to enhance the Institute’s vibrant outreach programme through staffing appointments and outward-facing activities. A key element of the latter is the expansion and digitisation of the Institute’s archive as part of the process of developing it as an effective educational resource. Using the archive, we plan to assist with the revision of Holocaust education in primary and secondary schools in the UK and beyond.

You can donate to the Sussex Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish Studies and/or the Centre for German-Jewish Studies by selecting either from the drop-down menu.

Please note:
The University of Sussex (of which the Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish Studies and the Centre for German-Jewish Studies are a part) is an exempt charity and, as such, is not required to register with the Charity Commissioners. This is because the institution is already responsible to another statutory body – The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). As an exempt charity The University has exactly the same rights as any registered charity. The Inland Revenue claim number is XN1306 and tax claims are treated in exactly the same way as those of any registered charity.

Staying in touch 

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