On collecting memories of the Holocaust in Sweden, a network for transdisciplinary practices and perspectives on collecting/collections and ethics

The point of departure for the project is the newly founded Swedish Holocaust Museum (SMF) and its need to develop ethical and sustainable practices for collecting of the Holocaust and its victims, and for making these materials available to the public and research.

The application concerns the establishment of an interdisciplinary network of researchers specializing in research ethics, collections, oral history, and the Holocaust, that will support this process.

The project aims to:1) Deepen and nuance the understanding of ethics within Holocaust research through interdisciplinary research; 2) Examine Museum matter linked to the Holocaust, an under-researched field; 3) Develop recommendations and methods for ethical collecting and curation of Holocaust stories and objects.

SMF provides a case for exploring issues central within disciplines such as ethnology, archeology, and oral history, including collecting methodology, difficult heritage, and identity in relation to the Holocaust.

The interdisciplinary approach allows perspectives to intersect and link university researchers and museums.The project will generate increased competence, including identification of dilemmas, solutions, and knowledge gaps, and identify solutions and best practices. The network will serve in an advisory role for SMF and other memory institutions.

Outcomes include an anthology, a best practice manual on ethics and Holocaust collections, and a research application for consolidating the network.