Archives and Sources
In order to be able to illustrate one’s own research with concrete sources and collections from practice and also to offer suggestions and assistance to other scholars, this section is dedicated to presenting selected archives, their collections and particularly exciting historical sources at regular intervals.
- Picturing Displacement: UNRRA and the Visual Language of Humanitarianism – Silvia Salvaticiby Vienna Research Blog on the Global History of RefugeesEstablished in November 1943 by 44 Allied nations, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) presented itself as the humanitarian arm of the Allied war effort. Tasked with assisting civilians in liberated countries, it distributed food, provided medical care, traced missing relatives, and managed refugee camps. More broadly, UNRRA sought to promote a new vision of humanitarian action, combining international cooperation with modern relief practices. Photography played a crucial role in communicating this mission. Rather than focusing on suffering and distress alone, UNRRA’s images highlighted recovery and renewal. Men, women, and children displaced by war were often portrayed as active participants in a process of rehabilitation, reflecting the organization’s belief that relief should lead to both physical and moral reconstruction.
- Research and Holdings in the National Archives Kew, London – An archival trip to the U.K.by Lena ChristophResearch and Holdings in the National Archives Kew, London – An archival trip to the U.K. – by Raphaela Bollwein and Lena Christoph The National Archives (TNA) of the United Kingdom are located in Kew, London and their collection is one of the largest in the world, with over 11 million historical and governmental records. The Archives were founded as a result of a cooperation between the Public Record Office and the Historical Manuscript Commission.[1] For the GLORE project, the TNA contain relevant documents on the issue of resettlement and repatriation of different groups of displaced persons (DPs) after World …
- Vatican’s Refugee Assistance, Ethnic Germans, and Navigating Identities in the Aftermath of World War IIby Konstantin SchischkaFour years after the end of World War II, a letter from a refugee named Massimiliano reached Vatican City. Massimiliano wrote a dramatic appeal to the Pope, seeking assistance for himself and his wife, Anna, as they hoped to emigrate to Australia in search of a better life. This refugee from Venezia Giulia, classified as Volksdeutsche and therefore excluded from the main refugee assistance programmes, saw the Holy See as a last resort.[1] The correspondence related to his case has been preserved in the Vatican Apostolic Archive, alongside thousands of other files concerning refugees who sought the Vatican’s assistance during the tumultuous years of the war’s aftermath.