Professional Background
Caroline Sturdy Colls is a professor of Holocaust archaeology and genocide investigation and Director of the Centre of Archaeology at the University of Huddersfield. Her research has led to new material and spatial understandings of the Holocaust and other genocides, and contributed to missing persons cases in and beyond conflict. Professor Sturdy Colls has overseen archaeological surveys at more than 60 Holocaust sites across Europe and at locations connected to genocide and mass violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Namibia, and Cyprus. Perhaps most notably, she led the first forensic archaeological investigations at the Treblinka extermination and labor camps, the results of which are presented in her forthcoming book, Finding Treblinka: Forensic and Archaeological Perspectives, set to be published by Cornell University Press in 2025.
Her monograph, Holocaust Archaeologies: Approaches and Future Directions, highlighted the importance of ethical approaches to the investigation of Holocaust sites, in particular recognition of the stipulations of Halacha regarding the treatment of Jewish burials, and outlined findings that have inspired the emergence of the sub-field of Holocaust archaeology. Her other authored or edited books include Forensic Approaches to Buried Remains, Handbook on Missing Persons, “Adolf Island”: The Nazi Occupation of Alderney, and a forthcoming co-edited volume, The Material Culture of Difficult Histories.
Professor Sturdy Colls is the recipient of several awards, including the 2025 Dan David Prize, the 2021 Distinguished Medal of Honor from the Treblinka Museum, and the 2016 European Archaeological Heritage Prize.
Fellowship Research
While at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as an Ina Levine Invitational Scholar-in-Residence, Caroline Sturdy Colls will conduct research on the material culture of labor camps that were a part of “Operation Reinhard.” She plans to utilize the Museum's extensive collection of materials to develop new understandings of the architecture of the camp and to better understand the experiences of those who encountered it. Important sources for her research include records of the United States Office of Special Investigations and personal papers containing biographical information and photographs of Trawniki victims. She will also utilize oral and written histories given by former camp inmates, postwar investigators, and local residents who witnessed executions, particularly the “Operation Erntefest” massacre that took place on November 3, 1943.
Residency Period: September 1, 2025–May 31, 2026