Professional Background
Natalie Schwabl is a PhD candidate and teaching fellow in modern history and English at Sorbonne University (Sorbonne – Identités, relations internationales et civilisations de l’Europe). She holds a master’s degree in modern history from Sorbonne University and a double bachelor’s degree in history and French literature, linguistics and translation from the trinational program at at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, University de Bourgogne in Dijon, and University de Sherbrooke.
Ms. Schwabl has published several articles focusing on memory, nationalism, and the relationship between Church and State in Croatia and the Balkans. She has examined topics such as the memorialization of Bleiburg, the concept of Antemurale Christianitatis in representations of Croatia in Europe since 1991, and the role of ecclesiastical archives in confronting historical revisionism. Her work also explores memory culture and the rehabilitation of figures such as Alojzije Stepinac, highlighting the intersections of religion, politics, and identity in both historical and contemporary contexts.
Fellowship Research
While at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a Robert A. Savitt Fellow, Natalie Schwabl will conduct research on Ustasha violence and the Holocaust in the “Independent State of Croatia,” with particular attention to the persecution of Jewish and Serbian Orthodox populations and the role of Catholic institutions and clergy. She will utilize the Museum’s extensive and unique collections on the Ustasha regime, wartime persecution, and postwar justice in Yugoslavia, which include records of crimes against Serbs, Jews, and other populations. Ms. Schwabl also plans to examine documentation from key institutions such as the Ustasha police, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Jewish Department in Zagreb, as well as archival materials from concentration and death camps, including Đakovo, Loborgrad, and Jasenovac. The postwar investigative and judicial records of the State Commission for War Crimes, as well as collections related to the confiscation of property, social policy, propaganda, and memorialization will also hold important material for her project. Finally, she plans to explore recent additions to the Museum’s vast collections, including records from the Apostolic Nunciatures in Switzerland and Berlin-Bonn related to the pontificate of Pius XII, which provide crucial insight into Vatican-related dimensions of her project.
Residency Period: September 1, 2026 - December 31, 2026