Overview
Application Deadline: December 15, 2026
The United States Holocaust Memorial’s Vatican Archive Initiative advances scholarship on the Holocaust and the Catholic Church by equipping a global network of researchers with discovery tools, access to key Vatican archival records, and opportunities to share emerging research and to contribute to the body of published scholarship.
The Vatican Archives Initiative is convening a three-year, international research working group to further new research and scholarly publications on how the Vatican archives can shed light on the Catholic Church’s response to the Holocaust and interactions between Jews and Catholics during the Holocaust. The Working Group will provide participants with research funding, a scholarly community, and opportunities to present and publish new scholarship
We seek applications from individual scholars who:
Are engaged in multi-year research on the Catholic Church and the Holocaust that will result in a peer-reviewed scholarly publication;
Aim to make use of archival material from the Vatican archives;
Seek to participate in a scholarly community to advance both individual and collective research.
Individual research projects can encompass any country or region and are encouraged to make connections between the Vatican archives and other relevant archival collections worldwide. We especially welcome projects on aid, rescue, Jewish-Catholic relations, the experiences of “non-Aryan” Catholics and those in mixed marriages, antisemitism, reports on persecution and violence sent to the Vatican, decision-making and information sharing between Catholic leaders in various countries and the Vatican, shared histories of Catholics and Jews during World War II, and Catholic responses to postwar justice efforts.
We welcome applications from international researchers at all career levels, including advanced PhD candidates, early career scholars, and established scholars.
Participation Requirements
The Working Group will meet virtually approximately six times a year to present work in progress and discuss methodologies and sources. The Working Group will also meet in person each summer for 2–3 days. These meetings will take place at different locations in the US or Europe and may be combined with an academic conference or public program. The Museum will cover travel costs to the annual meetings.
Participants will also receive a $15,000 stipend to offset the cost of independent research trips (paid in three installments of $5,000 each year). At least one week at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and at least one week at the Vatican Archives in Rome are required over the course of the three-year project. After those requirements are fulfilled, participants may use the remaining funds to spend more time at these archives or utilize another archive relevant to their project. Participants will arrange their own independent research trips. Learn more about the relevant material available at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
In addition to individual publications and other research outputs, the Working Group will complete three collaborative projects (to be determined by the group), such as conference panels, a journal special issue, an edited volume, co-authored articles or chapters, or a collaborative digital humanities project.
How to Apply
The application deadline is December 15, 2026. Applications must be submitted in English via our online application and consist of the following:
An online application form
A project proposal and timeline (in PDF format, not to exceed 1000 words)
A curriculum vitae summary (in PDF format, not to exceed four single-spaced pages)
Questions about the Working Group and the application process can be directed to Dr. Rebecca Carter-Chand, Director of Programs on Religion and the Holocaust, rcarter-chand@ushmm.org, and Dr. Ion Popa, Working Group Lead, ipopa@ushmm.org.
Accessing Vatican-related Materials at the Museum
Since the opening of the Vatican archives related to the pontificate of Pius XII in 2020, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has worked to advance research on the Holocaust and the Catholic Church through analysis of key archival records held in the Vatican and related archives. The Museum has convened scholars and researchers to support a global network to study these collections, share emerging research, and contribute to the body of published scholarship. In addition, the Museum conducted extensive surveying in the various Vatican archives and has acquired a selection of digital images. These digitized materials are now available for onsite research (read-only access) in the reading rooms at the Museum and the Shapell Center—alongside tens of millions of pages from archives around the world. In addition, the Museum has digitized materials from Vatican-related archives, such as pontifical colleges and religious orders. Below is a list of Vatican-related collections currently available to researchers. Additional collections are made available on an ongoing basis as they are processed and catalogued.
Collections from the Vatican Apostolic Archives Apostolic delegation and nunciature collections from various countries and pontifical aid and assistance collections.
Collections from Pontifical Institutes, Universities and Colleges Personal Papers of Bishop Alois Hudal (Pontifical Institute Santa Maria dell’Anima)* Robert Leiber S.J. Papers - correspondence series (Pontifical Gregorian University)
Collections from the Jesuit Headquarters Archive Papers of Father Pietro Tacchi Venturi (1861–1956), “affari” or “business” series, a Jesuit priest and historian who served as the unofficial liaison between Benito Mussolini, the Fascist leader of Italy from 1922 to 1943, and Popes Pius XI and Pius XII.*
These materials can be consulted alongside the millions of pages of original documents, thousands of hours of eyewitness testimonies, film and recorded sound, and tens of millions of pages from hundreds of other archives from around the world. Of particular relevance are the Selected Documents from the Monastery of the Notre-Dame de Sion, Paris, the Robert M.W. and Ruth Benedicta Kempner papers, Records of the Archbishopric Help Agency for Non-Aryan Catholics, Selected records of Der Reichsstatthalter im Reichsgau Wartheland Posen, as well as many personal collections.