The Department of Contemporary History of the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

(German: ) is a scientific institution for the study of

contemporary history Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is ...

. The headquarters of the institute is on the campus of the University of Vienna in the

Alsergrund Alsergrund (; Central Bavarian: ''Oisagrund'') is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria (german: 9. Bezirk, Alsergrund). It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs. ...

district of Vienna. It has about 30 scientific members (as of 2006), about half of them on the staff of the University of Vienna and the other half

Privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...

en who are assigned to the institute. Friedrich Stadler
"40 Jahre Institut für Zeitgeschichte der Universität Wien"
(2006). Retrieved 2012-12-18 (in German). The institute is run as a member of the association of the

Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies The Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI) is a research centre dedicated to the research and documentation of and education on all aspects of antisemitism, racism and the Holocaust, including its emergence and aftermath. It was d ...

."Organisation"
Vienna Wiesenthal Institute. Retrieved 2012-12-18 (in German). The Institute of Contemporary History was established on 3 June 1966 by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education. The historian Ludwig Jedlicka, co-founder of the

Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance The Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW) was established in 1963. Its main topics deal with research concerning resistance and persecution from 1938 until 1945, exile, Nazi crimes, right-wing extremism after 1945, and victims' repara ...

(DÖW) and director of the Austrian Institute for Contemporary History (since 1961) became the first director of the new institute. His successor was the historian

Erika Weinzierl Erika Weinzierl (6 June 1925 – 28 October 2014) was an Austrian historian, gender researcher, and historian of Nazism. A member of the Austrian People's Party and the Curatorium of the Austrian Mauthausen Committee, she was the second director ...

, who developed the research in the fields of

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and exile and emigration during the time of

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

. later directors were Gerhard Botz, Friedrich Stadler and

Oliver Rathkolb Oliver Rathkolb (born 3 November 1955 in Vienna) is an Austrian historian and professor for contemporary history at the University of Vienna. Career Rathkolb studied history and law at the University of Vienna and achieved his doctorate in 198 ...

. The current director of the institute is Johanna Gehmacher (since 2012).

Footnotes

External links

Institut für Zeitgeschichte der Universität Wien
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Vienna, University Of University of Vienna History institutes Research institutes in Austria History organisations based in Austria