Information about the organization

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a federally chartered, nonpartisan institution that was created by the US Congress to serve as America’s national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and an educational institution dedicated to the history and lessons of the Holocaust. The Museum seeks to educate Americans from all 50 states and all walks of life as well as international audiences. The Museum has three areas of expertise: Holocaust remembrance, Holocaust scholarship and education, and genocide prevention. 

In carrying out its important memorial and educational mission, the Museum is guided by its institutional values for our workplace: Honor the memory of the victims; carry out our work with dignity, humility, integrity and respect for others; and strive for excellence through teamwork, rigor, and a culture of continuous learning. Consistent respect for others is the foundation for trust, collegiality and inclusion.

Information about the role

This position is located within the branch of the Senior Historian in the Division of Academic Research & Dissemination division of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The mission of the Mandel Center is to strengthen and help shape the field of Holocaust studies through activities and programs that stimulate new research on Holocaust-related topics; encourage networking and cooperative endeavors among Holocaust experts; and ensure the training of future Holocaust Scholars.

The Senior Historian branch is responsible for ensuring the historical integrity and rigor of all materials produced by the Museum and for providing historical content support to scholars, outside agencies, journalists, and the public. This role will perform professional historian duties to include research, analysis, reviewing historical content, serving as an advisor and responding to inquiries as well as increasing the exposure of the Mandel Center through publications and presentations.

This is a full-time donated position (non-Federal) paid with the Museum’s private funds. This position is located in Washington, DC and is hybrid telework eligible, within the local commuting area of the Museum worksite.

Duties, and Responsibilities for the role

• Serves as a subject matter expert to provide technical assistance on historical projects, issues, and questions for both internal and external audiences, including on the acquisition of materials to the Museum’s collection and their interpretation and use in Museum projects. Responds to relevant reference questions from other reference sections in the museum.
• Plans, coordinates, and conducts historical research in both primary and secondary historical sources that pertain to the era of the Holocaust and World War II.
• Establishes and maintains consultative relationships with fellow historians both within and outside the Museum, including individuals in other disciplines working in the field of Holocaust studies.
• Attends scholarly conferences related to the Holocaust and, as appropriate, presents papers based on primary-source historical research in the Museum’s collection, organizes panels to present papers, and comments on the scholarship of others in the field.
• Enhances the impact and visibility of the Mandel Center by contributing to Holocaust scholarship through publications, presentations, book reviews, and consultations with colleagues around the world in a broad range of disciplines.
• Collects data to support discussions about the future of Holocaust studies by identifying trends, new subfields of study, and new research directions across disciplines.
• Collaborates with the Senior Historian to define success and monitor indicators for the division.
• Performs other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications for the role

• ABD (doctoral candidacy) and knowledge of 20th century European history, with special emphasis on the history of the Holocaust or Europe during the Second World War
• Extensive knowledge of primary and secondary sources on the Holocaust, World War II, and twentieth-century European history
• Knowledge of concepts, methods, and techniques to conduct historical research, using resourcefulness, creative thinking, and organizational skills to collect, evaluate, analyze, and interpret historical facts in the vetting, review, and preparation of professional and technical articles, reports, background briefs, and Museum products, postings, and statements
• Research knowledge of German and/or another European language relevant to the study of the Holocaust
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to relay the history of the Holocaust to both academic and non-academic audiences
• Ability to work strategically towards goals; to track, measure, and analyze success indicators; and to report progress

Preferred Qualifications for the role

• PhD with special emphasis on the history of the Holocaust or Europe during the Second World War
• Expertise on the Holocaust in an occupied country or countries
• Knowledge of post-Holocaust genocides and mass atrocities
• Relevant languages beyond English and German

Interested applicants must provide a resume, cover letter and a writing sample that you have created. Applications without these requirements will not be considered.

The Museum is committed to cultivating and maintaining a culture of diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion (DEAI). Please click here to view the Museum Statement on Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion (PDF).

Benefits Highlights:

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum values employee wellness, work-life balance and the diversity of what this means for individual employees in life and work. We are proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package for benefits-eligible employees that includes generous paid leave benefits, health, dental, and vision insurance, flexible spending accounts, a health savings account with an employer contribution, 403(b) retirement plan with a generous employer match and contribution, group term and supplemental life insurance, short and long-term disability, commuter subsidy, access to two employee assistance programs, as well as voluntary critical illness and accident insurance coverage, long-term care and pet insurance options. Our policies also support telework and other flexible schedule options based on the job, work and team collaboration requirements.