Judith Keilbach receives Wiesenthal Fellowship for research on Eichmann trial

Adolf Eichmann at trial in Jerusalem and walking in yard of his cell in Ayalon Prison, Ramla (1961). Source: Wikimedia Commons/Israel National Photo Collection
Adolf Eichmann at trial in Jerusalem and walking in yard of his cell in Ayalon Prison, Ramla (1961). Source: Wikimedia Commons/Israel National Photo Collection

Dr Judith Keilbach, Assistant Profesor at the Department of Media and Culture Studies, has been awarded a Wiesenthal Senior Fellowship. From 1 April to 31 August she will be at the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for her research on the television coverage of the Eichmann trial.  

Understanding the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann (1960-1962) as an early global media event, Keilbach's research project focuses on the technical and institutional preconditions that facilitated the television coverage. It discusses the historical and political context of the trial, explores the transnational collaboration, negotiations and conflicts before and during the recording of the proceedings, and compares the trial coverage in different countries.

Dr. Judith Keilbach
Dr Judith Keilbach

Beyond analysing a particular media constellation, this project also provides an insight into the making of global media events and addresses Cold War politics and the rapidly changing global media landscape of that time.

The Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI), in accordance with the spirit of the life work of its founder Simon Wiesenthal, is dedicated to the research, documentation and education on all issues related to antisemitism, racism and the Holocaust. The fellowship programme is central to VWI research.