"Indemnification of Victims of National Socialist Persecution in Germany in the 1950’s and 1960’s"
Professional Background
Ms. Julia Volmer received an M.A. in history, German, and educational science from the University of Münster, Germany. During her fellowship at the Museum, she was a Ph.D. candidate and Academic Lecturer at the same institution. For her Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies Fellowship, Ms. Volmer conducted research for her project “Indemnification of Victims of National Socialist Persecution in Germany in the 1950’s and 1960’s.”
As a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Münster, Ms. Volmer received the 2002-2003 Studienstifting des Deutschen Volkes scholarship (German National Scholarship Foundation) for her Ph.D. thesis on indemnification in the Regierungsbezirk. Ms. Volmer has published collaborative articles on Wiedergutmachung in connection to Die Villa ten Hompel, debates about the history and memory of Buchenwald, and the teaching of the Holocaust.
Fellowship Research
During her tenure at the Museum, Ms. Volmer researched portions of the 12,000 case files from Münster to examine a claimant’s wartime history and places of persecution, the course of the administrative procedure, and the resulting decision made about the claim. Ms. Volmer spent her time at the museum gathering materials such as personal and family papers relating to compensation claims, oral history interviews, and numerous archival collections. Ms. Vomer’s research provided new insights and a closer look at the history of Nazi victims and how they were treated through the bureaucratic process after the war.
Ms. Volmer was in residence at the Mandel Center from February 28 to April 29, 2003.