Martijn Eickhoff appointed Professor by Special Appointment in Archaeology and Heritage of War and Mass Violence at the UG

Dr Martijn Eickhoff has been appointed Professor by Special Appointment in Archaeology and Heritage of War and Mass Violence at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Groningen as of 1 September 2019. This chair was established in collaboration with the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), and will fall under the Groningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA).

Martijn Eickhoff (1967) will be conducting research on the practice of archaeology and the dynamics of heritage during and in relation to situations of war and mass violence, focusing particularly on the special role and position of archaeological sites, objects and museums – and the forms of immaterial heritage related to them – in periods of conflict.

Even though material as well as immaterial heritage has turned out to be vulnerable to various forms of violence, it has also been used for political-ideological, military and even genocidal purposes. This has become clear worldwide during the many conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries, most notably during the First and Second World Wars and the subsequent decolonization wars, as well as during recent conflicts in former Yugoslavia and the Middle East.

Pillage and restitution

Within his research, Eickhoff will pay particular attention to pillage, protection (including legal protection) and restitution of objects, and the destruction and potential subsequent restoration and protection (including legal protection) of sites and museums. In addition, he will look into the engagement of and leeway available to the various parties – including archaeologists – and communities involved in such processes.

About Martijn Eickhoff

Martijn Eickhoff has been affiliated with the NIOD since 2006. He studies the history, cultural dimensions and effects of large-scale violence and regime change in Europe and Asia in the 19th and 20th centuries, paying particular attention to the spatial, material and transnational aspects of such events. Eickhoff is the author of several works, including The Politics of Heritage in Indonesia, A Cultural History (December 2019, together with Marieke Bloembergen) and De Oorsprong van het ‘Eigene’. Nederlands vroegste verleden, archeologie en nationaal- socialisme (2003). He was co-editor of the special issue 1965 Today; Living with the Indonesian Massacres of the Journal of Genocide Research. Eickhoff is a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (KNIR) and of the board of editors of the Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis.

About the UG and the Groningen Institute for Archaeology

The teaching and research conducted at the Groningen Institute for Archaeology increasingly focu on the relevance of archaeology to today’s society. This means that the political context in which archaeology is shaped is an important topic of study. Prof. D. Raemaekers, director of the GIA: ‘We are very pleased that Eickhoff focuses on this theme in his teaching and research in the field of archaeology in times of war and mass violence, and expect him to make an important contribution to the development of this field of study.’ About the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies The NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies conducts academic research on war, the Holocaust and genocide. The main issue studied is how wars, the Holocaust and other genocides affect individuals and societies. In addition, the NIOD makes archives and collections on war, the Second World War in the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies, the Holocaust and other genocides in the 20th and 21st centuries available to anyone interested.