Ingo Zechner, a philosopher and historian, is the director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital History (LBIDH) in Vienna, which emerged from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for History and Society (LBIGG) in 2019. He is also a member of the international research network BTWH (Berkeley/Tübingen/Vienna/Harvard).
From 2000 to 2008, he served as a research associate at the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde (IKG) Wien (Jewish Community Vienna), focusing on provenance research, restitution, and archives. From 2003 to 2008, he was also the head of the Community’s Holocaust Victims Information and Support Center. In 2009, he was the foundational managing director of the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI).
From 2010 to 2011, he worked with the Verein für Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung (VGA, Austrian Labor History Society), and since 2011, he has been associated with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for History and Society (LBIGG). From 2013 to 2016, he was the Associate Director and Research Coordinator of the IFK International Research Center for Cultural Studies in Vienna.
He took on the leadership of LBIGG in May 2015 after the passing of Siegfried Mattl (until February 2016 in parallel with his work at IFK).
Ingo Zechner’s research has covered a wide range of topics. He was involved in the following research projects: “Zur Theorie und Archäologie von Massenkultur am Beispiel Wiens 1950-1970” (“On the theory and archaeology of mass culture in Vienna between 1950 and 1970”, VGA: 2000–2001, bm:bwk, project staff), “Das Vermögen der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde Wien und der jüdischen Organisationen 1938 bis 1975” (“The assets of the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien and Jewish organizations from 1938 to 1975”, IKG Vienna: 2003–2005, IKG Vienna, project manager and project staff), “Prozesse und Strategien faschistischer Herrschaft. Das Beispiel Wien” (“Processes and strategies of fascist rule in Vienna”, VGA: 2010–2011, Anniversary Fund of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, key researcher), “Ephemeral Films: National Socialism in Austria” (LBIGG: 2011-2016, Future Fund of the Republic of Austria, project manager), “Sichtung und Aufarbeitung des Filmarchivbestandes media wien” (“Exploration and processing of the media wien film archive holdings” LBIGG: 2011-2017, City of Vienna MA 7, project leader from 2015), “Amateur Film Archeology. Excavations in modern visual culture” (LBIGG: 2011-2013, FWF Austrian Science Fund, project collaborator), “Metropolis in Transition, Vienna | Budapest 1916-1921” (LBIGG: 2014-2016, Sparkling Science, project leader from 2015), “Sicherung, Aufarbeitung und Erschließung des Archivs der Freien Österreichischen Jugend” (“Securing, Processing and Indexing the Archive of the Free Austrian Youth” (LBIGG: 2014-2016, Future Fund of the Republic of Austria and National Fund of the Republic of Austria, project leader from 2015), “I-Media Cities” (LBIGG: 2016-2019, EU Horizon 2020, research task leader and project leader LBIGG), “Red Vienna Sourcebook” (LBIGG/LBIDH and VGA: 2017-2020, City of Vienna MA 7, project leader LBIGG/LBIDH, co-editor, chapter editor), “Visual History of the Holocaust: Rethinking Curation in the Digital Age” (LBIGG/LBIDH: 2019-2022, EU Horizon 2020, coordinator), “Modern Vienna Time Machine” (LBIDH: 2023-2025, City of Vienna MA 7, project leader).
For more information on his fellowships, memberships in commissions, advisory boards, editorial work, and other activities, as well as his publications, lectures, research focuses, and other related activities, you can visit his website at www.ingozechner.net.