The Citizen Scientists are an indispensable part of the research project "Asking the Pope for Help". Without their commitment, the project in its current form would not be possible. Their voluntary involvement enriches the project in many ways – at a scientific, professional and human level.

As active researchers, the Citizen Scientists work together with the academic staff to make sure the petitions sent to the Vatican by persecuted Jewish people during the Nazi era are made accessible again.  By doing so, they are helping to answer the project’s central research question: how did the pope and the Catholic Church respond to requests for help from Jewish people? Their work primarily focuses on transcribing documents and on reconstructing biographies for the digital edition of the sources – a decisive step in making the documents accessible to the public and researchers in the long term.

The project started off with an introductory workshop in which the goals, working methods and research questions were presented. After that, the participants got to work in small groups in order to become familiar with various tasks and then decided for themselves where they would best contribute their interests and skills. After a training phase, they took on their tasks independently, but remained in close contact with the academic team.

In regular workshops, the Citizen Scientists are kept up to date about current developments and new research findings. These meetings also provide an opportunity for Citizen Scientists to present their own observations, discuss questions and reflect on progress together.

Most of the work takes place in the project rooms, where the necessary infrastructure and support from academic staff and students are available at all times. At the same time, interested Citizen Scientists also have the option of working from home and of transcribing the digital reproductions or reconstruct biographies there. Personal interaction is always highly encouraged: ideas, feedback, and suggestions can be discussed with the project coordinators or director.

Interested in getting involved?

The project welcomes new Citizen Scientists who bring curiosity, precision, and an interest in history. Prior experience and, above all, Italian language skills are helpful but not required – it is more important to enjoy research and discoveries together. Anyone interested in participating can contact the project team at any time by emailing barbara.schueler@uni-muenster.de in order to learn more about current opportunities to get involved.