Gillian Clare Carr (born 1972) is a British archaeologist and academic. She currently specialises in

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

and conflict archaeology, while her early career research focused on the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

and Roman Archaeology. She is Professor of Conflict Archaeology and Holocaust Heritage at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Institute of Continuing Education The University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education (ICE) is a department of University of Cambridge, the University of Cambridge that provides continuing education programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, ranging from unde ...

, and a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

and director of studies in archaeology at

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

. In 2019, she was elected a Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

and of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

. In 2020, she won the EAA European Heritage Prize for her work on the heritage of victims of Nazism.

Biography

Carr was born in 1972. She was awarded a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(PhD) degree in archaeology by the

in 1999. Her doctoral thesis was titled "

Romanization In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and tra ...

and the body: changing identities in the Later Iron Age and Early Roman period in the territory of the

Trinovantes The Trinovantēs (Common Brittonic: *''Trinowantī'') or Trinobantes were one of the Celtic tribes of Pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in current Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk, and included land ...

and

Catuvellauni The Catuvellauni (Common Brittonic: *''Catu-wellaunī'', "war-chiefs") were a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century. The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and thei ...

". She has been Professor of Conflict Archaeology and Holocaust Heritage at the

since 2024, and academic director in archaeology at the

(ICE). She is also a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

, a Partner of th
Cambridge Heritage Research Centre
and a member of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. She is also a member of the UK delegation of the

International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), until January 2013 known as the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research or ITF, is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1998 wh ...

, and a member of the Academic Advisory Board for the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre. She current chairs IHRA's
Safeguarding Sites
project, which is writing a charter to safeguard Holocaust heritage in Europe.

Research

Carr's graduate degrees and early research was on the

and Roman Archaeology. Her current work centres on Conflict Archaeology and war heritage, especially that of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Her research focuses, among other topics, on the history and legacy of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

occupation of the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

, the Nazi labor camps in the Islands and the victims of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

. Carr researched the German occupation of the Channel Islands and the deportation of over 200 islanders for acts of protest, defiance and resistance. This work can be seen in her website, th
Frank Falla Archive
Her work on Channel Islander victims of Nazism were the subject of an exhibition titled: ''On British Soil: Victims of Nazi Persecution in the Channel Islands'' at the Wiener Holocaust Library from October 2017 to February 2018. The exhibition also has a permanent online presence at the library. The exhibition then moved to Guernsey Museum in 2019. Carr has also researched the material culture of the

Channel Islanders The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consist ...

deported to internment camps in Germany during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She has published over 70 journal articles and books on her research. She is one of the 12 members of the UK delegation to the

Awards and honours

In 2016, Carr was a recipient of the

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

's Vice-Chancellor Awards for Impact. On 10 October 2019, Carr was elected as a Fellow to the

. She was also elected a

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

(FRHistS) in 2019. In 2020, she was awarded the EAA European Heritage Prize. In the

2025 New Year Honours The 2025 New Year Honours are appointments by King Charles III among the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The ...

, Carr was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) for services to Holocaust research and education.

Select publications

Selected Recent Journal Papers

*Carr, G. (2015). ‘Have you been offended? Holocaust memory in the Channel Islands at HMD 70. Holocaust Studies: a Journal of Culture and History. 22(1): 44-64. DOI: 10.1080/17504902.2015.1103026 *Carr, G. (2016). ‘Illicit Antiquities’? The Collection of Nazi militaria in the Channel Islands. World Archaeology48(1). DOI: 10.1080/00438243.2016.1152196 *Carr, G. and Sturdy Colls, C. 2016. "Taboo and Sensitive Heritage: Labour camps, burials and the role of activism in the Channel Islands", ''International Journal of Heritage Studies'' 22 (9): 702-715. * *Carr, G. (2017). The Small Things of Life and Death: an exploration of value and meaning in the material culture of Nazi camps. International Journal of Historical Archaeology. DOI 10.1007/s10761-017-0435-0 *Carr, G. (2019) The Jew and the Jerrybag: the lives of Hedwig Bercu and Dorothea Le Brocq. Journal of Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Vol. 33(2). *Carr, G. (2021) 'You are requested to ascertain the nationality of Jews residing in Guernsey': analysing an artefact of collaboration from the Channel Island of Guernsey, 1933-1940. Holocaust Studies: A Journal of Culture and History. *Carr, G. (2022) Narratives of Resistance, Moral Compromise and Perpetration: the testimonies of Julia Brichta, survivor of Ravensbrueck', The Journal of Holocaust Research vol. 36(4): 240-260.

Books

previous volumes on Iron Age and Roman Archaeology, one authored and four co-edited*Carr, G. 2009. ''Occupied Behind Barbed Wire''. Jersey Heritage. *Carr, G. and Mytum, H. (eds) 2012. ''Cultural Heritage and Prisoners of War: Creativity Behind Barbed Wire''. New York: Routledge. *Mytum, H. and Carr, G. (eds) 2013. ''Prisoners of War: Archaeology, Memory and Heritage of 19th and 20th Century Mass Internment''. Springer. *Carr, G. 2014. ''Legacies of Occupation: Archaeology, Heritage and Memory in the Channel Islands''. Springer. *Carr, G., Wilmott, L. and Sanders, P. 2014. ''Protest, Defiance and Resistance in the German Occupied Channel Islands, 1940-1945''. Bloomsbury Academic. *Carr, G. and Reeves, K. (eds.) 2015. ''Heritage and Memory of War: Responses from small islands''. Routledge: New York. *Carr, G. 2019. ''On British Soil''. McDonald Institute. *Carr, G. 2019. ''Victims of Nazism in the Channel Islands: A legitimate Heritage?'' Bloomsbury Academic. *Carr, G. 2020. ''Nazi Prisons in the British Isles''. Pen and Sword. *Carr, G. and Pistol, R. (eds). 2022. (forthcoming). ''British Internment and the Internment of Britons: Second World War Camps, History and Heritage''. Bloomsbury Academic. *Carr, G. (forthcoming). ''A Materiality of Internment''. Routledge.

References

External links

Frank Falla Archive—Channel IslandsWiener Holocaust Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Gillian Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London 21st-century British archaeologists Living people British women archaeologists Women classical scholars Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of St Catherine's College, Oxford British historians of the Holocaust Academics of the Institute of Continuing Education Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Alumni of the University of Cambridge Officers of the Order of the British Empire