Eliana Hadjisavvas

Eliana Hadjisavvas is the Alfred Landecker Lecturer at the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism and the School of Historical Studies, Birkbeck, University of London. She holds a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Jewish History at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, and has been a fellow at the Library of Congress’ Kluge Center and New York University’s Remarque Institute. Her work focuses on migration, displacement, and colonial detention policies within the British Empire, particularly examining Jewish displacement and detention in Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

Her current five-year research project investigates Jewish displacement and detention in the British Empire, reconfiguring understandings of the Holocaust through a global lens. This project analyzes colonial detention camps for Jewish refugees, exploring how these sites shaped British responses to migration and minorities in the 20th century and beyond. It also connects Jewish displacement before and after the Holocaust to broader legacies of empire and decolonization.

• Alfred Landecker Lecturer at Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism
• Postdoctoral Fellow at Institute of Historical Research, University of London
• Fellowships at Library of Congress’ Kluge Center and NYU’s Remarque Institute

Research interests include social and political responses to migration, histories of detention, and the intersection of empire with minority experiences. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges Holocaust studies, colonial history, and displacement studies.

Her funded research project examines detention sites in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, emphasizing how colonial policies impacted Jewish refugees. Eliana’s work also explores the broader implications of these histories for understanding contemporary issues of migration and empire.

• Scientific Awards:
• Postdoctoral Fellow in Jewish History (Institute of Historical Research, University of London)
• Fellowship at Library of Congress’ Kluge Center
• Fellowship at New York University’s Remarque Institute

Advising and grants include her ongoing five-year funded research project. She contributes to academic discourse through teaching, such as the BA History module “The Contemporary World,” and public engagement via media commentaries.

Eliana is affiliated with the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, a leading center for research on antisemitism and its historical contexts. Her work bridges academic and public scholarship, aiming to uncover marginalized histories and their contemporary relevance.