Union Académique Internationale

Paul Dostert is a historian, specializing in World War II and the Holocaust in particular. He obtained his state examination diploma for gymnasium education (Staatsexamen für das Lehramt am Gymnasium) at the University of Freiburg/Breisgau in 1975 and his PhD at the same university in 1984.

From 1975 to 1997, he taught history and English at various high schools in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. In 1997, he was released from his teaching obligations to join the services of the Prime Minister (Ministry of State) for the transformation of the archives and the library created by the Resistance associations into a Documentation and Research Center, of which he assumed the direction.

Since 1999, as an associate assistant professor, he has been a lecturer at the University Center of Luxembourg, later at the University of Luxembourg. From 1997, he represented the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg at all international meetings relating to the Shoah, the spoliation of Jewish property and restitution and compensation. 1997: Nazi Gold Conference in London, 1998: Conference on looted works of art in Washington). He was appointed head of Luxembourg delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) 2003-2016 and Luxembourg delegate to the International Committee of “International Research Service” (now Arolsen Archives) which he chaired in 2016-17.

In 2002, the Luxembourg government asked him to create a group of historians to write the “Report on looted Jewish property and its restitution in Luxembourg”, report submitted to the government in 2009. In 2004/05, 2009/10 and 2014/15 he organized the commemorations for the anniversaries of the Liberation of Luxembourg and the liberation of the camps and the end of the Second World War.

In 1985 he was elected "corresponding member" of the Historical Section of the Grand-Ducal Institute of Luxembourg. In 1990 he was elected full member, responsible for the library of the Historical Section. In March 2009, he was elected president of the Historical Section. In 2011/12 and in 2017/18 he held the presidency of the Grand-Ducal Institute of Luxembourg.

His publications generally focus on the history of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from the 19th and 20th centuries, in particular the Second World War.