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International Tracing Service opens archives to public

Follow up to March 27, 2007 posting Opening up of the Bad Arolsen Holocaust Archives in Germany, this news:

  • Press release: “After more than 60 years the archives of the International Tracing Service have become accessible to the public. Historical researchers and other interested people can now examine archives and documents from the Second World War at the Tracing Service in Bad Arolsen, Germany. Previously such access was granted only to the victims of Nazi persecution and their next of kin. The archives contain over 50 million documents regarding the persecution, exploitation and extermination of millions of civilians by the Nazis.”
  • New Website offers online services for victims of Nazi persecutions and researchers: “The International Tracing Service (ITS) today presents its new website, as well as a new visual identity to the public. The website was designed with a focus on the needs of the survivors of Nazi persecutions and their loved ones who can now use an online application form to file a tracing request. They can now also gain individual insight into the documents relating to their past that are kept in the ITS archives. In the first half-year 2007, the ITS has given ca. 80,000 replies to request of the persons concerned.”
  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: “The archives of the International Tracing Service (ITS) contain over 21,000 separate collections of historical documentation. This on-line inventory of collections has been designed to enable users to begin the process of determining whether or not the information they are seeking may be contained in the ITS archives. Collection descriptions are presented in both German and English, and the inventory search engine functions equally well in both languages. Users are encouraged to read the user notes for the inventory in order to understand both its capabilities and its limitations. In particular, users should bear in mind that the search engine is not searching the documents themselves that are in the archives, and thus searches for individual names that may appear in the documents, as opposed to topics, geographical and organizational names that may appear in collection descriptions, will not produce positive results. Despite its limitations, the online inventory represents the only comprehensive listing that exists today of the historical collections in the ITS archives. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the International Tracing Service are pleased to be making it available in searchable form to Holocaust survivors and their families and to other potential users of the ITS archives.”
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