Guide Note

On November 28, 2007, the governing body of the International Tracing Service ratified a petition to open German war records to the public. The approval ends 60 years of frustration for parties of interest, who can now research previously untapped documents about Nazi officials and concentration camps. The archives were previously used exclusively by Red Cross employees to search for missing people or provide information to justify compensation payments.

Fast Facts

1. Archives are located in the German town of Bad Arolsen
2. Consist of approximately 47 million documents referring to 17.5 million people
3. Take up 16 miles of shelf space
4. The International Committee of the Red Cross manages the files
5. Information was previously unavailable to the public

1. "This opening will contribute to keeping alive the remembrance of the monstrous crimes that went on throughout Nazi era. And at the same it will promote our work with research institutions, memorials and museums."—Reto Meister, Director of the ITS
2. "I would like to invite all researchers to make use of this, and work through this dark chapter of German history."—Guenter Gloser, Germany's deputy foreign minister for Europe