Start of the Project

I began my work on the files in autumn 2015. I found the files of around 1500+ proceedings spread across

  • 24 moving boxes, the files of the individual proceedings held together with loose-leaf binders and
  • many metres of files in hanging files.

A small part had already been processed. My tasks were

  • Creating data records with information about the applicant for later entry in a database.
  • Removing metal parts of all kinds (staples, paper clips). The yield: approx. 1300 grams of metal :-)
  • Alphabetical sorting of the files
  • filing the files alphabetically sorted in archive boxes

The type of information to be included in the records was not precisely specified, which led to some extra work later on.  It was also initially unclear what information was actually contained in the files.

While I was working, I read the documents and was particularly moved by the applicants' accounts. I came up with the idea of publishing these statements.

Development of goals

My project goals evolved accordingly:

  • Publication of the affidavits: These often describe the persecution of the claimants in great detail
  • Describing the types of documents contained in the files and their contents: these provide additional information about the persecution and biographical details
  • Amending the records with the kind of documents contained in each claimants' file. The size of the files varies considerably.
  • Amending the records with information from external sources, such as Documents from other archives
  • Description of the compensation process, also to show at which stage of the process the documents have been created.
  • Links to descriptions of forced labour camps, concentration camps, ghettos
  • Compilation of statistics on applicants
  • Illustration with photographs and maps