About the Project

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 - Tasks

These additional objectives resulted in the following tasks. In preparation for publication,

• the most important documents had to be scanned. This was done so that they could be made available for download and to make them more easily accessible for creating the pages.
• Transcribe the affidavits and any witness statements. The text recognition software I had at my disposal had major problems with many pages.
• Determine and test the medium. It started with a presentation, then I created posters for an exhibition, followed by a brochure/book. These formats were too limited, too difficult to maintain and expand. Only a website offers the possibility of integrating links and making documents available for download.
• Create a website and try out different layouts on a test installation.

The files had to be examined with regard to the course of the proceedings. This varied greatly, and the files were also of different sizes. From the many individual cases, it was necessary to create as complete a record as possible, also indicating which documents were created on what occasion.

Since the files varied in size, the statements of the claimants differed in detail, and no external documents from other archives could be found for many claimants, I decided to present the fates in two parts: first, quotations from affidavits describe the situation of the persecuted in ghettos, forced labour camps, concentration camps, death marches, etc. If more information was available, I created biographies and supplemented them with additional information.

I found most of the additional information in the databases of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Arolsen Archives. For further sources, see also the corresponding mind map.

For maps and city plans, I tried to use contemporary maps.

The data records also had to be constantly adjusted and corrected; many errors of various kinds only became apparent during evaluation using shell scripts I developed myself. Finally, the websites had to be filled with content.