I published an announcement about the new Holocaust Collection on Footnote.com on 29 September 2009. I am republishing the announcement below. At that time, Footnote.com planned to have these records open to the public for only the month of October. However, I have been told there is now a change in those plans.
Due to the popularity of this collection, the folks at Footnote.com have decided to keep the records available free to the public through the rest of this year. This is a great opportunity to catch up on research that you missed earlier.
Due to the popularity of this collection, the folks at Footnote.com have decided to keep the records available free to the public through the rest of this year. This is a great opportunity to catch up on research that you missed earlier.
The deadline extension will enable more people to search and explore the original records from the National Archives. On January 1, 2010, these records will become part of the paid subscription on Footnote.com. These records, however, will remain free to access through any of the National Archives physical locations.
Here is the announcement that was originally published on September 29:
National Archives and Footnote.com Announce New Digital Holocaust Collection
Footnote.com has now announced a major new online collection of scanned images of original documents. The following announcement was written by Footnote.com:Collection includes Holocaust-related photos and records available online for first time
Washington DC and Lindon, UT -September 29, 2009 - The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and Footnote.com (www.footnote.com) today announced the release of the internet's largest Interactive Holocaust Collection. For the first time ever, over one million Holocaust-related records - including millions of names and 26,000 photos from the National Archives- will be available online. The collection can be viewed at: http://www.footnote.com/holocaust.
"We cannot afford to forget this period in our history," said Dr. Michael Kurtz, Assistant Archivist of the United States and author of America and the Return of Nazi Contraband: The Recovery of Europe's Cultural Treasures. "Working with Footnote, these records will become more widely accessible, and will help people now and in the future learn more about the events and impact of the Holocaust."
Included among the National Archives records available online at Footnote.com are:Access to the collection will be available for free on Footnote.com through the month of October. [UPDATE: Now extended to January 1]
- Concentration camp registers and documents from Dachau, Mauthausen, Auschwitz, and Flossenburg.
- The "Ardelia Hall Collection" of records relating to the Nazi looting of Jewish possessions, including looted art.
- Captured German records including deportation and death lists from concentration camps.
- Nuremberg War Crimes Trial proceedings.
The collection also includes nearly 600 interactive personal accounts of those who survived or perished in the Holocaust provided by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The project incorporates social networking tools that enable visitors to search for names and add photos, comments and stories, share their insights, and create pages to highlight their discoveries. There will be no charge to access and contribute to these personal pages.
"These pages tell a personal story that is not included in the history text books," said Russ Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. "They give visitors a first-hand glimpse into the tragic events of the Holocaust and allow users to engage with content such as maps, photos, timelines and personal accounts of victims and survivors through over 1 million documents."
So that visitors may more easily access and engage the content, Footnote.com has created a special Holocaust site featuring:The Holocaust collection is the latest in a continuing partnership between Footnote.com and the National Archives to scan, digitize, and make historical records available online. The goal is to give more people access to these and other historical records that have previously only been available through the research room of the National Archives. This partnership brings these priceless resources to an even greater number of people and enables the National Archives to provide ever-greater access to these critical holdings.
- Stories of Holocaust victims and survivors.
- Place where visitors can create their own pages to memorialize their Holocaust ancestors.
- Pages on the concentration camps - includes descriptions, photos, maps, timelines and accounts from those who survived the camps.
- Descriptions and samples of the original records from the National Archives.
About Footnote.com
Footnote.com is a subscription website that features searchable original documents, providing users with an unaltered view of the events, places and people that shaped the American nation and the world. At Footnote.com, all are invited to come share, discuss, and collaborate on their discoveries with friends, family, and colleagues. For more information, visit www.footnote.com.
About the U.S. National Archives
The National Archives alone is the archives of the Government of the United States, responsible for safeguarding records of all three branches of the Federal Government. The records held by the National Archives belong to the public - and it is the mission of the National Archives to ensure the public can discover, use, and learn from the records of their government.
