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Archives

To a large extent and for decades the documentation of the Holocaust and its historical context has been scattered, endangered, and in many cases inaccessible.

Fortunately, as the following links indicate, a number of excellent archival sources are freely accessible around the world. 

  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Yad Vashem 

    The archives of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and of Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in Israel endeavor on a broad international scale to bring together, to preserve, and to make more readily accessible to researchers the contemporary documentation relevant to this historical tragedy and to stimulate scholarship on its manifold aspects. Descriptions of their programs and holdings may be found at the following websites:

  • Claims Conference
    • The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany sponsors cooperation among Holocaust-related archival institutions through the International Shoah Archivists Working Forum. Information concerning the Forum as well as a Directory of Holocaust-Related Archives that lists the almost 1000 relevant state and private archives worldwide may be found at:  www.claimscon.org/archivist_forum
  • Memorial de la Shoah
  • Historians of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom
    • The Historians of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom have begun to compile an International Guide to Archival Sources on Holocaust-Era Assets that can be found at:  www.ushmm.org/assets/
  • Guide to Archival Sources on the Holocaust, Holocaust-Era Assets, and Related Issues in the National Archives of Sweden
    • The following website contains links to national websites such as the Guide to Archival Sources on the Holocaust, Holocaust-Era Assets, and Related Issues in the National Archives of Sweden:  www.ra.se/en/holocaust1.html
  • Holocaust-Era Assets: Records and Research at the National Archives and Records Administration
  • Azrieli Foundation

  • Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program was established by the Azrieli Foundation in 2005 to collect, preserve and share the memoirs and diaries written by survivors of the Holocaust who came to Canada. The program is guided by the conviction that each survivor has a remarkable story to tell and that such stories play a significant role in teaching us about the importance of inclusion and the dangers of remaining silent in the face of prejudice in our richly varied, multicultural society. Re:Collection is an interactive experience that invites users to explore
the first-hand accounts of Holocaust survivors published in the Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs. Through video interviews, thematic and understanding of the Holocaust while also preserving and promoting survivors’ historical content, memoir excerpts, photos and artifacts, the platform provides a multimedia opportunity to curate interactive timelines and maps, placing survivors’ stories in a larger historical context. Re:Collection deepens and broadens understanding of the Holocaust while also preserving and promoting survivors’ historical content, memoir excerpts, photos and artifacts, the platform provides stories for future generations. http:// recollection.azrielifoundation.org

Archival access is also a focus of the IHRA's Multi-Year Work Plan on Archival Access.