Seeking Justice: Holocaust History and the Archives of the International Tracing Service

Please join us in Jerusalem for a public program:

Seeking Justice: Holocaust History and the Archives of the International Tracing Service, Bad Arolsen, Germany

6:00 pm, Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, 43 Jabotinsky Street, Jerusalem, Israel

For many decades after World War II, ​researchers were not permitted access to the collections of the International Tracing Service (ITS), based in Bad Arolsen, Germany. In 2007, many years of international advocacy resulted in ratification of the agreement to open the ITS archive, which contains some 200 million scanned pages of material with information on more than 17 million victims of Nazism, including millions of Jews.

On the 10th anniversary of the opening of the archive, Paul A. Shapiro, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Director of International Affairs, will reflect on the effort required to open the archive and the moral and legal significance of making the contents of the archive accessible to Holocaust survivors, their families, and scholars in the United States and around the world. Elizabeth Anthony, Ph.D., who directs the Museum's academic programs utilizing the ITS archives, will address the scholarly uses of the digital ITS collection. Elana Heideman, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Israel Forever Foundation, will serve as moderator.

This program is free and open to the public. To RSVP, please visit ushmm.org/seeking-justice. Directions to the Van Leer Institute can be found here.

Presenters:

Opening the Archives of the International Tracing Service - A Goldmine and a Warning

Paul A. Shapiro, Director of International Affairs and Director Emeritus of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The Use of the ITS Digital Archive for Research and Education

Elizabeth Anthony, Ph.D., International Tracing Service and Partnerships Program Manager, Visiting Scholar Programs, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Closing Remarks: Richard D. Heideman, Senior Counsel, Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, PC and former Chair, Lawyers’ Committee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

This program has been made possible by Phyllis Greenberg Heideman and Richard D. Heideman. The B’nai B’rith World Center - Jerusalem has co-sponsored this event.

Krista Hegburg, Ph.D., Program Officer