Build a digital memorial with us!
#everynamecounts is a crowdsourcing initiative by the Arolsen Archives: Together with tens of thousands of volunteers, we establish a digital memorial to the people persecuted by the Nazis. That way, future generations will be able to remember the names and identities of these victims. With #everynamecounts, everyone can stand up for respect, diversity, and democracy. Because the reasons for persecution are not a thing of the past.
Thanks to #everynamecounts, we build the world’s largest online archive on people persecuted by the Nazis. Tens of thousands of volunteers are already onboard and help us to digitally transcribe the names and data in historical documents.
Since the initiative started, we have already processed over 6 million documents. However, there are a total of 30 million historical documents in our archive – so we need many more helpers to complete the digital monument. With our new crowdsourcing tool, you can find out how it works and get started straight away:
#everynamecounts in schools
#everynamecounts is very well-suited to exploring the effects of Nazi persecution in the classroom while actively contributing to memory culture at the same time. The project helps students acquire methodological skills for working with archival sources, and it promotes exploratory learning and enables a discussion of the scale of Nazi persecution.
Over 100 schools and thousands of students have already participated.
There are many ways to join #everynamecounts at school, taking into account both the available time and the background of students – with anything from a single 90-minute lesson (see suggestion on the right) to an entire project day being possible. The platform for data entry is available in in English, German, Polish, French, and Spanish for many documents, and in English and German for all documents. To participate, each student needs his or her own computer (or tablet) and an Internet connection.
Become an #everynamecounts partner
More than 300 companies and institutions support #everynamecounts, setting an example for respect, diversity and democracy. We are very grateful for their valuable help! By 2025, anyone anwhere should be able to search the digital memorial and find all the data it contains. To reach this goal, we are looking for additional supporters.
Germany’s Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also supports #everynamecounts.
How can you help?
Support our initiative as part of your corporate social responsibility program and be part of a meaningful project that brings people together. Your team can participate actively in #everynamecounts and help create a digital record of the data contained in original documents on victims of National Socialism. You can also support us…
- by using your good name to promote #everynamecounts and by encouraging your contacts to get involved.
- by showcasing #everynamecounts in your internal and external communication channels.
- by encouraging your employees to join in and help us transcribe data from historical documents.
- by seeking out high-profile individuals to lend their face to the media campaign “Stand up for respect, diversity, and democracy.”
As #everynamecounts partner, you can look forward to: media presence and a positive image transfer, potential to increase employee motivation, a platform for people from your own organization, international contacts and events, and of course the opportunity to play an active role in promoting a plural and open society.
Feel free to contact us and become part of our global #everynamecounts community!
Common questions about the project #everynamecounts
1. Open the project page
2. Click “Classify” or choose lists from a specific camp under “Get started”
3. Read the helpful hints for working with our archival documents
4. Join in!
But what is even more important is that “#everynamecounts” is all about active remembrance, about giving volunteers the opportunity to commemorate the victims of Nazi crimes. With every list you work on, you are helping victims and their families and friends by creating digital tags that will enable them to find the last traces of the people they are searching for.
Common questions about the Arolsen Archives
In 2013, the archive was inscribed on UNESCO’S Memory of the World Register. And in 2019, the organization changed its name to Arolsen Archives. Today, it is an international center on persecution under National Socialism.
17.5 million names on reference cards contain information on 17.5 million fates. The Arolsen Archives also hold about 2800 personal effects. These are the personal belongings of former victims of Nazi persecution; most of them were found in concentration camps. The aim is to return them to the families and descendants of their rightful owners.
The Arolsen Archives are a living monument that protects the memory of the atrocities committed during the Nazi period that are now being denied by new generations of racists and antisemites. Anyone can use the online archive of the Arolsen Archives to find out about the fates of the victims and ensure that they are never forgotten.
