Ten Years after the Archives’ Opening
The International Tracing Service Re-Opened its Archives in 2007
On November 28, 2007, the International Tracing Service (ITS) re-opened its archives, which had been closed to the public for nearly twenty-five years, to researchers and visitors for good. The decision to reopen was prompted by vehement international protest from academics and politicians, as well as from victims of Nazi persecution claiming access to the valuable historical documents.
The then directorate of the ITS, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), had opposed opening the archives, citing data and privacy protection grounds. Another reason for its refusal to grant access to the archives was the concern that German companies or authorities might stop providing the ITS with documents if these were made publicly approachable. With a particular view to still open indemnification programs for forced laborers, the issue of access to the archives remained politically controversial up to the early 2000s.
In the end, most of the eleven member states on the International Commission, the supreme governing body of the ITS, voted for unhindered access. On May 16, 2006, the decision was taken during a meeting of the International Commission. From then on, the mandate of the ITS would include research and education, and all member states would have the option to request digital copies of the archival holdings.
It took the member states another eighteen months to ratify new international agreements. In Germany, Horst Köhler, the Federal President of the time, drew up a law amending the Bonn Agreements from 1955 which had defined the tasks of the ITS to that date.t hatten.
In the meantime, preparations were made at the ITS for the first data transmission. In August 2007, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington and the International Holocaust Remembrance Authority Yad Vashem in Israel were the first institutions to be provided with a copy of the collection which had been digitized at that time. To this day, all copyholders receive an update with new digital copies once per year.
