Are you looking for information about relatives who were persecuted during the Nazi period? Are you doing research on National Socialist persecution or planning an educational project on this topic? The Arolsen Archives have the largest collection of information on Nazi victims, including documents on concentration camps, forced labor and displaced persons. There are three ways of accessing the archive: search the online archive, send us an inquiry or come and visit us in person.

Search the online archive

The persecution of the Jews, the extermination camps and all the crimes perpetrated against humanity by the National Socialists must never be forgotten. To give people all over the world access to the documents on these subjects, the Arolsen Archives are gradually putting them online.

Online Archive

Understanding documents from the Nazi period

Administrative files from concentration camps are not self-explanatory. Abbreviations and details no longer commonly understood now that decades have passed since the end of the Nazi regime are explained by the e-Guide, for example. Other useful tools for working with documents from the Arolsen Archives can also be found here.

To the e-Guide

A look at the collections

What is the Central Name Index, which is, in a sense, the heart of the Arolsen Archives? Where do the children’s files describing the fates of tens of thousands of children and adolescents come from? Which documents exist from the early post-war period? We present individual collections to you here and show you examples of the documents they contain.

To the gallery

Resources for researchers

The Arolsen Archives are relevant to a wide range of research questions concerned with Nazi persecution. The ability to carry out a comprehensive name search helps local commemorative initiatives in their work, for example. We have a number of projects which highlight the potential of the collection as a resource for scholarship and research. This also applies to the field of Digital Humanities with the provision of files and metadata.

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Your inquiry

Would you like to know whether the Arolsen Archives have information on a specific person? Send us your inquiry! Please use the form provided.

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Come and visit us

There are various reasons to visit the Arolsen Archives: extensive research in the full database or a visit to our permanent exhibition, “A Paper Monument”. Relatives of victims can visit the archives to look at the original documents which record the persecution and have them explained in detail.

Plan your visit

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