Wiener Holocaust Library can help Leeds and Huddersfield families find out fate of relatives

An original document from Buchenwald Camp, contained within the International Tracing Service Archive in Germany. Picture: Johanna Groß.

Generations on from the horrors of the Second World War, many people still have unanswered questions about the fates of their family members during the Holocaust.

A team from the Wiener Holocaust Library is hoping to help people find those answers by hosting a series of family history research events in Huddersfield and Leeds later this month.

Its Recovery and Repair programme is aiming to reach people across the country, using the archive of the International Tracing Service (ITS) - the largest collection of material related to victims and survivors of Nazi persecution. The Wiener Holocaust Library is the UK’s only point of access to the full copy of this remarkable cache of more than 30 million documents.

Experts at the library use the digital archive to provide a dedicated Holocaust family research service, and have helped people discover the fates of their loved ones for the first time.

Attendees can learn how to take the first steps in researching their own family histories, preserving and donating their documents, and find out more about the history of the period and archive.

ITS team manager Elise Bath says: “We have been using the ITS archive from our London base for more than a decade, and in that time our expert researchers have investigated the fates of thousands of Holocaust victims, helped survivors claim compensation, and even reunited families separated by Nazi persecution.

“We are delighted to be branching out across the UK in the hopes of helping more people from communities across the country benefit from using this extraordinary digital archive.”

Members of the archive team will travel to the Holocaust Centre North at the University of Huddersfield on Wednesday November 23, when a workshop will take place between 3.30pm and 5.30pm.

Another workshop will take place at Leeds Central Library between 10.30am and 1.30pm on Friday, November 25.

People will also be able to see an exhibition called Fate Unknown: The Search for the Missing after the Holocaust.

The exhibition takes place at the Holocaust Centre North – previously known as the Holocaust Exhibition and Learning Centre - in Huddersfield between November 9 and 23, with a drinks receptions between 6pm and 8pm on the final night.

Leeds will then host the pop-up exhibit on Thursday, November 24.

There will again be a drinks reception between 6pm and 8pm that night, featuring talks by the co-curators, Professor Dan Stone and Dr Christine Schmidt. Other speaks scheduled include Laurence Saffer, who is director of Leeds Jewish Representative Council (LJRC), and Alex Sobel, Labour MP for Leeds North West.

The events are free but space is limited, so people should register online.

To do so, visit https://wienerholocaustlibrary.org/2022/09/12/recovery-repair-supporting-jewish-family-histories-of-the-holocaust-in-britain/