Srebrenica Memorial Center Assists Arolsen Archives in Documenting Holocaust Victims

(Patria) - As part of the global #everynamecounts campaign launched by the Arolsen Archives with the aim of digitizing the names of victims and survivors of National Socialism, employees and team members of the Srebrenica Memorial Center today contributed. On this occasion, the Memorial Center called for the support of the Bosnian public for this campaign.

"The documents in the Arolsen Archives contain data on the fates of 17.5 million people. To make them visible in the online archive and enable people around the world to find them there, the information they contain must be entered into the database – and they need our help. So far, thousands of volunteers have joined the project. Together, they have already processed more than 6 million documents. It only takes 5 minutes to complete one document – and you add another brick to the digital monument. We decided to set aside some of our time and help," the Srebrenica Memorial Center stated.

Clarifying fates and searching for missing persons has been the central task of the Arolsen Archives for decades. They respond to over 20,000 inquiries annually about victims of Nazi persecution and the Holocaust. Through cooperation with the Srebrenica Memorial Center, they have already transferred numerous good experiences and practices to this Bosnian institution of remembrance and research.

"Our work in research and education is more important than ever for informing today's society about the crimes committed by the Nazis. A comprehensive online archive is an important part of what we do. As an international center for Nazi persecution, we see our mission as contributing to the debate on remembrance and confronting the Nazi period, political persecution, and racism," the Arolsen Archives added.

The Director of the Srebrenica Memorial Center, Emir Suljagić, stated that today's contribution by the members of the institution's team is important on a symbolic and practical level.

"Thank you to Floriane Azoulay, Oliver Figge, and Azra Imamović from the Arolsen Archives, who are always a support in our work, and I hope that in this way we are also showing our readiness to be a support for them in their activities and initiatives. Thank you to Amra Begić Fazlić and Nedim Jahić, who initiated the call for activists and people from Bosnia and Herzegovina to join this campaign. In a few days, we will mark the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and there is no better way to remember the victims than by working to preserve the truth and protect the names of the victims from oblivion. We owe this as victims of genocide and as citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Suljagić said.