JERUSALEM (JTA) — A joint project between Yad Vashem and Google will make public access to Nazi-era documents and photographs easier.
Israel’s national Holocaust museum and archive and the Google search engine on Wednesday announced that they had made 130,000 photos and documents from the museum’s archive available online. The photos can now be searched directly from Google using regular key words.
Once the document is found, the searcher will be prompted to add his own stories to the Yad Vashem Web site, as well as help identify people and places in the photos, according to a Yad Vashem statement.
The project was announced on the eve of International Holocaust Day.
The release of photos Wednesday is a first step toward bringing the vast Yad Vashem archive online over time, according to the museum.
“We’re focused on finding new and innovative ways to make the enormous amount of data in our archives, accessible and searchable to a global audience,” said Avner Shalev, chairman of Yad Vashem. “Google is an integral partner in our mission, as they help us to reach new audiences, including young people around the world, enabling them to be active in the discussion about the Holocaust.”
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