U.S. reps: Open Holocaust archives

A U.S. resolution is calling on European nations to allow open access to Holocaust archives in Bad Arolsen, Germany. Authored by Reps. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), the resolution introduced last Friday urges “all member countries of the International Commission of the International Tracing Service (ITS) who have yet to ratify the May 2006 Amendments to the 1955 Bonn Accords Treaty, to expedite the ratification process to allow for open access to the Holocaust archives located at Bad Arolsen, Germany.” The archives, which are administered by the International Committee of the Red Cross, contain an estimated 50 million records on the fates of some 17.5 million victims of Nazi war crimes. The information would be valuable in a historical sense, the resolution noted, as well as on a practical level for survivors and victims’ heirs, who could use the data to find out the fate of loved ones and seek restitution.