One of the The world’s largest Holocaust Archives For the first time since the three -year digitization of the combination is online accessible.
Announced on Holocaust Memorial Day. Vener Holocaust LibraryThe new online platform contains more than 150,000 items deposited in nine decades. Consumers can see letters, pamphlets and photos that record the rise of fascism in the UK and Europe.
Library Director Dr. Toby Simpson said the project has been working for more than 10 years and hopes to find new scholars’ new audience and “a new way to testify in the digital era” Will get .
Are some of the most interesting items Tarnschriften Or “hidden posts” – anti -fascist propaganda hidden in everyday items, including powdered shampoo and tea leaves. The goods were hidden and smuggled into Germany across the borders, which was one of some of the few ways to know the Nazi activities for the Germans.
“They are hiding anti -Nazi pamphlets,” Simpson said. “They wanted to convey a message in Germany, it was impossible for people to get that literature from another source. If anyone is caught with Nazi content, he can gastopo or arrest him.
He added: “Disguision were incredibly wide, one included instructions about taking care of his cactus. Hopefully, if your luggage was searched, they hope they Will pass over it and you will not realize what you are taking.
Every year the library receives about 50 collections, which can be included in the entire archives from a few letters donated by individuals, such as the Jewish Committee on Relief, dozens of materials received from abroad, An organization that helped the homeless.
The digitization process has given the museum an opportunity to assess the content that has long been kept, exposed the stories that have been kept in documents for decades.
Simpson said that it has been nine decades, and in each of these decades, there has been an evolution over the understanding of the Holocaust about the Holocaust, and this collection is a history of this process. “Often the story of how the content came to us is just as interesting as itself.”
In this collection there are things that cover the activities of British fascists, such as the Osulid Mosal and the British Union of Fascist, and the anti -feminist movement that caused the right -wing threat in Britain before and after World War II. Give
“We have to be a little careful because some of these groups are still active, so there are restrictions on downloading, but we understand that it is important for people to investigate these documents for this date. Could use it because it is rarely considered. ” Simpson said.
There are German occupation items on the British soil, including one of the Nazi Commandant in Jersey who wants to inform him of his neighbors.
“We ask ourselves what we have done in similar situations and something about seeing something in your own language that makes it even quick,” Simpson said.
One of the things that the library is most passionate about is Lisbon, a logbook in the office of Thomas Cook in Portugal, which has become. An important way for Jewish refugees Who fled to Central and Eastern Europe via the Perenez and the Peninsula.
“Those who were trying to get their luggage out will submit their items to Thomas Cook, so the logbook has the names of those who were using this route. This is unique.”
The process of digitalization means that the logbook can be easily found for people who are looking for family members who suspect they have fled using the route.
Simpson said: “We are now at the beginning of the contacts we can make, because the offspring can find new information about what happened to their families or detect lost items.”
The Winner Library was founded 90 years ago. Dr. Alfred WaynerWho launched a campaign against Nazism during the 1920s and 30s, and collected evidence about hostility and persecution of Jews in Germany. It was actually called the Jewish Central Information Office and was based in Amsterdam before leaving for London in 1938.
