Order Code RS22638
April 5, 2007
Opening of the International Tracing Service’s
Holocaust-Era Archives in
Bad Arolsen, Germany
Paul Belkin
Analyst in European Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
For over 60 years, the International Tracing Service (ITS) has limited access to
information in its vast archives of documents relating to victims of Germany’s National-
Socialist (Nazi) regime to survivors of Nazi crimes and their descendants. As recently
as 2006, ITS had a recorded backlog of over 400,000 requests for information. The
archives remain off-limits to historical research. In May 2006, responding largely to
pressure from Holocaust survivors and their advocates, the International Commission
overseeing ITS agreed to open the archives for historical research and to make digital
copies of its collections available to research institutions in Commission member states.
Six member states have yet to approve the agreement. In March 2007, the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs reported out H.Res. 240 urging these states to expedite
approval of the Commission’s decision to open the archives. Some Members of
Congress have urged the Administration to seek authorization for the immediate transfer
of digitized copies of archived materials to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum at the
Commission’s May 2007 meeting. This report will be updated after the May meeting.
Background
Following the end of the Second World War, the allied powers established the
International Tracing Service (ITS) in 1947 “for the purpose of tracing missing persons
and collecting, classifying, preserving and rendering accessible to Governments and
interested individuals the documents relating to Germans and non-Germans who were
interned in National-Socialist concentration camps or to non-Germans who were
displaced as a result of the Second World War.”1 Since its inception, ITS has assembled
archives of an estimated 30 million to 50 million Holocaust- and post-war-era documents
in Bad Arolsen, Germany relating to approximately 17.5 million civilian victims of
1 “Agreement Constituting an International Commission for the International Tracing Service,”
1955. U.S. Treaties and Other International Agreements; TIAS 3471, pp. 18-37.

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Germany’s National Socialist (Nazi) regime. Experts estimate that roughly one quarter
of the materials relate to Jews persecuted by the regime.2
After the 1954 repeal of the Occupation Statute in Germany, an international
commission of nine member states (Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, France,
Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States)3
charged the ITS with continuing its mission as a missing persons tracing service and
caretaker of the archives in Bad Arolsen under the neutral auspices of the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In the so-called Bonn Accords of 1955, the
International Commission established the
oversight and administrative structure
Contents of the Bad Arolsen Archives
under which ITS continues to function
today: a Swiss delegate of the ICRC, Records pertaining to an estimated 17.5 million
accountable both to the ICRC and the people are archived in three broad collections:
e l e v e n - m e m b e r I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Commission, oversees ITS’s day-to-day Incarceration/Concentration Camp Collection
operations and reports to the Nazi records documenting the capture, deportation,
and transfer of individuals to and between
Commission at its annual meetings; concentration and death camps.
Germany has provided and continues to At least 10 million pages
provide ITS’s operating budget.
Wartime / Forced-Labor Collection
ITS officials have traditionally Nazi records relating to individuals sent to forced
administered the service based on an and slave labor camps.
At least 6 million pages
understanding that ITS was established to
act primarily as a tracing service for Post-War / Migration Collection
victims of Nazi war crimes.4 To this end, Records from the aftermath of the war — primarily
access to information in the Bad Arolsen interviews of displaced persons and lists and
archives has been limited almost information on survivors and missing persons.
At least 14 million pages
exclusively to civilian victims of such
crimes and their descendants. Although Source: Information provided by International Tracing
they have not been granted direct access Service, March 2007.
to the archives, victims and their
descendants have the right to request
information pertaining to their individual cases. Materials in the archives have not been
made available for historical research.5
ITS claims it has provided approximately 11 million written responses to individual
requests for information since its inception. However, the tracing service has been
consistently criticized by survivors, their families, and others who allege that ITS has left
hundreds of thousands of requests unanswered and that it has often provided inadequate
2 Interview of U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum official, March 2007.
3 Greece and Poland were later added to the International Commission.
4 Interviews of ITS, ICRC, and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum representatives, March 2007.
5 Opinion differs on the extent to which the 1955 Bonn Accords themselves limit access to the
ITS archives. In what some experts cite as evidence that the Accords do not explicitly limit
access, Belgian and Israeli officials reportedly copied and transported records from the archives
in the 1950s and 1960s. Interview of U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum official, March 2007.

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or incomplete information to survivors and their descendants. Criticism of ITS
heightened in 2000 and 2001 as the service struggled to handle a dramatic increase in
requests from people seeking documentation for compensation from funds made available
by the German government to survivors of Nazi slave and forced labor camps. Much of
the criticism focused on perceived mismanagement and neglect on the part of ITS’s long-
time former director Charles-Claude Biedermann. Biedermann’s detractors contend that
his resistance represented the primary obstacle to improving the tracing service’s
responsiveness and providing greater access to archived materials.6 Indeed, when, under
strong public and International Commission pressure, the ICRC agreed to replace
Biedermann in 2006, ITS had a recorded backlog of 425,000 requests for information.
ICRC officials acknowledge that this represented an unacceptable breach of the
organization’s mission.7
Pressure To Open the Archives for Historical Research. Beginning in the
late 1990s, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (Holocaust Museum), Holocaust
survivor organizations, and others began to pressure International Commission members
to open the contents of the ITS archives for historical research. According to the State
Department, the United States and several other Commission member states advocated
opening the archives as early as 1998 and proposed that the issue be decided by majority
vote. However, then-ITS director Biedermann and a number of member states reportedly
blocked passage of the proposal by arguing that such changes would require amending the
Bonn Accords by unanimous consent.8 Those opposed to opening the archives claimed
that the release of such sensitive personal information represented a violation of
individual privacy rights. Those in favor, led by the United States, argued that the records
provide unprecedented and invaluable first-hand documentation of the crimes perpetrated
by the Nazi regime and should be opened as soon as possible to allow for research
collaboration with the remaining survivors of these crimes.
Recent Developments and Outstanding Issues
In May 2006, after more than five years of debate, and in response to increasing
public and political pressure, the International Commission of the ITS unanimously
agreed to amend the 1955 Bonn Accords to open the ITS archives to researchers and make
digital copies of archived materials available to research institutions in Commission
member states. To address continuing concerns regarding individual privacy rights, the
Commission agreed that access to files made available in member states would be guided
by the respective privacy laws of those states.
Each Commission member state has signed the 2006 amendments allowing full
access to the ITS archives. However, to enter into effect, the amendments must be
officially adopted according to internal procedures determined by each member state. All
but two Commission members, the United States and Poland, require parliamentary action
6 Interviews of U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum representative and U.S. State Department
official, March 2007.
7 Interviews of ICRC and ITS officials, March 2007.
8 Testimony of J. Christian Kennedy, United States Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues before
the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Europe Hearing, Mar. 28, 2007.

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for approval. Despite tacit member state commitments to complete the approval process
by May 2007, only six of the 11 International Commission members (Germany, Israel, the
Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States) are expected to have
officially adopted the amendments in time for the May 2007 annual Commission meeting.
May and June national elections in several states appear to be further delaying the
parliamentary approval process, which observers indicate is unlikely to be complete
before October 2007.
Digitization and File Transfer Issues. U.S. State Department officials report
that the timely transfer of digitized materials from Bad Arolsen to the Holocaust Museum
in Washington, DC is a top Administration priority related to the opening of the archives.
According to ITS, the archives’ collection of incarceration documents is digitized and
ready for transfer; the forced labor collection will be digitized by the end of 2007 or early
2008; and the post-war collection, by the end of 2008 or beginning of 2009.9 Although
Administration and Holocaust Museum officials express confidence in ITS’s digitization
process, they highlight two factors that stand to further delay transfer of the records: first,
ITS considers itself barred from transferring any of its materials before all 11 Commission
member states have officially approved the 2006 amendments to the Bonn Accords; and
second, Holocaust Museum officials estimate that they will need at least four months to
make digitized files available to researchers after receiving them from ITS.
In an effort to minimize delays, State Department officials say they will propose the
immediate transfer of digitized files at the Commission’s May 2007 meeting. They argue
that the time required by the Holocaust Museum to make the material publicly available
corresponds with the expected time-line for completion of the necessary approval
processes in each Commission member state. From this perspective, although the transfer
would occur before all Commission members have officially adopted the amendments,
documents would only be available to the public after the approval process is complete.
A majority of Commission member states appears to support the U.S. proposal to
begin immediate transfer of available digitized materials. However, some suggest that a
minority of Commission members may oppose the transfer of materials before the
approval process is complete.10 Although the Bonn Accords do not appear to require that
the U.S. proposal be approved unanimously, Administration and other member state
representatives appear reluctant to authorize the early transfer with anything short of a
unanimous Commission mandate.11
Although State Department and Holocaust Museum officials express confidence in
ITS’s file digitization process, they emphasize that expedited digitization and transfer has
required additional funding.12 The German government has reportedly committed to
covering additional costs beginning in 2008, but ITS anticipates a budget shortfall of just
over $300,000 (250 million Euros) in 2007. ITS expects to fill this shortfall through
private donations solicited by the Holocaust Museum and contributions from Commission
9 Interview of ITS director Reto Meister, March 20, 2007.
10 Interviews of State Department, German, Dutch, and French officials, Mar. 2007.
11 Ibid.
12 J. Christian Kennedy, op. cit.

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member governments. The Holocaust Museum, which receives the bulk of its funding
from the U.S. government, hopes to cover increasing costs associated with organizing and
making the files available to researchers through private donations.13
ICHEIC and Outstanding Insurance Claims. ITS representatives perceive the
service’s mission as having evolved over time from tracing victims and their families to
providing information for a wide variety of purposes including documentation for claims
on World War II-era insurance policies. In 1998, following a series of high-profile class-
action lawsuits against insurance companies alleged never to have honored millions of
such policies, an international commission, the International Commission on Holocaust
Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC), was established to facilitate the pay-out of unpaid
Holocaust-era insurance policies. In March 2007, ICHEIC officially ended its work,
claiming to have facilitated the payment of $306.25 million to over 48,000 claimants.14
Throughout its existence, ICHEIC was criticized, including by some Members of
Congress, for honoring only a small portion of legitimate claims and for conducting its
activities with a general lack of transparency and accountability.15
To confirm the eligibility of and appropriate payment amounts for the insurance
claims it received, ICHEIC reports that it consulted records from a wide variety of
archives in addition to policy-holder lists kept by insurance companies. According to
ICHEIC , it did not seek access to materials in Bad Arolsen. ICHEIC representatives and
current ITS director Reto Meister report that cursory searches of the ITS archives indicate
that the records provide little definitive information that could help resolve outstanding
claims or lead to new insurance claims.16 Meister also iterates that the archives have been
and remain open to requests for documentation from Holocaust-era victims and their
families.
The February 2007 settlement of a lawsuit brought by Holocaust survivors against
Italian insurance company Assicurazioni Generali (Generali) highlights disagreement with
ICHEIC and ITS’s statements regarding the potential usefulness of ITS records to new or
existing insurance claims. In the settlement, Generali agreed to continue to accept claims
from individuals providing documentation from the ITS archives until August 2008. The
primary reason cited for the extension is to allow potential claimants to take advantage
of the expected opening of the archives.17 How much information the archives contain
relating to insurance policies remains unclear. However, all but a small number of
insurance-related lawsuits have been settled, and ICHEIC is no longer accepting claims.
13 Interview of U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum representative, March 2007.
14 “Holocaust Victims Get Compensation From Insurance Companies,” Deutsche Welle, Mar. 21,
2007.
15 For example, some Members of Congress and expert witnesses criticized ICHEIC during a
series of three congressional hearings on ICHEIC and the issue of Holocaust-era insurance claims
held by the House Committee on Government Reform from 2001-2003. For information on the
hearings and related legislative proposals see [http://oversight.house.gov/investigations].
16 Interviews of ICHEIC representative and ITS director Reto Meister, March 2007.
17 Joseph B. Treaster, “Settlement Approved in Holocaust Victims’ Suit Against Italian Insurer,”
New York Times, Feb. 28, 2007.

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ITS Request Backlog. In 2006, the ICRC replaced long-time ITS director
Biedermann and initiated efforts to significantly reduce the 425,000 request backlog. ITS
claims that the backlog has already been reduced to 145,000 requests and will be
eliminated by early 2008. Although most observers commend current ITS director
Meister for his efforts, some question the methods by which the backlog has been so
substantially reduced. Specifically, they contend that many of the requests have been
discarded, a significant portion likely due to the deaths of requesters.18 ITS has
committed to responding to new requests within an eight-week period and, by most
accounts, appears to be complying with its policy.
Issues for Congress
Many Members of Congress have demonstrated a strong interest in ensuring the
timely opening of the ITS archives to historical research, and Administration officials and
Holocaust survivors have singled out the efforts of individual Members as instrumental
in drawing international attention to the issue. During a March 28, 2007, hearing of the
House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Europe, witnesses emphasized
the importance of heightened congressional attention during the remaining stages of the
process to open the archives. Several Members have expressed particular interest in three
specific areas relating to the issue: (1) securing expedited adoption of the agreement to
open the archives in each Commission member state; (2) ensuring the timely digitization
and transfer of ITS collections; and (3) exploring the possibility that opening the archives
could reveal documentation to substantiate additional claims on World-War II era
insurance policies.
On March 27, 2007, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs reported out H.Res.
240 urging International Commission member states who have yet to officially adopt the
agreement to open the archives to expedite the approval process. In addition, during the
March 2007 Subcommittee on Europe hearing on the issue, subcommittee members urged
the Administration to push for immediate transfer of the digitized materials in Bad
Arolsen at the International Commission’s upcoming May 2007 meeting.
On March 28, 2007, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen introduced H.R. 1746
requiring the disclosure of Holocaust-era policies by insurers and establishing a federal
cause of action for claims arising out of a covered policy. Similar bills were introduced
in the 107th and 109th Congresses. Although H.R. 1746 would have no direct effect on the
opening of the Bad Arolsen archives, some observers and Holocaust survivors assert that
improved access to the archives may expose documentation relating to unpaid Holocaust-
era insurance policies. On the other hand, while the evidence is by no means conclusive,
ITS officials and some historians indicate it is unlikely that the Bad Arolsen archives
contain definitive evidence of such policies.19
18 Interview of U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum representative, March 2007.
19 Interviews of ITS and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum representatives, March 2007.

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