A Chance Encounter, Decades in the Making

For half-sisters Sula Miller and Helen Schaller, the Arolsen Archives served as an unexpected bridge, connecting them through a shared, yet previously unknown, paternal history.American Miller and german Schaller recently discovered they shared the same father, a Holocaust survivor who later emigrated to the U.S.

Floriane Azoulay, director of the Arolsen Archives, explained how the connection was made: Miller contacted us because she was looking for information about her father. Mendel Mueller, their father, a Jew born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, endured incarceration in two Nazi concentration camps: Buchenwald in northern Germany and auschwitz in occupied Poland.

The investigation into Mueller’s past revealed a daughter, Helen, still living in Germany.Thanks to us, the two women got to know each other, Azoulay stated, highlighting the archive’s ongoing mission to connect families separated by the atrocities of the Holocaust.

The Weight of History: 30 Million Documents, Untold Stories

Located in Bad Arolsen, Germany, the Arolsen archives stand as the world’s largest repository of information on the victims and survivors of the Nazi regime. The complex stores some 30 million original documents on almost 17.5 million people. These documents, meticulously preserved, offer a glimpse into the lives disrupted and frequently enough destroyed by Nazi persecution.

Beyond documents, the archives also house thousands of personal items recovered from the Nazi camps, including watches, rings, and wallets. These objects serve as poignant reminders of individual lives and lost legacies.

From Tracing Service to Ancient Archive: A Legacy of Remembrance

Established by the Allies in early 1946 as the International Tracing Service, the archive initially aimed to help people locate relatives who disappeared during the war. Its scope extended beyond Jewish victims to include Roma, homosexuals, political dissidents, and children kidnapped by the Nazis as part of a program to address declining birth rates.

Bad Arolsen was strategically chosen as the archive’s location due to its intact infrastructure, including a working telephone network, and its central position within Germany’s four occupation zones.The initial staff comprised a diverse group, including members of the Allied forces, Holocaust survivors, and even some Germans, including former members of the Nazi party.

Today, the archive employs around 200 people, supported by approximately 50 volunteers worldwide. Despite the passage of time,the Arolsen Archives continue to receive around 20,000 inquiries per year,frequently enough from descendants seeking to understand their family’s history during this dark period.

Seeking Closure, Generations Later

Abraham Ben, born in a displaced persons camp in 1947, exemplifies the enduring quest for information. Now almost 80,Ben continues to seek information about his father’s family,who remained in the Warsaw Ghetto. there is a high probability that they died in the camps, he acknowledged.

Ben’s father rarely spoke of the Holocaust, a silence born of deep pain. Never talked about (the Holocaust)… and we never asked him about it. We felt it was too painful for him. ben’s experience was common among children born in refugee centers, were grandparents were frequently enough absent, having been among the first to perish in the camps.

The impact of this loss resonated deeply. At the age of 10, I realised other children had grandparents because I went to a German school and my classmates would describe the gifts they had given them at Christmas. Ben hopes to find surviving relatives,cousins who may have survived among the descendants of his father’s siblings.

The Devil in the Details: Nazi Documentation

The Arolsen Archives contain a wealth of documents issued by the Nazi regime, including Gestapo arrest warrants, deportation lists, and camp registers. These documents, often surprisingly detailed, provide invaluable insights into the systematic persecution of victims.

Camp registers, such as those from Buchenwald, meticulously recorded each prisoner’s physical characteristics, marital status, family details, religious affiliation, and language skills, alongside their name, birth date, and deportation number.

Nicole Dominicus, head of archive governance, explained the meticulous organization of the records: For example, there are more than 800 ways to write ‘Abrahamovicz’. The archives were later expanded to include Allied files and correspondence between the Red Cross and the Nazi administration, further enriching the historical record.

Personal Effects, Profound Impact

The archives also hold letters from individuals searching for lost relatives. One poignant example is a letter from a mother who survived auschwitz, inquiring about her daughter from whom she was separated in the camp.

Volunteers play a crucial role in assisting the archives, often working in other countries to locate and return personal items to survivors or their families. Manuela Golc, a volunteer in Poland, recently returned a pair of earrings and a watch to a 93-year-old woman, items that had belonged to her mother, who was deported in 1944. She told me it was the best day of her life, Golc recounted, her voice filled with emotion.

Achim Werner, 58, experienced a similar shock and sense of connection when the archives informed him that they possessed his grandfather’s wedding ring, taken upon his arrival at Dachau concentration camp. shocked by the discovery, Werner had visited the camp numerous times without knowing his grandfather had been imprisoned there. We knew that he was detained in 1940, but nothing after that, he said.

While the reasons for his grandfather’s imprisonment remain unknown, Werner is resolute to preserve his memory. He has entrusted the wedding ring to his daughter, who will wear it as a pendant and pass it on to future generations. She will wear it as a pendant and then pass it on to her children, Werner affirmed, ensuring that his grandfather’s story, though incomplete, will not be forgotten.

Learn more

• Visit the Arolsen Archives Official Website
• Explore Online Collections