Glossary

A hostile attitude towards Jews predominantly rooting in racism. Anti-Semitism was a permanent and integral part of the National Socialist ideology.

“Anti-social” was a term referring to people who, in Nazis’ eyes, “were a hindrance to national social life”. They counted among them persons without a permanent residence, beggars, people on welfare, alcohol addicts, prostitutes. Uncountable people considered to be “anti-social” under this ideological scheme had to suffer persecution, were locked up in concentration camps and forcibly sterilized.

Requests to the archive are filed under such numbers.

Requests to view documents at/to be sent documents from the archive of the International Tracing Service (ITS).

Denoting, in the National Socialist ideology, a so-called “Aryan” or “Nordic human race” which, since claimed to be superior to all other peoples, was supposed to dominate over them. The idea was formed in Racist theories booming in the 19th and 20th centuries. According to this doctrine, coloured people and other groups of human beings were considered to be of “inferior value”, Jews were to be combated as “enemies of the Aryans”.

“Block” was the Nazi denomination for premises or shacks in concentration camps that housed the prisoners. The so-called “Blockbuch” included the names of inmates and changes in their numbers.

Phonetically-alphabetically structured name index of ITS including more than 50 million references on approximately 17.5 million individuals.

Piece of evidence issued by the International Tracing Service (ITS) to former internees specifying their incarceration period during the Nazi reign. This certificate served to claim compensation.

CM/1 relates to the requests that displaced persons (DPs) filed for assistance by the International Refugee Organization (IRO) 1947 – 1951. The alphabetic characters CM stand for care and maintenance, the figure 1 indicates the questionnaire format employed at the time.

During their reign, the National Socialists erected, in total, at least 22 permanent concentration camps, from which as prime source sprang an organizational network covering, in the end, more than 1,000 outlying and subsidiary camps. They served to murder millions of human beings, oppress political opponents and exploit people by forced labour.

A so-called “Baubrigade” (construction brigade) comprised a definite number of prisoners assigned to various labour services. They were allotted particularly strenuous and dangerous work, e.g. removing bombs after air attacks.

The National Socialists entered the names of the prisoners who perished or were murdered in concentration camps in so-called “Totenbüchern”. Such books were not kept in extermination camps where the newcomers from the transports were murdered on the spot.

In World War II, the National Socialists abducted Jews and members of other population groups considered undesirable to ghettos, concentration and extermination camps or other sites of mass murder. Even worse, they deported millions of prisoners of war and civilians from their home countries either moving them to camps or taking them as forced labourers to Germany.

The term “Displaced Persons” refers to people who were freed from concentration camps, forced labour and, in part, also captivity at the end of World War II. They found shelter in so-called DP camps, were repatriated to their countries of origin or immigrated to third countries.

Effects are personal belongings taken from the prisoners when they were admitted to a concentration camp. The International Tracing Service (ITS) still keeps a few of these effects from Neuengamme and Dachau. The kind and number of the objects confiscated were noted down on the so-called effects’ cards.

The number of the new inmates added to the concentration camp strength was entered into this book.

Certificate made out by the International Tracing Service (ITS) in confirmation of a person’s forced labour status during or displaced person’s (DP) status after the war.  People often used this certificate as evidence admitting them to claim compensation or pension.

A typed form produced by the International Tracing Service (ITS) to include all information the original concentration camp documentation shows for a person.

The term “extermination camp” applies to the seven concentration camps where the mass murder of the European Jewry was committed. They came into being as of late in 1941 and included Auschwitz, Sobibor, Treblinka and Majdanek.

Previous filing mode applied by ITS to register requests for several persons on one application sheet (more than five). The number may figure on a reference card of the Central Name Index.

According to estimates, more than twelve million human individuals, among them civilians, concentration camp inmates and prisoners of war, were employed as forced labourers in World War II. They were exploited and worn out in all sectors of German economy.

Abbreviated form of the term “Geheime Staatspolizei” (Secret state police) during the National Socialist reign. Established in 1933, the Gestapo had the function to trace and “eliminate” the opponents of the Nazi regime. Even without judicial control, she was enabled to perform house searches and deport human beings to concentration camps. As of 1934, her supreme command had been in the hands of SS commander Heinrich Himmler.

The International Tracing Service (ITS) regards as general orders all requests without humanitarian or scholarly motives, such as inquiries relating to its character as an institution, visitors services or publications.

The National Socialists began with concentrating the Jewish population of Eastern Europe in town quarters they cordoned off, the so-called “ghettos”, and continued by either transporting the Jews from there to the extermination camps or directly murdering them on the spot.

Describes the elimination of all and any opposition through the all-embracing, the total assimilation of all social and cultural fields to the ideology of National Socialism that started right upon Hitler’s seizure of power in spring 1933.

Special punch cards produced in the early post-war era for children who had been reported missing or were found parentless.

Requests filed at ITS either by persons concerned and their family members or on their behalf by offices with a view to clarifying a fate or reuniting families.

The term “Nacht und Nebel” relates to a decree passed by the Fuehrer on 7th December 1941. According to this decree, civilians accused by the occupation authorities of a criminal offence against the Deutsche Reich either were sentenced to death on the spot or deported to a concentration camp without being given reasons.

A “Revierkarte” was produced for concentration camp inmates who were admitted to the infirmary. Apart from the personal details of the respective prisoner, it included data relating to his or her treatment, such as particulars on vaccinations, anamnesis and examination dates.

Requests that do not come under the competence of the International Tracing Service (ITS). As a rule, ITS here either writes an answer referring the sender to the proper office, or passes the request directly on to that agency.

Inquiry cards are produced for new requests submitted to ITS, with a separate card being created for every name/every spelling. The mentioned card includes concise respectively summarized information on the ordeal of the person concerned and the inquirer. The original of the card is filed in the electronic Central Name Index, a copy of it in the pertinent T/D-case file.

The work done by the International Tracing Service (ITS) is supervised by an International Commission composed of representatives from eleven member states (Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom and the USA). Their working bases are the 1955 Bonn Agreements and the 2006 amendment protocol.

The labour book was issued for all persons who had worked under the regime of the Third Reich. In addition to the personal data, the book includes information on (professional) training, employers and times of employment.

The labour card includes information relating to the labour assignment of a prisoner within a concentration camp or in the so-called sub-commandos. Sometimes, it also shows the dates when inmates were moved to other task forces. Forced labourers used to be provided with labour cards keeping account of their assignment in companies.

Mode of registration previously (1958 – 1980) applied by ITS to personal requests for which no documents could be found.

Between September 1939 and April 1945, a variety of approximately 70 medical research projects was carried out in the concentration camps. At least 7,000 individuals were compelled to undergo experiments, which, for the most part, were supported by and performed on behalf of military respectively state health offices.

The “Schreibstubenkarte” was produced for prisoners on their arrival at the concentration camps. It includes personal data plus committal and transfer dates.

Requests that the International Tracing Service (ITS) receives either by regular or electronic mail are statistically entered as orders. An individual order may relate to several persons or subjects. In 2008, this counting system was brought to bear in statistic registration, i.e. the current statistics are only partly comparable with the inquiry-based ones of the preceding years.

The organization that had been established on a military model in 1938 and named after its founder Fritz Todt came under the command of the Minister of the Reich for arming and ammunition in March 1940. It was primarily used to perform construction work on the territories occupied by Germany.

In conformity with the rules defined by the International Tracing Service (ITS), the reference cards of the Central Name Index are not only filed according to letters (alphabetic system), but also to pronunciation (phonetic system). So, all documents relating to a person can be found, though the spelling of his or her name may vary.

Form sheets used to register prisoners in concentration camps.

On 4 February 1933, the so-called “Ordinance of the President of the Reich for the Protection of the German People” was enacted, which allowed, in the interest of public security, that protective custody be imposed on persons for a three months’ maximum. This regulation was tightened up by the decree on protective custody of 25 January 1938, which enabled the state to apply protective custody, in particular to opponents of the regime and minorities, for an unlimited period. An official order on protective custody was issued that included the personal data of the prisoner, details on his or her residence and the reason for his or her protective custody.

Information relating to previous requests filed at ITS, regarding which - thanks to recent additions to the documents - further information can be provided.

A reference card is produced for every name that appears in the documents kept at the International Tracing Service (ITS). It is filed in the Central Name Index where it serves as finding aid.

The “Reichsicherheitshauptamt (RSHA)” created on 27th September 1939 was an amalgamation of the security police (Gestapo and criminal investigations police) and the “Sicherheitsdienst (SD)” (security service) of the SS. Having approximately 3,000 staff at its command, the RSHA constituted the central German police authority playing a decisive part in the persecution, deportation and obliteration of the Jews.

“Veränderungsmeldungen” are day-by-day lists, which the Nazis kept on the number of the inmates present in the concentration camps. They showed the figures of new-arriving prisoners, of inmates leaving for other concentration camps and of detainees who lost their lives.

These centers housed the so-called DPs - displaced persons - when they had finished their stay in the DP camps. The staff there made out exit papers or visa on their behalf, entered the DPs in transport lists and filled in their shipping tickets. They controlled, marked and checked their baggage. Before departing, the DPs had to undergo both a final interview and a medical examination.

Requests sent to ITS with a view to using its archives for scholarly projects.

The “Sicherheitsdienst” was founded as intelligence service of the SS in 1931. Its initial task consisted in observing and spying out political opponents; its later purpose was among others to persecute Jews.

Enabled the National Socialists - in accordance with the habitual offenders’ or criminals’ act 24 November 1933) - to keep a person in custody irrespective of the term of imprisonment imposed on him or her in the verdict. This means could be applied arbitrarily in order to make opponents disappear.

The “Lebensborn” was an association that had been established and run by the SS during the National Socialist reign for the avowed purpose to increase the birth rate of “Aryan” children by among other measures promoting births out of wedlock. Fair-haired and blue-eyed children coming up to the ideal of outward appearance as propagated by the Racist Nazi ideology were abducted from the German-occupied territories. Veiling their identities, the Nazis placed these children in orphanages or children’s homes of the Deutsche Reich and “germanised” them there.

The death of forced laborers in concentration camps was partly recorded in death books and certified either by the former camp-owned or by the local civil registry offices. Whenever the ITS documentation shows clear clues pointing to a relative’s death, the Special Registry Office proceeds with a post-certification. At the suggestion of the International Tracing Service, the Special Registry Office was established on 1 September 1949 for the express purpose of such death certification. Pursuant to German legislation, the Federal State of Hesse is in administrative charge of the Special Registry Office.   

Tracing/Documents; humanitarian requests are filed at ITS under such numbers. The abbreviation dates back to the immediate post-war era.

These camps served as in-between points on the route to the extermination camps.

The Nazis created the “Wirtschafts- und Verwaltungshauptamt” in February 1942 by merging several SS economy units. Its tasks included the economic management and exploitation of both concentration camps and production plants employing forced labourers.