The ITS Library

A special library is open to visitors of the International Tracing Service (ITS) for research purposes. In the spring of 2008, work began on the transformation of the existing library into a special library dedicated to ITS topics. 

At the time, the inventory was still based on the status quo of the early 1970s and comprised around 1,500 publications. It has continually grown through the addition of new purchases since February 2008 and now holds around 4,000 publications. In addition, there is a stock of roughly 60 different magazines and yearbooks.

The publications and media are orientated on subjects ITS has opened up with its archive inventory. A focus is placed, for example, on groups of victims (Jews, Sinti and Roma, forced labourers and others), individual fates, and the history of ghettos and concentration camps.

Included are:

• recent publications and periodicals (research and special literature);
• academic theses;
• voucher copies from archive use/processing;
• archival special literature and publications from other archives, printed finding aids, overviews of stock;
• publications from memorial sites and museums;
• ICRC publications.

The library can be used by visitors, academic researchers, all ITS employees and, not least, by the interested public as a reference library. The inventory is arranged in open stacks.