Primary Sources |
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Haunting Memory Visual images, art. Often this can be more meaningful than historical texts. View these images culled from the media compiled in an artist's attempt to capture the horrors of the Shoah. The Holocaust. The catastrophe. Terrifying. Stark. It is an artistic representation which will introduce the depth and breadth of this tragedy. |
Photos A large collection of images. Alternatively, frightening, grotesque, poignant, and pathetic. If your stomach is weak, do not pursue this link further. This is a collection of historical photographs taken by Nazis themselves or by liberation forces, and a few rare photographs taken by prisoners of death camps. |
U.S. Photos N.A.R.A. also has a large collection of World War II photographs, many of which you must order to view. However, several hundred of them have been placed online. This link takes you to a gopher list of images file names without descriptions. Feel free to explore. (Download times are long, but pictures are generally very clear.) Specifically related to the Holocaust are Gusen Concentration Camp, Austria- Starving prisoner, Buchenwald Concentration Camp, Germany- Starving prisoners, Gardelegen, Germany- Prisoner burned to death, Gusen Concentration Camp, Austria- Bodies being removed by German citizens for decent burial, Buchenwald Concentration Camp, GermanyBodies of Nazi prisoners, Buchenwald(?), Germany- Bones in a crematorium, Namering, Germany- Bodies of 800 slave workers murdered by SS guards. |
Eye-witnesses Read testimony of witnesses, survivors, liberators, resistors, and others. Again, frightening. Be aware that the content is often graphic. |
Survivors Video and Audio excerpts. Look into the eyes of those who tell the stories. Long download times are well worth the wait. |
Hitler Police report upon Hitler's release from Bavarian jail in 1924. |
Instructions as to prisoners' hair Memo instructing camp officials in the collection and sale of prisoners hair to certain companies. |
Camp Guard Otto Horn. Excerpts from an extermination camp guard's deposition. |
Nuremberg Laws Read the texts of the Nuremberg Laws. Law for the Protection of Hereditary Health: The Attempt to Improve the German Aryan Breed, July 14, 1933. The Nuremberg Laws on Citizenship and Race, September 15, 1935. Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor, September 15, 1935. |
Wannsee Conference Review notes from the meeting which some feel seals the fate of several million Jews, Slavs, and others. Pay attention to Section III, which carefully notes how many Jews inhabit each European region--even regions the Nazi's had not yet conquered. |
Einsatzgrupen An explanation of Einsatzgrupen activities. Includes excerpts of documents siezed by Allied forces. Copies of documents are housed in National Archives and at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. |
Nuremberg Trial Introduction This site has good, full text records from the trials. Review the Indictments and entering of Pleas. This section contains the accusations and the pleadings. Also available is Ohlendorf testimony about the function of the Einsatzgrupen D.; Georing testimony covering the Nazi Party, goals, philosophy, takeover of Jewish businesses, etc. Or Georing testifying that he did not know that millions of Jews were being systematically executed. He explains that Himmler "kept all these matters very secret." Also Hoess, the Commandant of Auschwitz, testifies about the killings, the extreme secrecy (he claims to have only mentioned the camp's true purpose to his wife), the methods used, etc. |