The 11 countries that oversee a vast archive of Nazi documents and concentration camp records have completed the ratification of an accord to open its doors to the public, ending more than 60 years of secrecy, the Associated Press said Wednesday.
Greece was the last of the 11 to formally file its ratification papers with the German Foreign Ministry of the accord initialed in May 2006.
The documents contain the names of more than 17 million victims, and fill 16 miles of shelves.
The documents were initially seized by the Allies from Nazi concentration camps and offices after WWII, but were then closed under a 1955 agreement to protect the privacy of survivors and the reputation of the dead who may have undergone humiliating medical experiments or been falsely accused of crimes.
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3 Responses
Yeah right the agreement was to protect the survivors. It was to protect the perpetrators from the full extent and embarrassment of the truth. No one cared about the survivors at all. Most or many of them would have been happy to be able to find out what happened to their relatives and show proof of their stories, as well as gain a deeper understanding of what happened to them. But they were denied this satisfaction to “protect their privacy”. I have a really nice steel structure in Brooklyn to sell you. When did Germany agree to open the records to the public?
#1 you hit the nail on the head.
60 years late.
This should have been done immediately after the War for all the reasons #1 stated.
Good luck on any “major” newspapers publicising this!