Holocaust Project - Auschwitz 2025

Question

Bring your questions for the YouTube Q&A 12pm (Eastern USA time), Wednesday May 8th.

There is no single list of victims of Nazi persecution..... yet. The Holocaust Project is changing that. Like Wikitree's front page says, you can be a part of something big. No prior experience needed, just jump in.

The Holocaust Project invites you to help us add all victims at Auschwitz (Jews and non-Jews); our goal is to have all documented victims added by January 27, 2025. This is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. You can help by adding profiles from these sites; example searches are linked on the Auschwitz 2025 page:

*Joods Monument (the Dutch online memorial, in Dutch & English) 

*Memorial de la Shoah (only in French, you may wish to use an in-browser translator)

*Yad Vashem (use Wikitree Bee to easily Add Person/cite source)

*United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM - Auschwitz search)

*any similar site of your choosing.

If you prefer working from spreadsheets, we have one on Google Sheets: Auschwitz Death Books/Sterbebücher. This document has about 65,000 people with birth/death dates, places of birth, and religion. 

Please try to add at least one more source and family member. But it’s alright if you cannot- each profile is a planted seed that will grow a tree.

Please use the Auschwitz-Birkenau category, unless you are sure that the person died at Auschwitz I (aka main camp) or Auschwitz III (Monowitz)

It would be helpful if you mention on this post what surname or location you are focused on. Please add an "answer" instead of a "comment" - comments will be deleted after being read once, and I'll send you a PM to make sure your comment is addressed.

You do not need to join the Holocaust Project to participate, any WikiTreer is welcome.

Any general questions, ask here! And if you need a new category for a Holocaust-related location (a ghetto, subcamp, etc) post at this G2G link.

Sandy Patak & I will co-host a YouTube presentation on Wednesday May 8th, 12pm Eastern (USA) time to review what we’ve accomplished so far and answer any questions. 

Thank you for participating in this important and historic endeavor.

(Citation link for first sentence -no complete list of victims)

Comments

Please note that in the death location field, the proper description between 1941 and 1945 should be "Konzentrationslager Auschwitz, Auschwitz, Kreis Bielitz, Provinz Oberschlesien, Preußen, Deutsches Reich" or short "Konzentrationslager Auschwitz, Bielitz, Oberschlesien, Preußen, Deutsches Reich". That's the consensus of the Germany Project's twice-monthly meeting of 24 April 2024, i.e. yesterday.

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Best way to achieve this is to have editbot update all death locations containing Auschwitz OR Oświęcim to the prescribed one. And have editbot repeat that operation with some fixed time interval.

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How do you program editbot to do that? Or is there an application process for this?

But then, the death location string is only valid from 1941 to 1945. Before it is different (Schlesien instead of Oberschlesien) and afterwards it's different again (Polish nomenclature). So, can editbot do that depending on the death date?

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I’m pretty sure EditBot can’t do location fields. Oliver- you can repost this comment as an answer, so this area doesn’t get full. Also, the info you provided is now on the Auschwitz 2025 space page, both in the body and in the comment section. Thanks!

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You would have to ask Ales to do it

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P.S. Share the , spread the word!

• Facebook: Link
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• YouTube: Link

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Another way to find people who were in Auschwitz is to follow @AuschwitzMuseum (Caps or not may differ) on Social Media. They post every day about a person that was born OTD and about their fate.

Answer 1

I would like to help! Can you identify any victims that were born in Romania for me to work on?

Comments

I'm just a beginner on this, but hope the following information is helpful. Here's a link for Yad Vashem search results with death at Auschwitz, born in Romania:

Yad Vashem Collections - Names - Search Results

I've been mostly using the "Jews Murdered at Auschwitz" option because I've found that those records tend to consistently provide the names of the father and mother (usually including mother's maiden name).  

 You can "unclick" that option to see a larger list.  The testimonies can be useful for adding more family members.  You can choose to search for all the testimonies from one submitter.  BUT -- I've found the testimonies often use nicknames and Hebrew names, which makes it harder to match up with other records.

With the Wikitree BEE, making profiles goes pretty quickly.

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Thanks Al!

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Thank you Al! And please feel free to answer any similar questions on here, you are now qualified for this "job" if you want it :-)

Answer 2

I will help, if possible. Where would you like me to start?

Comments

Transports/Convoys from France are well-documented, would you like to work on "Convoi 39"?  Yad Vashem Collections - Names - Search Results This result page includes the victims from that transport. This page has more info about it - Transport 39 from Drancy,Camp,France to Auschwitz Birkenau,Extermination Camp,Poland on 30/09/1942 (yadvashem.org) 

Answer 3

Hi Elaine

There are two of us here who are interested to help. We have been doing family research for more than 20 years and are experienced, but would be novices on this project. Let us know how we can help.

Jay Holloway

Comments

Great, I just sent you a private message.

Answer 4

Another source to work with: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categorie:Stolpersteine_in_Nederland

I'll start with people who lived in Goeree-Overflakkee, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands.

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lijst_van_Stolpersteine_in_Goeree-Overflakkee

Comments

Thanks Elsa! And maybe you know, but for anyone else, here is the Wikitree stolpersteine category. Category: Stolpersteine  Dividing it by country would be good, I'll try to do that later this week.

Answer 5

I like to help using Joods Monument and wil start with people from region Utrecht.

Comments

Perfect, thank you!

Answer 6

Can Auschwitz survivors be included in this Project?

I know this person's mother died at Auschwitz, or Birkenau and she the daughter survived.

I really don't have much other Info, though I do have her the survivor's 2007 obituary.

Comments

Hi M. - The Holocaust Project covers victims & survivors, just use the Prisoners instead of Victims category, and add Holocaust Survivor category. Here they are: Category: Auschwitz - Birkenau Concentration Camp Prisoners and Category: Holocaust Survivors

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Thanks Elaine, how would I research her?  I know nothing about European or Hungarian records.

All I know is her name and approximate date of birth, until I found her obituary after seeing this post, all I knew was her married name, and that she was a Hungarian Jew.

She was our 'cleaning lady' from about 1971 until some time later.

On occasions she would babysit for the family and when I was about 16 she explained the tattoo on her arm. After I went away to university I had no further contact with her.

My mother may have known more, but my mother died in 2016.

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For Holocaust specific information, you could search using her name (and any other information you have) on Yad Vashem: Names (yadvashem.org)  

You could also search on Jewishgen.org. Depending on where she lived in Hungary, she might have been recorded in the 1930 Czech census of or the 1941 Slovak list. A very basic search does not require paying.

If you have an Ancestry subscription, searching there will bring up some of the information that was transcribed by Jewishgen.org . 

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I don't know where she lived in Hungary. All I know is that she survived, That a brother one of many siblings also survived, I believe that both her parents died at  Auschwitz/ Birkenau.

When she explained the tattoo on her arm, she told the story of how/ why she survived.

She said  I was in a queue with many people, a man told me to go to the left?  column/line up, after he moved on then a lady pulled me into the other line up and said 'stay here with me"

How do I find information for survivors?

Answer 7

I was told by a cousin by adoption that my adopted mom's family lost people in the event so I would like to verify that. However I don't read Polish and family history was a taboo topic in my adopted family. So was the Shoah.

Comments

Sent you a PM, thanks Bonnie!

Answer 8

I am new to this but would like to help. Could I work from the Google spreadsheets to see how I go on. Do I work down the list of names or do I just select a name.

Comments

Either way is good! I see you added one, great! I'm moving the B's back to where they were, but of course your name & your Alfred Berger link will stay as-is. I'll wait a few minutes and then do a few edits on your profile so you can copy for the future. Thank you so much!!

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Thank you I appreciate all the help I can get; I want what I do to be right without errors and in the correct format required. I am a quick learner

Answer 9

Hello,

I’d be happy to help with this project. Where do I start? This is my first time chipping in on a project.

Comments

Thank you Kim! I sent you a PM.

Answer 10

I want to join the Holocaust Project - Auschwitz 2025. I am most interested in German, Austrian, and Polish victims - all places of residence, every family name.

Comments

Great, so glad to have you!

Answer 11

I would love to help!  Thank you!

Comments

Great, Elise! Let me know if you need help getting started.

Answer 12

I'd love to help! I'll start with working on those who were born in Leeuwarden, Friesland

Comments

Thank you, Jayme!

Answer 13

I will try to contribute to this project when I can. I've been really busy with work lately, and can't commit much time, but believe in the cause.

Comments

No problem, any help at all is much appreciated!

Answer 14

I am starting with the documents in https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/archive/1-1-8-3_01010803-oS-, personal documents from Flossenbürg, with a high quantity of former or later prisoners of Auschwitz

Comments

Great, thank you Lukas.

Answer 15

L.S.,

I am new to this project. I copied a book "Joodse families in Gouda", 1750-1950 in the Groene Hart Archives. It contains not only the family lineage, but also the decease dates. Not only Auschwitz, in Polish Oswiscem but also Sobibor. What is your preference, I am not used to spreadsheets but can make up a document.

I will give you an example:

AUSCHWITZ-OSWISCEM

23-Edith Rosie Beek, * Oss, 21 Apr 1934, d. 19 Nov 1943. Dr Arnold Beek x Clara Betsy de Jong

23, refers to the number in the archives book,  * born,  d=date of deceased, dr=daughter, s=son, x between names means married to.

Awaiting your reply,

Jan [mr] Achterberg

Answer 16

Hi there, I am new to this. I have a copied book, from the Gouda Archives called "Joodse families, ca.1750-1950".

It also contains the deceased dates in Auschwitz and Sobibor. I am not familiar with spreadsheets, but can make up a document. Alternatively, if someone is interested, I can email the 157 pages. Here a proposed example

AUSCHWITZ

23-Edith Rosey Beek, * Oss, 21 Apr 1934, d. 19 Nov 1943. dr Arnold Beek x Betsy Clara de Jong

23 refers to the number in that book.

* place of birth and date

d=died,  dr=daughter, s=son. x between names, married to.

Awaiting your reply,

Jan Achterberg.

Comments

Hi Jan - sounds great, I sent you a PM.

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Reply just posted.

Jan

Answer 17

I'd be more than happy to help! I have never been part of a project before, but I will do my best! I don't want to over commit myself, just in case, so can I start with the names from the spreadsheet? And, because I am weird like that, can I start with the name Brychcy and go through Bryzman (lines 3145 to 3188)? My name is Bryanna and I felt a connection with this group. Once I have completed those, I would be more than happy to assist further, as long as my work is up to par for your project!

Let me know if that will work! And thank you for putting together such an amazing project!

Bryanna D.

Comments

Hi Bryanna - that's perfect, thank you. Somehow the B's got moved on the sheet (and I'm going to put it back the way it was, but haven't yet) so your people might end up being on a different line, but it won't be hard to get to them again.

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No worries! I have copied the information into my own spreadsheet so I can keep track of them. I am guessing I need to post my id and the link to the bio for each person in those spots to the right of the names? I have done so already, but I will remove them if that is wrong.

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you are doing it just right, thank you so much!

Answer 18

I will be adding my ancestors/relatives murdered by the Nazis at other extermination camps and also at machine gun massacre sites. Never again!

Comments

Got your message, I'm making that Berezino category for you.

Answer 19

Could someone check this for me to make sure I cited it ok? I’m starting alphabetically USHMM site, and adding those that are not yet on Wikitree. I will be adding a second source, I just want to make sure this is correct first… I’m working on safari from my phone so I can’t use the Bee Preview 

https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Aandagt-22&errcode=saved

Comments

Hi Kim - I made a few edits. Out of all the little things I did, the most important is to add this category: [[Category:Auschwitz - Birkenau Concentration Camp Victims]] because that's main way to find the profiles. I use my phone a lot too, no worries. When you go back to the profile you can add a fuller citation for Yad Vashem, even without Bee Preview.... even just the name and date will be fine.  Thank you so much! I know starting something brand-new is hard.

Answer 20

I am new to this - I have no relatives connected but I am glad to help in any way I can. I cannot think of a better way to answer what we see going on around us.

Comments

Great, glad to have you, let me know if you need help getting started.