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As a consequence of Nazi persecution, millions of liberated forced laborers, camp prisoners, and others found themselves outside their countries of origin in May 1945. Dealing with these displaced persons (DPs) constituted one of the largest challenges the Allies faced after World War II. Allied aid organizations not only provided care for the DPs while preparing their repatriation or resettlement but also had to search for, and clarify the fate of, those missing. To achieve this goal, the International Tracing Service (ITS) was set up in Arolsen, Germany. This institution, which has recently been renamed the Arolsen Archives, developed into the world's largest repository of documents on Nazi persecution as well as on Allied efforts to manage the DP problem. Most of the holdings have already been digitized. Starting with a description of Allied registration procedures, this paper outlines the development and scope of DP collections held at Arolsen. Special focus is given to casefiles of the International Refugee Organization (IRO) regarding the care and maintenance of DPs living in occupied Germany. The paper discusses how the records can be used to explore pathways of (forced) migration, to research resettlement structures, and to address the issue of DPs' agency.

During the Nazi era, about three million Jews and tens of thousands of Sinti and Roma were deported to ghettos, camps, and extermination centers, where most of them were murdered. In over 20 contributions, scholars from different countries examine the deportations through a variety of perspectives and questions, with a special emphasis on the discussion of historical source material.

Die Entstehung des Nationalismus ist eine der wichtigsten historischen Entwicklungen des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts. Christian Jansen und Henning Borggräfe bieten in diesem Studienbuch einen umfassenden Einstieg in die Nationalismusforschung und die Geschichte des Nationalismus in Europa. Sie diskutieren die Leitbegriffe und Fragestellungen der Nationalismusforschung, stellen die bedeutendsten Nationalismustheorien vor und behandeln ausgewählte Aspekte wie Nationalismus und Aggression, Nationalismus und Religion oder Nation und Geschlecht. Der deutschen, auf Sprache und Abstammung abhebenden Definition der Nation stellen sie das französische Modell der Nation als politischer Wertegemeinschaft, das Schweizer Modell einer Nation als Interessengemeinschaft sowie die konfliktreiche Nationenbildung auf dem Balkan gegenüber.

After World War II, tracing and documenting Nazi victims emerged against the background of millions of missing persons and early compensation proceedings. This was a process in which the Allies, international aid organizations, and survivors themselves took part. New archives, documentation centers and tracing bureaus were founded amid the increasing Cold War divide. They gathered documents on Nazi persecution and structured them in specialized collections to provide information on individual fates and their grave repercussions: the loss of relatives, the search for a new home, physical or mental injuries, existential problems, social support and recognition, but also continued exclusion or discrimination. By doing so, institutions involved in this work were inevitably confronted with contentious issues – such as varying political mandates, neutrality vs. solidarity with those formerly persecuted, data protection vs. public interest, and many more. Over time, tracing bureaus and archives changed methods and policies and even expanded their activities, using historical documents for both research and public remembrance. This is the first publication to explore this multifaceted history of tracing and documenting past and present.

After World War II, tracing and documenting Nazi victims emerged against the background of millions of missing persons and early compensation proceedings. This was a process in which the Allies, international aid organizations, and survivors themselves took part. New archives, documentation centers and tracing bureaus were founded amid the increasing Cold War divide. They gathered documents on Nazi persecution and structured them in specialized collections to provide information on individual fates and their grave repercussions: the loss of relatives, the search for a new home, physical or mental injuries, existential problems, social support and recognition, but also continued exclusion or discrimination. By doing so, institutions involved in this work were inevitably confronted with contentious issues—such as varying political mandates, neutrality vs. solidarity with those formerly persecuted, data protection vs. public interest, and many more. Over time, tracing bureaus and archives changed methods and policies and even expanded their activities, using historical documents for both research and public remembrance. This is the first publication to explore this multifaceted history of tracing and documenting past and present.

Geographische Informationssysteme (GIS) wurden bereits seit den 1960er-Jahren mit der beginnenden Computerisierung der Geographie entwickelt. Ihr Konzept folgt der Idee, Daten bzw. Informationen in ihren Raumbezügen zu organisieren und analysierbar zu machen. Mit der Weiterentwicklung und wachsenden Leistungsfähigkeit digitaler Infrastrukturen sind inzwischen komplexe Datenmodelle, flexiblere Datenformate, neue Formen der Visualisierung sowie umfassende geostatistische Analysen möglich geworden. Zudem sind kartographische Visualisierungen nicht mehr nur statisch, sondern in einem GIS können überdies Veränderungen der Daten im Zeitverlauf dargestellt und untersucht werden. Der Einsatz von GIS ist aus Forschung, Wirtschaft, Verwaltung und medialer Kommunikation kaum noch wegzudenken. Die Produkte der Arbeit mit GIS umgeben uns vielerorts, oft ohne dass wir uns der dahinterliegenden Architekturen und Annahmen bewusst sind. Aktuelle Debatten über die Sammlung zeit- und geocodierter Daten, etwa über Mobiltelefone, um Personengruppen - Konsu­ment*innen, Migrant*innen, Geflüchtete, Bürger*innen - retrospektiv, in Echtzeit oder mit prädiktiven Modellen auf der Grundlage biometrischer und/oder sozialer Daten zu tracken, haben mit Recht Fragen zum Datenschutz und zu ethischen Implikationen dieser Technologien aufgeworfen. Anwendungen GIS-basierter Technologien, etwa bei der Bekämpfung der Covid-19-Pandemie, dem Tracking von Verbreitungs- und Infektionswegen, der Entwicklung von Krisenreaktionsstrategien oder der medialen Kommunikation der Situation scheinen uns zugleich die beträchtlichen Potentiale der raum-/zeitsensiblen Datenanalyse - in Echtzeit - zu vermitteln. Deutlich wird, dass die ethischen, methodischen und epistemologischen Effekte der Verbreitung digitaler Werkzeuge zur Durchdringung wachsender und zunehmend komplexer Datenbestände einer mehrdimensionalen Reflexion bedürfen, die augenblicklich nur mühsam mit der Expansion der technischen Möglichkeiten Schritt hält.

"During the Nazi era, about three million Jews and tens of thousands of Sinti and Roma were deported to ghettos, camps, and extermination centers, where most of them were murdered. Deportations were central to National Socialist persecution and extermination. In over 20 contributions, scholars from different countries examine the deportations through a variety of perspectives and questions, with a special emphasis on the discussion of historical source material. The main geographical focus is on deportations from the German Reich and German-occupied Southeastern Europe."--