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Germany Agrees To Open Nazi Files
Archive describes how the Holocaust was carried out

Wednesday, July 26, 2006 Posted: 0225 GMT (1025 HKT)


Fortified fences surround the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.

QUICKVOTE
Do you believe Germany's decision to open files on the Holocaust to researchers is helpful or possibly harmful?

Helpful 85% 683 votes

Harmful 15% 124 votes

Total: 807 votes


BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- Germany will sign an agreement Wednesday to open to researchers an archive of millions of Nazi files that describe how the Holocaust was carried out, the Foreign Ministry said.

The accord was reached in April by the 11-nation governing body of the International Tracing Service, the arm of the International Committee of the Red Cross that oversees the archive in the German town of Bad Arolsen.

Deputy Foreign Minister Guenter Gloser will formally sign the protocol in the presence of representatives of the other 10 nations at a ceremony in Berlin, the ministry said Monday.

Ambassador William Timken Jr. will sign the agreement on behalf of the United States, the U.S. Embassy said.

The opening respects the "strong interest of current research" in opening the archive, the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "
The signing also underlines the high value that the government places on dealing with the past."

Once signed, the protocol needs to be ratified by all 11 signatory states before the archives can be opened.

Aging Holocaust survivors and victims' families had pressed for the change, arguing that the histories of their loved ones could otherwise be lost.

Germany had said that access to the files by Holocaust researchers would violate its privacy laws, but dropped its objection earlier this year.

Under a 1955 treaty, information is currently only given out to former victims. A third party can only access the archives with the written consent of a former victim.

The service was founded after World War II to trace missing persons. Later, survivors eligible for compensation applied to the archive for documentary evidence of their mistreatment.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/07/25/nazi.files.ap/index.html

[Guri Guy]

Wow. That should put to rest any questions about whether the holocaust was real or not. I say good for them. Should finally give closure.

Speaking of opening books, I would like to see Korea open the books as promised about the Korean collaborators under the Japanese occupation. I am sure it will be proven to be much more widespread then people think.

[dulouz]

The move by Germany will really help the Holocaust movie industy which has been sagging lately.

[Junior]

I can't quite believe that people even question wether the holocaust happened or not.

I'm sure they will go on denying it even after these files are released.

[Ilsanman]

Very few believe it didn't happen.

Many more believe it happened in a much different fashion than is taught in schools.

I am also anxious to see some light shed on the mystery.

[igotthisguitar]