The archive collects written records, memoirs, photos and other media on the history of the Concentration Camps at Osthofen, Hinzert and the history of the Nazi era in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Documentation of the former Osthofen and Hinzert concentration camps
The written records on the former concentration camps Osthofen and Hinzert are largely destroyed or scattered among various German and, in the case of Hinzert, international archives. Creating replacement documentation by collecting documents on the history of both concentration camps has been a main focus of the Rhineland-Palatinate Center for National Socialist Documentation.
Therefore, since 1996 copies from foreign archives, photographs, eyewitness reports (including written records, audio and video recordings as well as diaries) have been systematically collected, recorded and archived by the Documentation Center.
The collected documents originate mostly from the Nazi Era of 1933-1945 and to a lesser degree from the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) or the immediate postwar-period.
Documentation of the Nazi Era in Rhineland-Palatinate
With the financial and staffing resources available, documentation of the Nazi Era can only be done in a selective fashion. Each year the Documentation Center decides on one or two main subjects. These subjects normally highlight anniversaries, focus on a region of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate or deal with a subject of particular public interest.
In relation to these subjects the Documentation Center holds a variety of lectures, workshops, study days and exhibitions. It also offers guided tours and provides teaching material as well as other publications.
The Documentation Center has compiled databases of:
