Who Died in the Holocaust? Recovering Names from Official Records

The names of most Holocaust victims from Central and East Europe have remained unknown, but can be retrieved from official records, as illustrated here for the town of Liepaja, Latvia. Drawing on thirteen different sources, the authors have recovered the names and fates of about 7,000 of the ~7,140 Jews once living there. The main source (5,700 names) is a census conducted during August 1941, the second month of the German occupation. Other sources are victims' lists compiled by Yad Vashem and by the Soviet Extraordinary Commission, house books, police and camp records, telephone and business directories, lists of deportees to the USSR, survivor reports, etc. All sources are incomplete and many are error-ridden, but they usually can be reconciled. Coverage of victims from Liepaja thus has increased from ~20% to over 95%. For most victims, accurate data are now available on birth dates and places, prewar and wartime addresses, occupations, etc., permitting analysis of demography, survival patterns, and other trends. The authors' methodology should apply to other countries where detailed residence records were kept.