III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 404 

Congratulating all member states of the International Commission for the 

International Tracing Service (ITS) on ratifying the May 2006 protocol 

granting open access to a vast archives on the Holocaust and other 

World War II materials, located at Bad Arolsen, Germany. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 13, 2007 

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself and Mr. NELSON of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Congratulating all member states of the International Commission for the International Tracing Service (ITS) on 

ratifying the May 2006 protocol granting open access 

to a vast archives on the Holocaust and other World 

War II materials, located at Bad Arolsen, Germany. 

Whereas, for the past 62 years, until November 28, 2007, the 

International Tracing Service (ITS) archives located in 

Bad Arolsen, Germany remained the largest closed Holocaust-era archives in the world; 

Whereas, while Holocaust survivors and their descendants 

have had limited access to individual records, reports suggest that they faced long delays, incomplete information, 


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•SRES 404 IS 

and even unresponsiveness when they tried to access the 

materials in the archives; 

Whereas the 1955 Bonn Accords established the International Commission (on which 11 member nations sit: 

Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom, 

and the United States) responsible for overseeing the administration of the ITS Holocaust archives, which includes 17,500,000 individual names and 50,000,000 documents; 

Whereas, until ITC received the ratification of the 2006 

amendments to the Bonn Accords from the last remaining member nation on November 28, 2007, the materials 

remained inaccessible to researchers and research institutions; 

Whereas the International Committee of the Red Cross 

(ICRC) and the Director of the ITS, who is an ICRC employee, oversee the day-to-day operations of the ITS and 

report to the International Commission for the ITS at its 

annual meetings; 

Whereas the new International Committee of the Red Cross 

leadership at the ITS should be commended for their 

commitment to providing expedited and comprehensive 

responses to Holocaust survivor requests for information, 

and for their efforts to complete the digitization of all archives as soon as possible; 

Whereas, since the inception of the ITS, the Government of 

Germany has financed its operations; 

Whereas, beginning in the late 1990s, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Holocaust Museum), Holocaust survivor organizations, and others began exerting 


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pressure on International Commission members to allow 

unfettered access to the ITS archives; 

Whereas, following years of delay, in May 2006 in Luxembourg the International Commission of the ITS agreed 

upon amendments to the Bonn Accords which would 

grant researchers access to the archives and would allow 

each Commission member country to receive a digitized 

copy of the archives and make them available to researchers, consistent with their own country’s respective archival and privacy laws and practices; 

Whereas the first 3 Commission member states to ratify the 

amendments were the United States, Israel, and Poland, 

all 3 of which are home to hundreds of thousands of survivors of Nazi brutality; 

Whereas the Holocaust Museum has worked assiduously for 

years to ensure the timely release of the archives to survivors and the public; 

Whereas the Department of State has been engaged in diplomatic efforts with other Commission member nations to 

provide open access to the archives; 

Whereas the House of Representatives unanimously passed 

H. Res. 240 on April 25, 2007, and the United States 

Senate passed S. Res. 141 on May 1, 2007, urging all 

member countries of the International Commission of the 

ITS who have yet to ratify the May 2006 amendments 

to the 1955 Bonn Accords to expedite the ratification 

process, to allow for open access to the archives; 

Whereas, on May 15, 2007, the International Commission 

voted in favor of a United States proposal to allow immediate transfer of a digital copy of archived materials to 

any of the 11 member states that have adopted the May 


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2006 amendments to the Bonn Accords, and thereafter, 

transfer of materials to both the Holocaust Museum and 

to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Israel, was initiated; 

Whereas, while it is not possible to fully compensate Holocaust survivors for the pain, suffering, and loss of loved 

ones they have experienced, it is a moral and justifiable 

imperative for Holocaust survivors and their families to 

be offered expedited open access to these archives; 

Whereas time is of the essence in order for Holocaust researchers to access the archives while eyewitnesses to the 

horrific atrocities of Nazi Germany are still alive; 

Whereas opening the historic record is a vital contribution to 

the world’s collective memory and understanding of the 

Holocaust and ensures that unchecked anti-Semitism and 

complete disrespect for the value of human life—including the crimes committed against non-Jewish victims— 

which made such horrors possible are never again permitted to take hold; 

Whereas, despite overwhelming international recognition of 

the unconscionable horrors of the Holocaust and its devastating impact on world Jewry, there has been a sharp 

increase in anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial across 

the globe in recent years; and 

Whereas it is critical that the international community continue to heed the lessons of the Holocaust, one of the 

darkest periods in the history of humankind, and take 

immediate and decisive measures to combat the scourge 

of anti-Semitism: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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1 (1) commends in the strongest terms all nations 

2 that worked expeditiously to ratify the amendments 

3 to the Bonn Accords to allow for open access to the 

4 Holocaust Archives located at Bad Arolsen, Ger5 many; 

6 (2) congratulates the dedication, commitment, 

7 and collaborative efforts of the United States Holo8 caust Memorial Museum, the Department of State, 

9 and the International Committee of the Red Cross 

10 to open the archives; 

11 (3) encourages the United States Holocaust 

12 Memorial Museum and the International Committee 

13 of the Red Cross to act with all possible urgency to 

14 create appropriate conditions to ensure that sur15 vivors, their families, and researchers have direct ac16 cess to the archives and are offered effective assist17 ance in navigating and interpreting these archives; 

18 (4) remembers and pays tribute to the murder 

19 of 6,000,000 innocent Jews and more than 

20 5,000,000 other innocent victims during the Holo21 caust by Nazi perpetrators and their collaborators; 

22 and 

23 (5) must remain vigilant in combating global 

24 anti-Semitism, intolerance, and bigotry. 

Æ 


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