IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 854 

Expressing gratitude to all of the member states of the International Commission of the International Tracing Service (ITS) on ratifying the May 

2006 Agreement to amend the 1955 Bonn Accords granting open access 

to vast Holocaust and other World War II related archives located 

in Bad Arolsen, Germany. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 10, 2007 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, and 

Mr. KIRK) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing gratitude to all of the member states of the 

International Commission of the International Tracing 

Service (ITS) on ratifying the May 2006 Agreement 

to amend the 1955 Bonn Accords granting open access 

to vast Holocaust and other World War II related archives located in Bad Arolsen, Germany. 

Whereas for the past 62 years, until their ultimate release on 

November 28, 2007, the International Tracing Service 

(‘‘ITS’’) archives located in Bad Arolsen, Germany remained the largest closed Holocaust-era archives in the 

world; 

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•HRES 854 IH 

Whereas while Holocaust survivors and their descendants 

have had limited access to individual records at Bad 

Arolsen, reports suggest that they faced long delays, incomplete information, and even unresponsiveness; 

Whereas until the archives’ recent release, the materials remained inaccessible to researchers and research institutions; 

Whereas the 1955 Bonn Accords established an International 

Commission of 11 member countries (Belgium, France, 

Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States) 

responsible for overseeing the administration of the ITS 

Holocaust archives which contain 17.5 million individual 

names and 50 million documents; 

Whereas the new International Committee of the Red Cross 

(‘‘ICRC’’) and the Director of the ITS, who is an ICRC 

employee, oversee the daily operations of the ITS and report to the Commission 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 German government has financed its operations; 

Whereas beginning in the late 1990s, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (‘‘Holocaust Museum’’), Holocaust survivor organizations, and others began exerting pressure 

on International Commission members to allow unfettered access to the ITS archives; 

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•HRES 854 IH 

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

upon amendments to the Bonn Accords which would 

grant researchers access to the archives, would allow each 

Commission member country to receive a digitized copy 

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

Whereas the first 3 Commission member States to ratify the 

amendments to the Bonn Accords were the United 

States, Israel, and Poland, all 3 home to hundreds of 

thousands of survivors of Nazi brutality; 

Whereas the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has 

worked to ensure the timely release of the Bad Arolsen 

archives to survivors, researchers, and the public; 

Whereas the United States Department of State engaged in 

diplomatic efforts with other Commission member nations 

to provide open access to the archives; 

Whereas the United States 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 International Tracing Service (‘‘ITS’’) 

who have yet to ratify the May 2006 Amendments to the 

1955 Bonn Accords Treaty, to expedite the ratification 

process to allow for open access to the Holocaust archives 

located at Bad Arolsen, Germany; 

Whereas on May 15, 2007, the International Commission 

voted in favor of a United States proposal to allow a 

transfer of a digital copy of archived materials to any of 

the 11 member States that have adopted the May 2006 

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amendments to the Bonn Accords; thereafter, transfer of 

materials to both the United States Holocaust Memorial 

Museum and Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and 

Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Israel was initiated; 

Whereas while it is not possible to provide meaningful compensation to Holocaust survivors for the pain, suffering 

and loss of life 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 with respect to the release of the materials, time is 

of the essence in order for Holocaust researchers to access the archives while Holocaust survivor 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 to ensure 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, is 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 global anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial 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; 

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1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) commends in the strongest terms all States 

3 that worked to expeditiously ratify the amendments 

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

5 Holocaust Archives located in Bad Arolsen, Ger6 many; 

7 (2) congratulates the dedication, commitment, 

8 and collaborative efforts of the United States Holo9 caust Memorial Museum, the Department of State, 

10 and the International Committee of the Red Cross 

11 to open the archives; 

12 (3) encourages the United States Holocaust 

13 Memorial Museum and the International Committee 

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

15 create appropriate conditions to ensure survivors, 

16 their families, and researchers have direct access to 

17 the archives, and are offered effective assistance in 

18 navigating and interpreting these archives; 

19 (4) remembers and pays tribute to the murder 

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

21 5,000,000 other innocent victims during the Holo22 caust committed by Nazi perpetrators and their col23 laborators; and 

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1 (5) must remain vigilant in combating global 

2 anti-Semitism, intolerance, and bigotry. 

Æ 

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