The ICRC acts as a neutral intermediary in conflict situations and through the CTA maintains a file, which currently contains 46 million information cards representing soldiers or civilians who may be victims of armed conflict, prisoners of war, or civilian detainees taken prisoner, missing, or displaced during war or internal conflict. It should be noted, however that locating missing people can be a long and arduous task that may take several years. Maintains a file of approximately 46 million names. Tracing and Information Center was created to expand services to the surviving civilian victims of Hitler's Third Reich. An inquirer calls their local Red Cross chapter or station and speaks with a caseworker, who could be a volunteer or paid staff person.
Every effort is made to meet the inquirer in person.
When the Tracing Inquiry is complete, the caseworker will open a case file on the inquirer and forward the tracing forms to the Holocaust and War Victims tracing and Information Center in Baltimore. Upon receipt of the form in Baltimore, the Center workers enter the case information into the computer database. Each case is assigned its own number. The Center's volunteer tracing specialists create a case file for each inquirer. Center volunteers and paid staff leave no stone unturned in their outreach to any possible source of information and view each new case as a fresh challenge.