The Russian Side presented information on two American MIAs from a list of 39, and pledged to continue the search for information on the remaining 37 individuals. The U.S. Side then passed Holocaust Death Certificates for 89 Soviet citizens who perished in the camp at Buchenwald. Dr. Connell then introduced a discussion relative to dealing with public inquiries from relatives of individuals who went missing during WWII and the chaotic post-war period.
Privacy laws make searches other than in telephone directory databases very difficult.
The passage of fifty years, the fact that DPs often simplified their last names to conform with the host country, and their efforts to erase the paper trail of their origins and experiences, make the problem even more difficult. All agreed that the Commission should do what it can to assist these relatives and experience in answering these requests should be shared. At some point there should be a methodology worked out to address this all too human problem. Since many DPs came to America from third countries via Canada, Mr. McReynolds noted that records in the National Archives from INS entry points along the Canadian border might yield some information. Such records are not computerized and research would be very tedious, especially to look for a single individual.