Dozens of Holocaust survivors gathered Monday for a town hall meeting in Florida to voice their anger over the way a set of Holocaust archives is being handled by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The archives in question are coming from Bad Arolsen, Germany, and contain millions of documents that describe Nazi atrocities during the Holocaust. A recently negotiated international agreement, which has yet to go into effect, arranges for 11 countries, including the United States, to gain access to the documents for public use. The Holocaust museum in Washington is receiving the one American copy of the documents. A number of survivor organizations are upset that the museum is not planning to make the documents available online. Museum officials have countered that many legal and technological barriers prevent an Internet-based system from being arranged.

Monday’s town hall meeting, which was sponsored by almost 20 Jewish communal organizations, featured a telephone discussion with staff of the German archives.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Edwin Black, a journalist who has led the reporting on the archives, moderated the meeting. Black said that representatives from the museum were repeatedly asked to participate in the discussion, but they declined.

“They don’t like answering questions from people who can challenge their point of view,” Black told the Forward.

A USHMM representative said that the museum was encouraging survivors to contact it directly.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount