Honor Their Memory. Trace Their Lives. Reclaim What Was Lost.
The Holocaust was one of the most devastating chapters in human history, one that shattered millions of families across Europe. At Trace, we help descendants of Holocaust victims, survivors, and displaced persons uncover their family’s history before, during, and after World War II.
Through careful research in international archives, survivor registries, and deportation records, our team helps you reconstruct lives, preserve memory, and document connections that may have been lost to war, migration, and genocide.
Mauthausen Holocaust Survivors Cheer the Soldiers After Liberation
Why Holocaust Genealogy Is Unique
Researching Jewish, Romani, or other persecuted families during the Holocaust poses extraordinary challenges. Traditional records were often destroyed, falsified, or never created. Yet a remarkable number of documents have survived—scattered across global repositories, databases, and personal collections.
Holocaust genealogy requires:
Deep knowledge of shifting European borders and place names
Familiarity with wartime record-keeping practices (civil, Nazi, Soviet, Allied)
Language fluency in German, Polish, Russian, Yiddish, Hebrew, and others
Sensitivity to the emotional weight of the material being uncovered
We approach this work with care, humility, and a commitment to accuracy and dignity.
Our Holocaust Genealogy Research Services
We provide comprehensive, client-centered research that may include:
Tracing Jewish families in pre-war Europe (especially Eastern and Central Europe)
Identifying family members murdered in the Holocaust through Yad Vashem, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), and Red Cross archives
Researching survivors' paths through ghettos, concentration camps, or refugee camps
Accessing immigration and displaced persons (DP) records after 1945
Discovering original family names, towns of origin (shtetls), and synagogue affiliations
Navigating restitution archives and property or asset records
Locating descendants of siblings or cousins lost to history
We also assist clients seeking documentation for citizenship restoration (e.g., Germany, Poland, Austria, Lithuania) or Holocaust compensation claims.
Key Archives and Databases We Access
Yad Vashem Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) collections
USC Shoah Foundation collections and oral histories
Arolsen Archives
German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv)
JewishGen and KehilaLinks (Eastern European town-focused records)
Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP)
International Red Cross Tracing Service
Austrian and Czech Jewish archives
Soviet and Polish postwar records of restitution and return
We also work with community memorial books (Yizkor books), cemetery registries, and private donor databases.
What You May Discover
Every family’s Holocaust story is different—but our research often uncovers:
Previously unknown relatives or branches of the family
Names of individuals murdered in camps or ghettos
Pre-war addresses, occupations, or synagogue affiliations
Testimonies or Page of Testimony submissions by surviving relatives
Documentation of name changes, adoption, or hidden identities
Passenger lists and DP camp records for survivors who emigrated post-war
Even when names or dates are incomplete, we use deductive and contextual methods to piece together fragile histories.
Nazi Concentration Camps: A Comprehensive Overview
Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazis established over 1,000 concentration camps, including around 23 principal camps and countless smaller satellite sites. These camps evolved from early political detention centers into centers of forced labor and mass murder—especially after the onset of the Holocaust.
Key Categories of Camps
Early Detention Camps (1933–1934): Camps like Dachau and Oranienburg began as places to imprison political opponents and dissidents under the emerging Nazi regime.
Main Concentration Camps: Prominent camps included Auschwitz (Poland), Buchenwald, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, Flossenbürg, Gross‑Rosen, Herzogenbusch, Hinzert, Kaiserwald, Kraków-Płaszów, Majdanek, Mauthausen-Gusen, Mittelbau-Dora, Natzweiler-Struthof, Neuengamme, Niederhagen, Ravensbrück, Sachsenhausen, Stutthof, Vaivara, Warsaw, and others.
Extermination Camps: These included Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Chełmno, and Auschwitz-Birkenau—some of the deadliest sites in modern history, with hundreds of thousands perishing through gassing and execution.
Subcamps and Satellite Camps: Most main camps had extensive networks of subcamps—Buchenwald had over 170, Dachau over 120, Flossenbürg 94, Neuengamme 96, and Sachsenhausen 44 among them—where prisoners endured forced labor under brutal conditions.
Transit Camps & Labor Sites: Beyond formal camps, the Nazis operated transit hubs (e.g., Drancy, Westerbork) and specialized labor camps (e.g., Mühldorf, Ohrdruf, Ebensee), as well as international sites such as camps in Belgium, France, Italy, and Norway.
Jewish Holocaust Survivors Returning Home From Camp Bergen-Belsen
Why This Matters for Holocaust-Era Genealogy
Names & Locations: Many archives—including NARA, Yad Vashem, and the Arolsen Archives—catalog survivors, victims, and displaced individuals by camp name and service record.
Document Recovery: Prisoner intake lists, transport records, work assignments, medical files, and SS documentation are essential for reconstructing individual life stories.
Legacy & Reclamation: Knowledge of the specific camp tied to your ancestor provides highly targeted paths for further genealogical investigation and personal remembrance.
Major Displaced Persons Camps in Postwar Europe
After the liberation of Europe in 1945, more than 11 million people found themselves displaced—survivors of Nazi camps, forced laborers, refugees, and those fleeing repatriation. To respond, the Allied powers and the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) established a network of Displaced Persons (DP) camps across Germany, Austria, Italy, and beyond. Below are some of the most historically significant DP camps—many of which played a vital role in Holocaust-era genealogy.
📍 Germany (American, British, and French Zones)
Föhrenwald (near Munich): One of the largest Jewish DP camps, it remained open until February 1957, long after most others had closed.
Bergen-Belsen (Lower Saxony, British Zone): Once a concentration camp, it became a major DP center for Jews and Poles, housing over 12,000 residents before closing in 1950.
Zeilsheim (Frankfurt, American Zone): A hub for Jewish survivors, it operated until November 15, 1948.
Feldafing (Upper Bavaria, American Zone): Hosted approximately 4,000 Jews and closed in 1951.
Landsberg (Bavaria, American Zone): Served 6,000 Jewish DPs, closing in 1950.
Wels (Austria/Germany border): Closure in 1959; population records incomplete.
Isselheide (British zone): Known primarily for its Latvian population.
Poppendorf (Schleswig-Holstein, British Zone): Hosted 4,000 Baltic refugees, closing in 1948.
Orlyk (Berchtesgaden): Housed around 2,000 Ukrainian displaced persons.
📍 Austria
Wegscheid (Linz): Populated by Jewish and Polish DPs, closed in 1950.
Ebensee (Gmunden District): Once a Nazi subcamp, it housed 3,000 Jews postwar, closing in 1947.
Kufstein (Tyrol): Housed a mix of various ethnic groups, closing in 1949.
Bad Ischl (Upper Austria): Contained around 1,500 Jews, closing in 1949.
St. Johann im Pongau (UNRRA No. 18, near Salzburg): A former POW camp that became one of the largest DP camps, with an estimated 30,000 residents from diverse backgrounds.
📍 Italy
Santa Maria di Leuca (Puglia): A Jewish DP camp that closed in 1947.
Trani (Bari): Primarily Jewish, also closed in 1947.
Cinecittà (Rome): Housed 2,000 Jewish survivors, closing in 1948.
Rimini (northeastern Italy): Hosted Yugoslavs and Jews, active until 1948.
Grumello (Lombardy): Held various displaced groups, closed in 1948.
📍 The Netherlands
Enschede: Briefly served Jewish displaced persons, closed in 1947.
Why These Camps Matter for Genealogy
Displaced Persons camps created some of the most detailed and emotionally significant records of the postwar period. From birth and marriage registrations to immigration forms, camp rosters, and family tracing documents, these records offer:
Evidence of community life, including schools, synagogues, and cultural groups
Clues for rebuilding family trees interrupted by the Holocaust or war
Today, many of these records are preserved in the Arolsen Archives, Yad Vashem, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), and national immigration repositories.
Preserving Memory, Documenting Truth
Whether your goal is to build a family tree, uncover a missing piece of your past, or document a history for your children and grandchildren, we are here to help. Our research is always handled with the utmost care and discretion.
📬 Contact Us to begin your Holocaust-era genealogy project. We'll start with a conversation—no pressure, no assumptions—just a shared commitment to honoring the past.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you help me find out who in my family perished in the Holocaust?
Yes. We search deportation lists, camp records, and other survivor/victim databases to identify names, places, and fates.
What if I don’t know my family’s original town or name?
We can help reconstruct this information using a variety of sources including emigration papers, oral history clues, border crossing records, and town-specific databases.
Can you help with restitution or citizenship documentation?
Yes, we can assist clients with documentation for German, Polish, Austrian, and other European citizenship by descent programs as well as Holocaust compensation files.
