German newspaper Der Zeit has released a search tool allowing people to find out if their ancestors were Nazis.
The online search tool was released last week. Prior to this, one needed to submit an official inquiry to the German Federal Archives or the US National Archives to find out such information. The latter holds microfilm copies of Nazi (NSDAP) membership files.
Der Zeit, however, successfully obtained the complete data set, processed it, and statistically evaluated it. Initially, around 4.5 million index cards from the Nazi era could be searched, but fine-tuning means that a further 8.2 million documents are now available.
The membership index is divided into two collections: the central card index, which has 4.5 million members, searchable by name; and Gaukartei (regional card index), which has 8.2 million members, searchable by name.
The search engine leads you to individual membership cards in both the central file and the regional file. Multiple cards may appear for one name, so to correctly identify the individual, one must also have the exact date and place of birth.
Not all Nazi members can be found
It is worth noting that not all Nazi members can be found because some documents were destroyed. Between 1925 and 1945, 10.2 million Germans joined the Nazi Party, all of whose membership was recorded. Shortly before the end of the war, the Nazi leadership had all the index cards – an estimated 50 tons of paper – brought to a paper mill in Munich to be destroyed, but the miller there did not complete the destruction. After the war ended, the Americans secured the documents and brought them to the Berlin Document Center.
An estimated 44% of the central card index and 77% of the regional card index were preserved. According to the Zeit, the former still contains around 4.5 million names, the latter 8.2 million. Nazi researcher and expert Jürgen Falter told the Zeit that 90% of all former Nazi members can be found in both holdings. Information on 1 million members has been lost.
Soon after the publication of the search engine, users took to social media to share their discoveries of Nazi ancestors.
On the Reddit genealogy thread, one user shared their shock at discovering their grandad’s name in there. He joined the party at 18.
The user shared that their grandfather died a long time ago, and no one in the family ever knew.
Other users began commenting on similar discoveries. One said discovering their great-great grandparents on the list was “an awful thing to learn and sit with” but also “reinforces how easily fascism is normalized and makes me vigilant for it and wanting to work harder to fight it.”
“I found a doctor, a distant cousin of my grandmother who was in the Nazi Party, very far Right and presumably was involved in their medical crimes as he ran a sanatorium,” said another. “Even that was enough to make me completely sick to my stomach. Lots of complex feelings there.”
For those searching for information on former members of the Wehrmacht, as well as membership in the SS, SA, the Todt Organization, and other Nazi organizations, it can be obtained from the Federal Archives on request.
Information on individuals tried for Nazi crimes can be searched in the database of the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich.
And those who wish to research victims of Nazi persecution can do so on the Arolsen Archives, the most comprehensive archive on the victims and survivors of National Socialism.