Methodology

Methodology basics for Holocaust Mapping project

This is a living and editable document that cannot account for all possible circumstances. What follows is a basic methodology intended to guide research assistants in doing research and entering data.

For a given camp:

1. Identify through archival research the likely location of the camp. a. Useful archival resources include, but are not limited to: USHMM camp encyclopedia volumes, contemporary (1930s and 40s) aerial imagery, local newspapers. Searching for “[NAME] camp” in the target language (e.g., “Gliwice oboz” for Gleiwitz camp in Polish returns useful material published only in Polish). Many original plans are still available, especially for better-researched camps. These are invaluable. b. Location sighting aids can include street names/addresses, references to modern buildings (often, camps were supplanted by factories or turned into identifiable industrial zones) c. If unsure of location and no geographic hints are given, following railroads and looking for geographical anomalies on modern satellite imagery (e.g., Vaivara camp may be situated along the railroad running E-W through the town, at the site of the field with anomalous mounds of rubble formed of large stones).

2. Once some information around a camp location has been gathered, verify its location. a. This is generally done using Google Street View, associated photos/imagery, and satellite imagery. b. Knowledge of signature architectural elements that remain despite later construction (often walls and fence posts, though buildings themselves are often reused) will help immensely. Archival imagery can help find these parallels. c. Monument locations, if a monument was erected, can also be helpful; in many cases, they are near their associated camp sites. d. If the area has no identifying features to allow verification, one’s best guess is fine, but note this in the notes field of the pin itself (see step 3). *Always note your justifications for the choices you make, and cite your sources when you locate a camp!* e. Often construction occupies the same or similar footprint as the earlier camp buildings; parallels should not be surprising.

3. Place pin and add all relevant info (all data/info uncovered during research: people, events, what the prisoners were working on, any surprises, etc.) to the respective fields.

4. As you do research, you may see things that appear to be related to camps in a different location. These may be signature architectural elements in a place other than where a camp should be, based on sources, or a monument in a random location, or a suspicious-looking railway. Refer to the Anomaly Map and add these anomalies, providing notes: what it is, your speculations, and your justification for adding the point (e.g. “same fence posts used in Auschwitz subcamps, potentially relocated or manufactured after the war?”).

5. Once you have placed your pin (see point 3), refer back to the Anomaly Map (see point 4) and see if any pins are around the area of the camp you have identified. If any pins exist that are explained by the pin you’ve placed and the research you’ve done, ((what to do—mark as completed, remove, something else?))

Rules: 1. No camps unsupported by clear citations, to a website, to text, to images—regardless of the source type, at least one source is needed for every camp.

2. EHRI, the Holocaust Geographies Collaborative, and any other mapping project will not be used as evidence for this project. Data sources must consist of clearly supported textual evidence.

Mapping Concentration Camp sites

1. Methodology for research:

Three stages: Pre-research, field research, and the work afterwards. This largely applies to sites with unlimited access, where unfettered survey is possible (e.g., Gunskirchen).

Pre-research

If available, make map overlay placing historical imagery (aerial photography, contemporary [wartime] maps, etc) on a modern map. Get an orientation for when you’re in the field. This map overlay will also help with interpretation of features seen in the field after field research has concluded. Know before you go: borders of survey area, locations of known camp features relative to current geography and to other camp features (e.g., Building 1 60 m SW of road, 20m E of Building 2). This will help orient you on the ground and give you an idea of what to look at.

Field research

Walk the site. Many sites will be too large to intensively survey, so pick notable features on the terrain (this can be done in the field, and looking at the historical imagery may also help you plan specific areas to check). Features include: Raised grass or earth relative to the surroundings, especially if they form parallel lines or right angles; piles or mounds of dirt, brick, or building materials; exposed concrete foundations; artifacts in the open: look for leather and metal especially. Fallen trees can unearth artifacts. This is important as UNLESS GIVEN OFFICIAL PERMISSION IN WRITING, DO NOT DIG, MOVE, OR TAKE ANYTHING FROM THE SITE. For outlines of buildings (concrete foundations and raised earth in suspicious shapes [parallel or perpendicular]), record GPS points of the corners, along with photos of the feature to correlate with these points later. Take notes about what you’re doing, why you recorded the points, etc. In the photo, it can help to include some system to identify specific photos. In archaeology we typically use photo plates where numbers and letters can be affixed. A plate for a feature at a site might read “May 5 2024 / Gunskirchen 2B,” and in your notes/recording, you’ve got a section that says “Photo 2B is a suspicious piece of raised earth at a 90º angle.”

Afterwards

Record everything in a digital form. Write a report of everything you’ve seen and include all pictures along with captions. Plot your GPS points on a map and use the historical overlay you made (if possible) to learn more about what the feature(s) at those points might have been. Include this in the report, along with the locations of the points (both as text and in map form, if possible).

• Objectives

• very far future: full 3D re-creations of current conditions (photograph, scan, etc)