Change of plans again – canceled my flight to Amsterdam…..with good reason though.

As part of our trip to Washington for the interview, we had some extra time and stopped by one of the archives and discovered a treasure trove of new Nazi documents!  I was just trying to maximize my time while in DC, but looking back I am very – very – happy that we found this magnificent source for our investigation before boarding the plane to Amsterdam.

We scrolled through thousands of microfilm images containing detailed personal information, a result of the Nazi’s keeping such precise records. These are very specific documents about the employees of the Nazi regime; documents that tell us which person was working where and what his or her duties were.  But there was more….letters from employees describing their life, youth, background, political ideas, and education. I now realize this will be such an important resource for our investigation. It might be the basis for insight into Nazi strategies, contacts and perhaps….. but now I am jumping ahead…. leads to Nazi informants!

I had to let all this sink in for a bit, but today, when briefing the rest of the team about our trip, I decided it might be better to keep enough team members in the US to tackle this gigantic archive. Together with MB, I will finish this task before I head back to Amsterdam.