1. What is the Digital Monument to the Jewish Community in the Netherlands?
2. Who is included in the Monument?
3. When I open the website I see a big block of coloured dots. Is it supposed to look like that?
4. How can I search the website?
5. What kind of information can I send to the Monument?
6. How can I submit information to be included in the Monument?
7. Will the corrections and additions I send in be visible on the website right away?
8. Will my privacy be safeguarded if I submit information?
9. Why does the website present the information about survivors in an anonymous form?
10. In certain cases, not all of the children in a particular family are mentioned. Why?
11. Can the staff of the Digital Monument supply any other information about those who died, or about surviving relatives?
12. How can I apply to look at a 'Jokos' file or Liro card?
13. I possess documents or objects dating from the Second World War. What can I do with them?
14. Can I visit the Monument in ‘real life’?
15. I found my visit to the website a very upsetting experience. Is there any professional body I can contact for emotional support?
The Digital Monument is a website set up to preserve the memory of all those who were persecuted as Jews in the Netherlands during the Second World War and who did not survive the Shoah. Each individual has been given his or her own personal page to which photographs, documents and biographical information can be posted. The Monument also helps surviving relatives to explore their roots.
See the section on Objectives on the website.
The Monument includes all Jews who were persecuted during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands and who did not survive the Shoah: that is, all Jews who were deported from the Netherlands and killed between 10 May 1940 and 8 May 1945 as well as those who died on Dutch soil in this period. This includes those who died a natural death.
See also the section on Objectives on the website.
Yes. The home page has been designed to look like a real monument to commemorate all those whose names are included in the Digital Monument. Every coloured dot stands for one person. The colours indicate whether the person was a man (blue) or woman (red), a boy or girl between 6 and 21 years of age (green and yellow, respectively) or a child under 6 years of age (light blue or pink). Clicking a dot opens the personal page of the person concerned. Members of the same family have been placed together. Long lines of bars represent institutions, such as the Joodse Invalide or the Apeldoornse Bos. At the bottom is a wide strip of separate bars. This section contains single persons whose family relationships and addresses are not yet known.
See the section on Introduction on the website.
There are two search options at the bottom of the home page. With the left-hand option, you can search for people who lived in a specific town, such as Amsterdam or Winschoten. If you search in this way, the dot monument will show only the Jewish victims from that specific municipality in colour; the rest of the monument will fade to grey. In the lower right corner of the home page is a general search option. On all the other pages of the Monument, this function appears in the upper right corner. You can input any word here: first or last name, the name of a street, etc. This will take you to a page with a list displaying the results of your search. The result that is closest to your search request will appear at the top of the list. If you want, you can then use the refined search function in the left-hand column of the search results page to specify further details such as name, date or place of birth, precise address or city of residence.
See the section Search on the website.
The Digital Monument invites visitors to the website to send in corrections to any mistakes and to provide any additional information they may have. Surviving relatives and researchers often possess detailed information that can help make the Monument more complete. You too can help. You may have information that would enable a person now listed as single to be linked to his or her family. Or perhaps you know the address where someone lived. Photos and stories are also very welcome. Space has been left for biographical notes on each person and each family. Aside from memories and anecdotes, references to literary sources can also be added to this section.
See the section on Corrections and additions on the website.
Each personal and family page has an option ‘Add information’ towards the upper right corner. Clicking this option opens a screen where you can make your comments. You can also add a photo or a document from your own computer here. Don’t forget to give a valid e-mail address, so that the editors can contact you if necessary. If you would prefer to come to the office with your photos or documents, staff can arrange to scan them for you. Please call the office and make an appointment with a member of the editorial staff.
See the section on Corrections and additions and the section Contact on the website.
To safeguard the website’s reliability, staff check all corrections and additions. The point of these checks is to prevent any abuse of the website. The editors reserve the right to edit the material received. The process of checking and editing takes time. You will be notified by e-mail when your information has been cleared.
See the section News on the website.
The editors treat the personal details of visitors to the website with all due care and keep them confidential. The information that is posted to the website is also governed by Dutch privacy laws. In dealing with this information, staff follow guidelines that were laid down by the Data Protection Authority.
See the sections Privacy and Disclaimer on the website.
This is required by section 16 of the Data Protection Act, which states that information gathered on the basis of one characteristic of a section of the population, e.g. ethnicity, is classified as ‘special personal data’. Information of this kind is governed by particularly stringent rules. The Digital Monument was given permission to mention the victims of the persecution of the Jews on the website, but giving the names of survivors would be against the law.
See the section Privacy on the website.
The Monument was based on so-called ‘register lists’ that were drawn up by order of the occupying forces in February 1941 (or shortly afterwards). These lists record the households living at each address. A child who was no longer living in his or her parental home during this registration process was therefore counted as belonging to a different household. The Digital Monument has adhered to these records. Biographical notes can be added to provide cross-references between a child and his or her parents.
See also the section Application of the data on the website.
All the information that the Digital Monument possesses is published on its website. The editors have no additional information to provide. The Monument can refer you to other organisations, however, that may possibly have more information. Such organisations include the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD), the Red Cross (War Aftercare department), the Netherlands War Graves Association, and the commemoration centres of the former camps at Westerbork, Amersfoort and Vught.
To contact these organisations, go to Links on this website.
Jokos files and Liro cards contain privacy-sensitive information and are therefore not freely accessible to the public. Anyone wishing to inspect a Jokos file should apply to the Joods Maatschappelijk Werk (Jewish Social Work foundation in the Netherlands). You can download the necessary application form here. When it has received your application, Joods Maatschappelijk Werk will invite you to one of its branch offices, where you can consult the file. Liro cards are preserved in the National Archives, The Hague, and this is the institution you should contact if you wish to inspect one or more of them.
If you possess documents or objects relating to Dutch Jews in the Second World War and are willing to part with them, the Jewish Historical Museum would be the ideal place to deposit them. For documents and photos you can contact the Resource Centre (020 - 531 0320), and for objects you can contact the Collections Management Department (020 - 531 0387). The museum has ties with other collections and archives that collect material from the wartime years. If your material does not fit into the Jewish Historical Museum’s collection, the museum will ensure that it is passed on to the right institution.
Visit the website of the Jewish Historical Museum for additional information.
The Monument can only be visited in virtual space. In other words, it is not a physical monument that stands in a specific location. It is a monument that anyone can visit while they are at home or at school, say. The editorial offices are in the Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam. If you want to know more about Jewish culture or about the Second World War, you can visit the Jewish Historical Museum or the Hollandse Schouwburg. Both also have special programmes for schoolchildren.
The Digital Monument collaborates closely with Joods Maatschappelijk Werk, a body that has a lot of experience helping and advising people who suffer distress because of memories of the Second World War and need some support. The staff of this organisation will be happy to talk to you and if necessary to refer you to other bodies for further help. Joods Maatschappelijk Werk has several branches in different parts of the Netherlands.
For other organisations, go to Links on this website.