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~ Limitations of the sources

What are the limitations of the sources?


Most of the register lists used for the Monument were drawn up at the beginning of 1941, but some date from 1942 or later. This means that there is a gap between 10 May 1940 and the start of registration in the spring of 1941 – sometimes even stretching to 1942 or later. Anyone who died in this period and for whom no obituary was published in the Nieuw Israëlietisch Weekblad or Het Joodsche Weekblad may not be included in the Monument. According to the definition used for the Monument, these people are considered to be victims of persecution arising from the German occupation. Visitors to the website are invited to let us know about any such omissions.

Dates of death

The places and dates of death listed in the Monument derive from In Memoriam. These in turn are based on the Red Cross records. In many cases the Red Cross was unable to establish the exact date of death and entered an assumed or estimated date, often the last day of the month in which someone was known to have been alive. In addition, the Red Cross recorded 10 May 1945, the day on which the survivors were registered, as the date of death for all prisoners who died in Camp Mauthausen between 29 April and 10 May 1945.
More accurate dates of death are now known for some of the Jews deported from the Netherlands to Auschwitz, based on the recently rediscovered and published Death books of Auschwitz / Sterbebücher von Auschwitz (Munich, New Providence, London, Paris 1995), 3 vols.

Possible survivors

Finally, a word should be added about ‘missing persons’. These are people of whom the Red Cross was unable to establish with certainty whether they survived the war or not. Erring on the side of caution, the Monument has proceeded on the assumption that they did survive. Their details have been anonymized or omitted altogether. If they belonged to a family, the family page states that doubts exist regarding one or more members of the family listed as survivors. As soon as fresh information is found, such notes will be modified accordingly.