Hall City Archives Reveal Fates: Project 'Every Name Counts'

Hall City Archives Reveal Fates: Project 'Every Name Counts'

There is exciting news for those interested in history and committed citizens in Halle: Dr. Katja Kosubek, the city historian and head of the Hall city archives, presented a remarkable project to the cultural committee. Under the title “Every Name Counts” (known in English as “Every Name Counts”), an initiative to document the fates of forced laborers is being launched in the Arolsen Archive in Bad Arolsen, northern Hesse. What’s special about it? All collected data has been made digitally available to the public. This opens up a valuable opportunity to keep history alive and preserve the memories of this dark time, reports the Westfalen-Blatt.

The Arolsen Archive has set to work collecting extensive data on forced laborers from Halle and the former Halle district online. This step not only makes it easier to make the stories of those affected easier to understand, but also makes them accessible to a broader public. Many citizens can therefore take an active part in coming to terms with the past and help ensure that no one is forgotten.

Crowdsourcing for the future

The starting signal for this innovative crowdsourcing project was given on January 27, 2020, when Arolsen Archives launched the initiative. In an impressive collaboration, around 1,000 students from 26 schools in Hesse took part in this project. The goal was to make all names on documents in the archive digitally accessible. Open exchange and learning about history could take place not only in the classroom, but also through direct confrontation with original documents. This led the young people to think about the regional connections of the deportees.

As part of the project, all secondary schools in Hesse were contacted. 26 schools reported interest and received material packages that included teaching materials, document packages, as well as posters and postcards. The students were then able to take action on a user-friendly internet platform and enter names that they found on deportation lists from cities such as Kassel, Frankfurt am Main, Darmstadt and Wiesbaden. Their commitment and direct engagement with these issues show how important the culture of remembrance is for a young generation.

Looking into the future

The project will be continued after the successful start. Interested groups of students can contact the organizers directly for further information. It is hoped that many more schools and students will join this important project and thereby contribute a little to education and memorial work in the region.

The “Every Name Counts” initiative is more than just a project: it is a step in the right direction to keep both the painful memories and the stories of forced laborers alive. This not only conveys history, but also sends a strong message against forgetting.