The Deportations of Jews Research Project and Digital Database (“Transports to Extinction”) is reconstructing all transports of Jews from every Jewish community carried out by the Nazi regime during the period of the Shoah. The intention is to collect reliable and detailed information about each transport route, the bureaucratic deportation apparatus as well as the socio-economic background of the victims, enabling a comprehensive research of the deportations and their victims. The institute's researchers are using a wide range of documents, including official Nazi documentation, personal accounts of survivors and various studies on deportations carried out since 1945.
![Jews prior to boarding the deportation train in Wiesbaden, Germany, 29 August 1942](https://www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/1046_12.jpg?itok=4e1LXsy4)
![Women and children on a deportation steamship, Thrace, Greece, March 1943](https://www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/91FO1.jpg?itok=8XdUmTPK)
![Jews being loaded onto a deportation truck, Włocławek, Poland](https://www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/4577_402.jpg?itok=jV4MZ_kJ)
The project is focusing on three key features of the deportations:
The dates of the transport, their geographical origins, the actual route of the transports, pick-up points, length of journey and means of transport used throughout the entire process. This information provides an accurate and detailed reconstruction of the event, taking into account various incidents happening along the way.
The second feature studied is the bureaucratic apparatus, which carried out the deportation process in Germany and occupied Europe. This mechanism included officials in Nazi security services such as Adolf Eichmann, but also ordinary local policeman who rounded up Jews. In addition, the project is investigating the degree of collaboration of civil organizations and civil servants such as European rail companies that participated in the process.
The profile of the victims is the third element represented in this project. Use of up-dated deportation lists along with additional demographic data derived from archival sources, enables the researchers to present a socio-economic profile of the victims, as well as that of the Jewish communities on the eve of their destructions.
‘Transports to Extinction’ Database and Online Guide
The results of the research project ‘Transports to Extinction’ are being placed into a digital database, which provides a comprehensive overview of the deportation process as well as detailed information regarding specific transports and a profile of the victims. The database is intended for the use of researchers, relatives of victims who wish to find details regarding the fate of their family members and those wishing to expand their knowledge on the Shoah.
The Online Guide of the Deportations of Jews Research project >>>