Nazi letters reveal paper restorers’ role in compiling Holocaust ‘hitlist’

Research by a British historian reveals that paper restorers and bookbinders across Europe were recruited by the Nazis in the 1930s and 40s to aid in identifying individuals of Jewish ancestry. These craftspeople repaired and cleaned historic church and civil records, including registers of births, conversions, baptisms, and marriages. This restoration work made the documents legible, allowing the Nazis to trace lineage and enforce racial registration policies. The restored records contributed to a "hitlist" of individuals targeted during the Holocaust. Documents found in archives, including the German federal archives in Berlin, show the complicity of conservators, restorers, and paper chemists in this process, both within Germany and in occupied countries. The restorers prioritized readability over preservation, employing destructive processes to reveal ancestral information.

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