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NAZI-ERA TERMINOLOGY/ALTERNATE SEARCH TERMS The Third Reich often used euphemistic terms to describe aspects of the Holocaust. In addition, alternate terms were often used to describe the same phenomenon. ITS sometimes transferred such language into the inventory as collections were registered, so familiarity with the euphemisms and alternate terminology characteristic of the Nazi regime may help users locate files they are seeking. For example, "to resettle" may mean to deport or even to kill, while searching "Aryaniz*" will deliver search results regarding the confiscation of Jewish property. A list of some frequently encountered euphemisms and alternate search terms appears below. Aryanization (e.g., arisierter Firmen): process whereby Jewish businesses, property, and positions were transferred into Aryan hands Ancestry Heritage Program (Ahnenerbe): a Nazi study group dedicated to researching the history of the Aryan race Death Head's Unit (division Totenkopf): SS concentration camp guard unit disinfection chamber (Entwesungskammer, Desinfektion, Entlausungsanstalt): sometimes used to refer to a gas chamber ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche): German-speaking minority in a country outside Germany evacuation (Evakuierung, Deportierung): deportation "Final Solution" (Endlösung): systematic destruction of European Jewry gas vans (Gaswagen): mobile gas chambers (sealed vans in which victims were gassed) Germanized children (Eindeutschungskinder): children deemed suitable for Germanization (possessing so-called Aryan racial characteristics) inmates (Insassen): prisoners "Jewish Question" (Judenfrage): pertains to issues of persecution, stripping Jewish citizens of rights, and genocide "Night and Fog" (Nacht und Nebel): German policy of arrest and deportation of anyone suspected of resistance, in which arrested persons could not contact family members and disappeared into the "night and fog" resettlement (Umsiedlung, Aussiedlung): deportation personnel files/cards/dossiers (Personalakten): most often refers to forced/slave labor files preventive crime fighting/measures (vorbeugende Verbrechensbekämpfung): arrest of persons without any legal limits or judicial review preventive detention (Vorbeugungshaft): holding of persons without legal limits or judicial review protective custody (Schutzhaft): arrest special detachment (Sonderkommando): camp work units forced to help with the killing process (such as disposing of corpses) special treatment (Sonderbehandlung): execution work camp (Arbeitslager): slave labor camp For additional Nazi terminology, users should consult: Robert Michael and Karin Doerr, Nazi-Deutsch/Nazi German: An English Lexicon of the Language of the Third Reich (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002). |
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German Abbreviations Nazi-Era Terminology/Alternate Search Terms Frequently Appearing Topics and Themes Selected Source Institutions (with English translations) |