Discover history digitally with a smartphone app
The non-profit association dieKunstBauStelle e.V. has developed an app that maps thousands of places where Nazis committed crimes between 1933 and 1945. Many of them took place not only in well-known places like concentration camps, but also in homes, in public places, right next door. And many are forgotten today. The app is a low-threshold information tool, with which public history projects can be initiated and research into the history of National Socialism can be supported and made visible.
What can you expect?
We introduce the project and how the app works. We explain how local partner organizations can participate. And of course we will answer your questions!
Why an app?
80 years after the end of Worldwar II and in view of the resurgence of right-wing hate speech, new digital accesses to historical facts and information are needed. The NaziCrimesAtlas enables to learn the stories of crimes and victims and brings them out of oblivion. We show you in the demo at the Nürnberg Digital Festival how you can use it and create your own projects with it.
How does it work?
On the Germany map, pins are listed for each crime scene, organized by crime complexes such as pogroms, sick murders, end-phase crimes, etc. For each pin there is a short description of the crime and a file number, so that you can research further in archives further information and backgrounds. Thus, the app serves to educate and as a fact-based basis for the exchange about democracy, for learning from history and against the forgetting of the victims.
Which data are provided?
The NaziCrimesAtlas is based on extensive sources that document crimes and crime scenes in detail. Around 25,000 court files document various crimes and their scenes, including concentration camps, prisons, hospitals, torture cellars and everyday places. In addition to these files, other sources on the Holocaust document the crime scenes of Nazi crimes, including archives such as the Yad Vashem Memorial, the Arolsen Archives and the Central Office in Ludwigsburg.  Through cooperation with existing data collections, the project is continuously expanded and improved.
How can you participate?
The app invites you to participate, because with your support it becomes better and better: Whoever researches at a NS-crime scene and finds well-founded sources, can post this material in the NaziCrimesAtlas - after editorial review by the project team. So join our zoom-call at Nürnberg Digital Festival.