Mandatory Archival Content Post

Well sure, I could continue to moan about my tooth, which is still bothering me. I have an appointment with the butcher / dentist on Monday morning. So I should be able to get caught up on the TiVO list, as I am not sleeping all that well at night and five days to go before I can get back in the chair.

I could write one of the many posts that I have been thinking about writing, which I will do soon. I think it is fair to say that my postings may become sporadic in 2008, with the arrival of LBA, version 2.0. But for now, I will try and keep up the pace.

This story from CNN caught my eye today. The International Tracing Service, part of the International Red Cross. According to its mission statement, the ITS "serves victims of Nazi persecutions and their families by documenting their fate through the archives it manages." Well they have evidently gotten all the approvals they needed. Eleven countries oversee the archives of the ITS and Greece was the final country to give its approval. (In case you were wondering the other ten countries are: the United States, Britain, Germany, Israel, Poland, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.)

From the CNN article, "the records are unlikely to change the general knowledge of the Holocaust and the Nazi era, probably the most intensely researched 12-year period of the 20th century. But its depth of detail and original documentation will add texture and detail to history's worst genocide, and is likely to fuel a revival of academic interest in the Holocaust.

A few notes in conclusion, recently at work we were discussing books we had to read in high school. "The Diary of Anne Frank" was on most people's list, which was published 60 years ago. It is also noteworthy that Miep Gies celebrated her 98th birthday this year.