Holocaust Experts Work To Preserve Wwii-era Items

JERUSALEM (AP) — With survivors dying in growing numbers and their live testimonies soon to be a thing of the past, Holocaust commemoration efforts are increasingly focused around preserving the belongings that contain their stories. Over three days, visiting international experts discussed the ethical and technical challenges of both conserving originals for history's sake while creating a vast digital archive to make them more accessible and user-friendly. In the underground Yad Vashem archive containing stacks upon stacks of original documents, books and microfilm, its director Haim Gertner carefully slipped on a pair of white gloves before sifting through a pile of cracked yellowing pages from a diary rescued from a burning synagogue on Kristallnacht — the notorious Night of Broken Glass in November 1938 when Nazi-incited riots marked the start of a campaign to destroy European Jewry. In addition to rounding up Jews and shipping them to death camps, the Nazis also confiscated their possessions and stole their valuables, leaving little behind. The institute's paper conversion laboratory is often referred to as the "hospital" for fragile documents and items, where they are treated and preserved with an attempt to maintain their original feel. The scanning provides a secure copy in case the original deteriorates and allows the documents to be posted online for those unable to visit the museum.

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