A Page of Testimony () is a form issued by

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

(יד ושם) that asks for information about a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

victim of

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Over 4.3 million Pages of Testimony have been submitted to Yad Vashem, beginning in the 1950s. Most of these, as well as other forms of documentation of

Holocaust victims Nazi Germany discriminated against and persecuted people on the basis of their race or ethnicity (actual or perceived), religious affiliation, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and, where applicable, mental or physical disabilities. Di ...

, are searchable and viewable online through Yad Vashem's Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names. Pages of Testimony can be submitted online, or downloaded, printed, and mailed to Yad Vashem. Downloadable forms are available in English, Hebrew, Russian, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Hungarian, and Dutch. Though many Pages of Testimony are submitted by relatives of the victims, anyone can submit a Page of Testimony about any victim. Through its Names Recovery Project, Yad Vashem actively solicits help collecting new Pages of Testimony, and provides resources for community outreach. Details provided on Pages of Testimony vary, but can include genealogical, residential, occupational, and wartime information about the victims. Submitters are named and their relationships to the victims, contact information (on the date of submission), and wartime status are sometimes recorded.

Genealogical use

Because of the extensive genealogical information often included on Pages of Testimony, the fact that the submitters were often related to the victims, and the large number of Pages of Testimony that have been collected, the Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names is frequently used by Jewish

genealogists Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

and others searching for ''living'' relatives. As recently as 2006, siblings separated since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

found each other through Page of Testimony research. However, Yad Vashem's purpose in collecting Pages of Testimony is not genealogical, but commemorative. A

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of Profit (economics), profit. The opposite is Commerce, commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on bu ...

website unaffiliated with Yad Vashem, ShoahConnect.org, facilitates such Page of Testimony research by enabling email addresses to be associated with Pages of Testimony, and matching people associated with the same Pages.

References

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External links

Page of Testimony from American Society Yad VashemThe Shoah Victims' Names Recovery Project
at Yad Vashem website Holocaust historiography Legal documents Civil registration and vital statistics Yad Vashem Jewish genealogy