Archaeology of the Holocaust

The archaeology of the Holocaust is the study of material remains linked to the Holocaust.^[1] This research was initiated at Nazi extermination camps in Central Europe, but has since been applied across Europe in locations linked to Nazi atrocities and war crimes,^[2] as well as in locations where Jewish life and culture was affected during World War II.^[3]

Study of the Holocaust is particular within archaeology as it covers an event of the modern period, and began when persons with direct experience of the events studied were still alive. Although Nazi extermination camps were captured and liberated by the Soviet Red Army in 1943-1945 on the Eastern Front of World War II, the full extent of the Holocaust was obscured by attempts to hide and disguise evidence of mass murder.

Judicial investigations linked to the trials for crimes against humanity of Nazis and collaborators studied material evidence of the Holocaust in the 1940s. However these were not performed using archaeological methods and techniques. While some sites linked to the Holocaust and Nazi war crimes have been designated memorials or museums, Caroline Sturdy Colls estimated in 2011 that "the majority [of sites of the Holocaust] have not been examined archaeologically".^[2]

In the late 1980s, archaeological methods were applied at the site of the Chelmno extermination camp by museum curator Pawlicka-Nowak. These studies identified previously unknown human remains of victims which were not cremated during the camp's destruction. These findings led to similar research being performed at other extermination and concentration camps starting in the 1990s, as well as the archaeological study of sites related to Jewish life and culture during World War II.

Study of the Holocaust presents uncommon challenges in archaeology as a recent event with significant historical and judicial record. The erection of memorials or museums without prior archaeological preservation efforts, as well as religious customs, may restrict access to sites of interest and techniques which are considered appropriate to use.^[1][2]

Non-invasive archaeological tools and techniques based on geophysical imaging such as ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography are commonly used to overcome these challenges.^[2][4]

Following a prisoner revolt, the Sobibór extermination camp was destroyed in late 1943^[5]. The first attempt to investigate the site was in the year 2000, led by archaeologist Andrzej Kola. Through manual drilling, structural excavation, and core sampling, Kola identified seven mass graves of varying dimensions and uncovered remains of five other structures. Among these was a large structure labeled “Building E”, which was predicted to serve as a processing area for the undressing of victims and the sorting of their belongings^[6].

In 2007, a new research team led by Isaac Gilead, Yoram Haimi, and Wojciech Mazurek sought to continue Kola’s work. However, they found contradicting results when they uncovered that the site labeled as “Building E” by Kola was not in fact a gas chamber nor undressing barrack, instead an area suggested to contain remains of camp security fences. In 2008, this team employed non-invasive geophysical methods, including aerial photography, ground penetrating radar, and GPS mapping. These methods allowed the researchers to delineate the mass graves and distinguish the extermination camp’s original perimeter from the surrounding forest^[7].

From 2012 until 2020, Mazurek and Haimi, joined by Ivar Schute, conducted more extensive excavations. These explorations led to the discovery of the ‘Schlauch’ (the tube), which was the route which victims were forced to walk to their deaths. Following this path ultimately led to the uncovering of the foundations of the gas chambers, confirming the exact locations and dimensions of the area. Additionally, tens of thousands of artifacts were found, including the personal belongings of Jewish deportees who had arrived at the train station’s unloading platform unaware of the camp’s true purpose^[8].

In the fall of 1943, the Treblinka extermination camp (known as Treblinka II) was dismantled to remove evidence of the camp’s existence^[9]. Although surveys of the area were taken in 1945 and once again in 2000, the first non-invasive archaeological exploration began in 2012 with a team led by Caroline Sturdy Colls^[2]. Such non-invasive approaches included walkover surveys to assess the extent of the site and to record key features observed, documentary surveys, witness testimonies, historic aerial imagery, and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to create topographic maps that revealed the presence of features associated with the former camps, such as earthworks and depressions, which were hidden in the dense woodland^[10]. Through these non-invasive methods, researchers were able to identify the locations of various camp structures and mass graves, which then allowed them to conduct targeted, minimally invasive excavations to locate the remains of the old gas chambers and orange terracotta floor tiles stamped with a Star of David. Such tiles were used in many pre-war Jewish ritual baths (mikveh), supporting witness accounts that the Nazis modeled gas chambers after these Jewish ritual baths as a manner of deception^[10].