Evaluating the Use of Gazetteer Data for Locating Former Concentration Camp Subcamps

Abstract

How can researchers use available gazetteer data to determine and assess the locations of former Nazi concentration camps and their subcamps? Often these places are known only by the names of the towns, villages, or areas of cities where the subcamps were (possibly) located. In this paper, we consider the challenges of using digital gazetteer data to help identify the actual locations of the camps. We assess the accuracy of the locations we can establish, comparing these to the locations of the subcamps available from the Buchenwald Memorial Foundation. Researchers can exploit gazetteer location data using GIS or online mapping tools. Using publicly available GIS methods and various geo-statistical techniques, we compare place names associated with concentration camp subcamps with historical and contemporary digital gazetteer information. The results suggest that gazetteer data can help to map larger areas, but are often ill-suited for precise identification of sites of remembrance. This lack of certainty points to the need for further information and to the complexities of reliably establishing locations using geographic information from geomedia.