The online archive, completed by the International Tracing Service (ITS) in Bad Arolsen, will share the data with several Holocaust organisations and museums in Poland, the US and Israel.

Head archivist Udo Jost says the documents attest to the "monstrous dimension" of the slave labour program. They include employment records, patient files, insurance documents and registry cards.

The ITS scanned and indexed over 6.7 million documents concerning forced labour during the Nazi regime and immediate post-war period.

"The digitisation serves the protection and conservation of the original documents," said Jost.

"It allows for better access to the documents, whether on location at ITS or at one of our partner organisations," he added.

It is estimated that 12 million people were forced to work for the Nazis or industries that supported Hitler's Third Reich.

www.its-arolsen.org

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