A new German online search engine is helping people to discover if their ancestors were members of the Nazi Party.
Christian Rainer, from Austria, told the BBC he found the name of his grandfather within a few seconds. I found out that he became a member of the Nazi Party around 21st of April 1938, just a few days after the Anschluss, when Adolf Hitler annexed Austria to Germany, he said.
The online tool allows people to search through several million Nazi Party membership cards, the NSDAP-Mitgliederkartei. Rainer noted, He applied to become a member of the NSDAP (Nazi) Party, just five days after it became legal in Austria, highlighting his grandfather's swift alignment with the regime.
This search engine was set up by the German newspaper, Die Zeit, in cooperation with various archives in Germany and the United States. Rainer, who never met his grandfather, expressed surprise at the timing of his grandfather's enrollment: I always knew that he was close to the Nazis, but I was surprised that it only took him five days to join them.
Rainer also stated that knowing this information was important for resurfacing family history, emphasizing finding no relation of his father to the Nazi Party: I was happy I didn't find anyone else from my family, especially not my father.
Die Zeit's spokesperson, Judith Busch, reported that the response to the search engine had been overwhelming, with millions of accesses and numerous shares since its launch earlier in April.
One user reflected on their experience, noting the emotional impact: To have my perspective changed at the age of 71 is a bitter shock. Around 10.2 million Germans were members of the Nazi Party between 1925 and 1945. The membership cards nearly were destroyed at the end of World War II but were salvaged and became crucial in the de-Nazification efforts post-war.
Developers of the search engine aim to shed light on individual stories, emphasizing personal connects to history at a time when lingering ties to the Nazi Party remain relevant in various contexts.
