The Holocaust (Shoah) Deportation Database offers multiple search options, including global, geographic, and time based searches:
The first search option facilitates a search for transports according to country. The second option offers a search based on the points of origin and destination. The third option locates transports which occurred at a certain time. In addition, it is also possible to conduct an individual search, based on given and family names of Jews on the various transports. All these search options can be used simultaneously to offer the most specific results give the highest resolution. It is also possible to conduct a global search, using free text.
The detailed account of each individual transport includes an outline of the events leading up to the deportation of Jews. It is possible to trace the various waves of deportations, with their specific historical context and factors. The project faces a number of methodological problems, among them the issue of determining the exact number of deportees. In some cases, one encounters different lists of deportees that were compiled by various Nazi agencies, or the local Jewish community, for a specific transport. Thus, it is impossible to reach a conclusive number.
Whilst the exact route can be traced for numerous transports, in other cases information is lacking. In such instances, the route is a suggested reconstruction and may not always reflect the exact historical route.
The search results include information from different databases in various languages. Thus, the spelling of the names of places and individuals may vary according to the language of the original data.
The site also provides various aids, such as maps, photographs, testimonies, videos, and literary references, regarding specific transports or explanations as well as general research concerning the period under discussion. The maps shown are reconstructions of routes and may not reflect the exact historical route that a transport took. Links are provided to bibliographical details in the Yad Vashem library, files in the Yad Vashem archives, and other archives. The site is also linked to the Shoah Names Database created by Yad Vashem. These links provide researchers and the general public with access to scanned original document (where permitted), broader information, and additional documents.
Naturally, the information provided here depends on the standard of the original. The quality is not always uniform.
The Deportations database project is a dynamic project which aims to present a detailed account of each individual transport based on the archival information currently available. It is reasonable to assume that if and when other archival material is located and made available, the descriptions of the transports may be subject to change.