ICJ - PRESERVATION OF NUREMBURG TRIAL ARCHIVES

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 000825

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KAWC PREL AORC ICJ USUN
SUBJECT: ICJ - PRESERVATION OF NUREMBURG TRIAL ARCHIVES


1. (U) Summary. The Archives of the Nuremburg International
Military Tribunal (NIMT) in the custody of the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) are facing two preservation threats.
First, the obsolete nature of the equipment on which the
proceedings were recorded risks this material becoming
inaccessable. More seriously, the paper documents are in
danger of further deteroriation due to inadequate storage
facilities. These assessments were conveyed in a letter from
the ICJ to the Assistant Secretaty-General of the Office of
Legal Affairs of the United Nations on 10 March 2004. This
letter, copied to the Ambassador and represenatives of the
other four WWII allied powers, requests financing for the
costs of the treatment, restoration and scanning of paper
documents and of the digitalisation of metal discs from the
Archives of the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal.
End Summary.


2. (U) The ICJ letter notes that the preservation of the
paper documents included in the NIMT archives should be
considered a priority. It includes an assessment sent to the
ICJ on April 3, 2003, by the national Archives of the
Netherlands which estimated the cost of restoring and
properly storing the the NIMT paper documents at 168,700
euros. The Dutch assessment concluded that after random
sampling of the archives it was apparent that there are two
reasons for the poor condition of the paper. First, the
quality of the paper is poor and has a tendency to degrade
rapidly. Second, the archive is kept in "closed iron safety
cases" in "office" conditions that include "direct sunlight
and no climate control". As a result, the paper is giving
off emissions and making the "safety" boxes, in fact, a very
unstable place for the documents to be contained. The Dutch
experts assess that 91% of the NICT archive will need proper
long-term conservation treatment, including thorough cleaning
of the documents and removal to a new, more appropriate,
storage facility. The Dutch also propose to digitally scan
the documents so that they would be more easily accessible to
those who would like to view them.


3. (U) The letter includes a second assessment sent by the
Dutch Institute for Images and Sound to the ICJ on 24
February 2004 regarding the digitalization of the information
on the 1,942 metal discs. This assessment concludes that
although the metal discs which contain what we understand to
be the audio recording of the NIMT oral proceedings will
"remain in good condition for the next ten years" the
"contents will soon be inaccessible" due to the fact that
turntables that can be used to play the discs are rare and
are considered "obsolete equipment". The assessment advises
that the discs be transferred to a digital medium "in order
to preserve the contents of these discs for prosperity" The
Dutch Institute for Images and Sound estimates it will take
approximately five years to complete the project at a cost of
Euro 200,000. They have also noted that the Institute will
be opening a new building in 2005 which will include
air-conditioned warehouses that could store the NIMT archives
for a "symbolic price".


4. (U) Embassy requests consideration by the Department of
any funding the USG could contribute to this worthwhile
project. The ICJ letter and attached assessments have been
faxed to L/UNA and S/WCI.
SOBEL