AI Helps Identify Five Million Holocaust Victims

Researchers at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, have announced that they have successfully identified five million of the over six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, marking a monumental milestone in seven decades of work to recover and preserve the identities of those murdered by the Nazis.

Leveraging cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning, Yad Vashem is now able to analyze hundreds of millions of documents—statements, official records, film footage, cemetery registries, and more—that were previously too vast for researchers to study manually.

While approximately one million victims remain unidentified, AI-powered tools could potentially recover another 250,000 names, giving them a place in history and memorials.

With Holocaust survivors rapidly disappearing, this initiative is more urgent than ever, ensuring that future generations can access detailed records of individual lives, including personal files that recount stories, backgrounds, and experiences.

The Yad Vashem database, available online in six languages, represents a living memorial, combining decades of meticulous research with the power of modern technology to honor the memory of those lost and safeguard historical accuracy.