The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has long been a custodian of countless historical documents, safeguarding the narratives of humanitarian efforts across the globe since 1863. As part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing accessibility and fostering research, we are thrilled to introduce a new online service: a comprehensive, searchable catalogue of our existing inventories. This tool, available on the ICRC historical archives website, marks a significant step towards facilitating access to that part of our historical collections that is open to the public. Specifically, this covers the years 1863 to 1975.  The new service completes the access to our other archives, such as the audio-visual archive, the database on prisoners of the First World War and the general search for people who were victims of a conflict.

Why We Launched the Online Catalogue

Empowering Researchers with Autonomy

Traditionally, the archivist and the historian have been the primary, knowledgeable signposts to our extensive collections. While their expertise is invaluable, we recognize the importance of empowering researchers to take the reins of their own inquiries. With the new online catalogue, researchers can independently browse and select sources, making the search for call numbers more autonomous. This shift not only democratizes access but also fosters a more engaging and efficient research process.

This “cartothèque” was constituted after the Second World War. It is a very interesting research tool to browse fonds covering the forties to the fifties. Still today, only ICRC archivists can access it.

Streamlining the Selection Process

The process of selecting call numbers and communicating with archivists has, until now, been a manual and often cumbersome task. Researchers had to meticulously copy call numbers by hand into the body of an email, a time-consuming and error-prone procedure. Our new online catalogue aims to streamline this process, facilitating smoother and more accurate communication between researchers and archivists. By digitizing this aspect of research, we are reducing the administrative burden on both parties and enhancing the overall efficiency of the archival consultation process.

What the Online Catalogue Offers

A Comprehensive Search Tool

At the heart of our new service is a powerful search tool designed to browse all the various ISAD(G) inventories. This tool enables users to search all the headings of the inventories open to the public, situate each document within the classification plan, and link each reference to its corresponding documentary group. By providing a clear and intuitive interface, the search tool allows for seamless navigation through our extensive public collections.

Different levels of detail in the available information

The catalogue includes detailed indications on existing fonds, listed in chronological order in the introduction. This chronological listing provides researchers with a historical context, helping them understand the temporal relationships between different documents and collections.  We acknowledge that by far not all inventories are complete or do exist in ISAD(G) format. However, we have made a conscious decision to include the root of these references in the tree structure (e.g., B Mis). This approach ensures transparency and provides researchers with a roadmap for future developments. As new inventories are created and older “à la pièce” inventories are integrated into PDF format, these gaps will gradually be filled, further enhancing the comprehensiveness of our catalogue.

Order from a reader working on the C G1 A fonds in February 2025. Estimating the total amount of documents, a searcher has to go through during his time in the archives is a crucial element in the planification of his research.

Improved Coordination and Visibility

Selecting call numbers through the online catalogue not only simplifies the process but also enables better coordination when organizing a consultation. Researchers can now have better visibility on the volumes of documents concerned, leading to more accurate estimates of the work time required. This improved coordination is particularly beneficial for large-scale research projects, where efficient time management is crucial.

What This Means for Researchers

Easier Access to Documentary Collections

The new online catalogue makes it significantly easier for readers to discover which documentary collections are in our holdings and which are not, particularly in the case of National Societies. Here, the catalogue makes it clear that the ICRC’s archives do not hold its holdings, apart from the correspondence it had with the aforementioned institutions. This increased transparency helps researchers avoid dead ends and focus their efforts on the most relevant sources, ultimately saving time and resources.

Promotion of Understudied Collections

Many collections within our archives have remained underexplored due to their lack of easy indexing. The new search tool addresses this issue by providing better promotion of these lesser-known collections. For instance, we have a four-boxes private collection of Renée-Marguerite Frick-Cramer, the first ever female delegate of the ICRC, under the reference P MFC. Although this fonds has been described in its inventory, it has not been studied in a very exhaustive way yet. By making such collections more accessible, we are encouraging new research avenues and shedding light on previously overlooked historical narratives.

Marguerite Frick-Cramer’s journal de voyage is an interesting reference documenting her travel to Japan in 1934, and which has still not been studied in a very exhaustive way. ACICR P MFC-024.

Research Opportunities

In archival research, the claim to exhaustiveness is paramount. Researchers often seek not just individual documents but comprehensive sets of related materials to avoid “source effects” and ensure a holistic understanding of their subject. Our online catalogue supports this approach by allowing users to see which documentary group a specific reference belongs to. For example, when looking for a letter from the Japanese administration about a particular camp, researchers can refine their search by locating additional material that will prove pertinent in drawing an exhaustive picture of the context concerning that camp and others, supporting a thorough and nuanced analysis.

Incentivizing New Research Topics

The enhanced accessibility and transparency of our collections also serve as an incentive for researchers to explore new topics and dig deeper than they have sometimes been able to in the past. Instead of focusing solely on rather generalized themes like “the ICRC and Italy during the Second World War,” researchers can now delve into specific fonds, such as “the fonds of the ICRC’s delegation to Rome,” and explore the 10 boxes concerned. This shift in focus encourages more targeted and innovative research, uncovering new insights and perspectives within our extensive archives.

Conclusion: A New Level of Archival Research

The launch of the online catalogue on the ICRC historical archives website represents a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to make our collections more accessible, transparent, and user-friendly. By empowering researchers with greater autonomy, streamlining the selection process, and promoting underexplored collections, we are opening new avenues for research and discovery. We invite historians, researchers, and other interested experts to explore this new tool and embark on their own journeys through the rich tapestry of our archives.

As we continue to expand and refine our digital offerings, we remain committed to supporting the global research community and preserving the invaluable records of humanitarian history. Together, we can uncover the stories that have shaped our world and ensure that they are remembered for generations to come.

Letter to the Allied authorities concerning parcels sent by Sicilian families to Italian PoWs held in Germany and North Africa. The documentation relating to the mission carried out by P. Kuhne in Palermo in 1944 can be found in a collection that has not yet been studied. ACICR D EUR ITA1.