Goossen on the Digital Release of Millions of Nazi Party Records
Ben Goossen, assistant professor of international history at the Pardee School of Global Studies and author of ‘Chosen Nation: Mennonites and Germany in a Global Era’ (2017), was recently quoted in an article for Anabaptist World titled ‘Nazi files’ online release furthers historical research opportunities,’ covering the U.S. National Archives’ release of nearly 11 million digitized Nazi Party membership records, a major development for scholars studying the Third Reich.
The newly accessible files, now available online, open new possibilities for research into German society under Nazism, including the complex and troubling history of Mennonite engagement with the regime. While these records have existed for decades in physical archives in Washington, D.C., and Berlin, their digitization significantly reduces barriers of time, cost, and travel for researchers worldwide.
Goossen emphasized that the release enables historians to move beyond well-documented cases and pursue broader, comparative research questions. “That said, historians can do a lot of work with these Nazi membership cards,” he noted, pointing to opportunities to examine patterns of party membership among Mennonite leaders and congregants across different regions of Germany. In particular, the records make it easier to assess whether high rates of membership identified in areas such as Danzig were exceptional or part of a wider trend.
More broadly, Goossen underscored the significance of the files for understanding how Nazi ideology spread within religious communities and beyond Germany’s borders. As research continues, the newly digitized materials offer scholars a powerful tool for grappling with difficult historical legacies—helping to illuminate how participation in authoritarian systems can take root within communities often assumed to be insulated from such movements.
The full article can be found here.
Benjamin W. Goossen is Assistant Professor of International History at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. His research and teaching concern European and international history, science and technology studies, and the history of the environment. Read more about Benjamin W. Goossen on his faculty profile.