World Memory Project Update
We want to clarify an important point regarding all documents keyed for the World Memory Project. These records contain details about the experiences of victims and survivors of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution during World War II. Due to contractual restrictions, original images of these documents will not be made available online, even by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, other than temporarily for the purpose of keying. By not placing copies of the original documents online, we are able to index far more collections–and potentially help more people–than would otherwise be possible. For this reason, we respectfully ask that you not share images of documents you’re keying for the World Memory Project online in any way. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you and we’re here to help if you have questions about particular documents or image sets. You can reach us at worldarchivessupport@ancestry.com . Also, please keep in mind that individuals may contact the Museum directly to request a free printed copy of a specific document at resource-center@ushmm.org. The Museum has a team of researchers dedicated to providing free reference services to the public.
This being the case the following sentence from Ancestry on Facebook [today] is at least a tad misleading: “Register to become a contributor and help make more of these records available free online.”
As a contributor who has keyed hundreds of records in the last week, that’s what I thought I was doing.