Trawniki: Nexus of the Final Solution

This project is funded by the Claims Conference on Material Claims Against Germany 

Project Summary

The “Trawniki men” or “Ukrainian guards”, the so-called “foot soldiers of the Final Solution”, are referred to in almost every survivor testimony and scholarly work about the Holocaust. However, no publication has dedicated more than a few lines to describing the camp in which these men were trained, nor has there been a large-scale exploration of the architectural and material details that the Trawniki men were able to provide about the wide range of camps to which they were deployed. This project will deliver: (1) the first historic, spatial and archaeological analysis of Trawniki, thus highlighting and better defining its function as a nexus of the Final Solution and its broader role in the persecution of the European Jewry; (2) the most comprehensive analysis to date of the various roles that the Trawniki men had during and after the Holocaust (e.g., as accomplices, perpetrators, witnesses and casualties); (3) new insights into the architecture and operations of several camps in which the Trawniki men were housed, thus providing unpublished information about the experiences of the Jewish victims who lived and died there. Unlike any previous studies on the topic, this research will draw upon historical, archival, archaeological and forensic methods to significantly enhance our knowledge of the camp, its inmates, guards and witnesses, and Operation Reinhard and the Holocaust more broadly. Most notably, it will utilise previously unpublished criminal proceedings already collected from Ukrainian and Russian archives, unpublished forensic reports and data from the first-ever non-invasive archaeological investigations at Trawniki. The main project output will be a highly innovative digital and printed monograph that will combine text with video, audio and other interactive materials collected during the project e.g., aerial photographs, oral histories, 3D models etc, to offer an unparalleled, rich, interactive experience suitable for many audiences. The highly accurate 3D models generated by the archaeological survey will also preserve Trawniki by way of record, offer invaluable insights into the spaces that Jews experienced during the Holocaust, and provide materials for heritage management and education. Therefore, as well as providing a vital contribution to Holocaust studies, the project will demonstrate the benefits of transdisciplinary approaches to Holocaust history, particularly those that combine spatial and material methods with digital humanities.

The project will run until 30th June 2026.

 

Project Team: 

Principal Investigator and Project Lead: Professor Caroline Sturdy Colls, Professor of Holocaust Archaeology and Genocide Investigation and Director of the Centre of Archaeology, University of Huddersfield, UK

Dr Tamir Hod, Director of Tel-Hai Center for Research, Teaching and Commemoration of the Holocaust, Tel-Hai Academic College, Israel

Dr Daria Cherkaska, Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre of Archaeology, University of Huddersfield, UK.

Joanna Spyra, Research Assistant in Holocaust Studies, Centre of Archaeology, University of Huddersfield, UK.

Dr Karen Porter, Research Assistant.

Will Jones, Research Assistant.

Tom Vine, Technical Specialist, Centre of Archaeology, University of Huddersfield, UK.

Chris Going, Aerial Reconnaissance Consultant, GeoInformation Group, UK.

Kevin Colls, Reader in Archaeology, Centre of Archaeology, University of Huddersfield, UK.

William Mitchell. Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, Centre of Archaeology, University of Huddersfield, UK.

Katarzyna Grzybowska, Research Assistant and Fixer, Independent Consultant and Doctoral Researcher at the Jagellonian University, Poland.