2018: Update of the website "www.ravensbrueckerinnen.at"

The Internet site www.ravensbrueckerinnen.at offers the possibility to research female and male Austrian prisoners in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. In addition to biographical data, information about the reasons for persecution and regional specifics as well as background knowledge about the concentration camp and the conditions of survival are available. The website also provides information about the lives of these former inmates after imprisonment in the concentration camp. A search mask supports the search for persons or groups of people such as Roma and Sinti, Jews, politically persecuted persons or Carinthian Slovenes, to name just a few. Film portraits, documents, photos and question modules in a virtual "learning space" complete the offer, which is especially aimed at school-age children and young people.

For an interactive website like www.ravensbrueckerinnen.at, which has been operating since spring 2013, it is vital that its contents are up-to-date and reflect the latest state of research. During the project period from 1 August 2016 to 30 June 2018, the following content updates were made:

• The 31 portraits of women and men imprisoned in Ravensbrück were supplemented by three more comprehensive life stories: Barbara Eibensteiner, Cölestine Hübner and Vilma Steindling. For this purpose, the team not only carried out extensive archival research but also interviewed descendants of the three women. In addition, already existing life stories were updated.

• In the "research" section, visitors of the website can download photos of the portrayed women as well as documents and letters. These come almost exclusively from private archives. In the course of the project, numerous other photos of "Ravensbrückerinnen", letters and documents were added.

• The most comprehensive update in terms of time and content concerned the database of the Austrians imprisoned at Ravensbrück. This update concerns the heart of the website because in "research" area, it is possible to search for individuals, groups of persecuted persons, regional groups, etc. individually, according to one´s own interests. During the project period, numerous additions and corrections were made to around 350 datasets. In addition, we were able to identify a total of 71 more women as "Ravensbrück women" through archival research for the parallel research project on Austrians imprisoned in the Ravensbrück concentration camp as "asocial detainees".

Currently 1,949 out of 2,740 records on imprisoned Austrians in the women´s concentration camp of Ravensbrück are accessible online (exclusively those who have passed away, who were more than 100 years old in 2018, or who have consented to publication).