Deciphering Nazi Racial Sorting: The Challenges of Attempting a Big Data Approach

In 2019 I started analyzing a large set of "race cards" preserved in the German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv). These cards document anthropometric measurements performed by SS experts during WWII in the territories occupied by the Nazi regime. Applying a big data approach, my goal was to use those cards to study the inner dynamics of the racial selection process and its underlying logic. In the attempts to digitize and analyze the cards I encountered a variety of challenges, from recruiting funding and manpower to programming a suitable software. Decisions taken during this phase were later found to have had various unforeseen implications for the unfolding of the project. Moreover, the seemingly technical task of inserting the data extracted from the cards into a database raised principal interpretative challenges which influenced our understanding of the racial sorting process itself. This paper is dedicated to sharing with the community of researchers some of the experiences accumulated, and methodological insights gained, during the execution of the project.