Contacting the ICRC archives

03 October 2020
  • General archives

The ICRC's general archives are composed of operational, diplomatic and institutional files that differentiate them from the so-called "Agency" archives, which contain individual and personal data on war victims. The public general archives cover about 1.6 linear km. The public reading room is open by appointment only from Monday to Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
For consultation of these sources, and because the places of work in the reading room are limited, it is necessary to contact beforehand Fabrizio Bensi, archivist, in order to set up an appointment. The reading room of the public archives is always closed for two weeks during the holiday season (December-January).
The reading room of the public archives is always closed for two weeks during the holiday season (December-January). Users and researchers are allowed to freely photograph the pieces with a digital camera. However, the service does not make photocopies.

Fabrizio Bensi, archivist
+ 41 22 730 2966
fbensi@icrc.org

Daniel Palmieri, historian
+41 22 730 2943
dpalmieri@icrc.org

General contact
publicarchives@icrc.org

  • Agency archives

The Agency archives contain data about individuals that has been collected by the ICRC in the course of its humanitarian work in armed conflicts and other situations of violence.

  1. First World War: visit the ICRC's digital archives on individuals from the First World War.
  2. Spanish Civil War and Second World War : more information on how to seek informations about a person - military or civilian - detained during the Spanish Civil War or the Second World War
  3. Current armed conflicts and other situations of violence : to trace people caught up in current conflicts and other situations of violence, visit the Restoring Family Links website.
  • Audiovisual archives

The ICRC's audiovisual archives consist of photographs (1850-), films/videos (1921-) and sound recordings (1940-). They illustrate and document the institution's activities in armed conflicts and other situations of violence around the world. These collections are continuously enriched.

Tens of thousands of documents are available in digital format on the ICRC audiovisual archives portal.

If you have any questions about these collections, you can contact the archivists at avarchives@icrc.org .

Visit our audiovisual archives portal