AI Identifies Nazi War Criminal in Infamous Holocaust Photo Using Advanced Technology

In a groundbreaking blend of historical research and cutting‑edge technology, artificial intelligence (AI) has helped identify the Nazi soldier captured in one of the Holocaust’s most chilling photographs — more than eight decades after the image was taken. This development marks a significant moment in both Holocaust remembrance and the application of technology in historical investigation.

Unearthing History: The Photo and Its Legacy

The photograph in question, widely known as “The Last Jew in Vinnitsa,” depicts a German SS soldier pointing a pistol at the head of a Jewish man kneeling beside a mass grave filled with bodies. The haunting image first drew global attention during the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann, where it was used as evidence of Nazi atrocities. For decades, however, the identities of both the executioner and the victim remained unknown.

Taken on July 28, 1941, the scene actually occurred not in Vinnitsa as originally believed but in the Ukrainian city of Berdychiv, where Nazi Einsatzgruppe units were carrying out mass shootings of Jews and other victims as part of the Holocaust by bullets.

AI and Historical Research: A Breakthrough Identification

After years of meticulous archival research, German historian Dr. Jürgen Matthäus — formerly head of research at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. — collaborated with volunteers and AI specialists to finally name the executioner. The breakthrough came when a retired teacher, believing the soldier in the photo might be his wife’s uncle, provided previously unseen family photographs for comparison.

AI‑assisted facial recognition technology, used by volunteers from the investigative group Bellingcat, compared the historical image with the family photos. The algorithm returned a high confidence match — around 99 % similarity — strongly indicating that the man pointing the gun was Jakobus Onnen, a German schoolteacher turned SS member from Tichelwarf.

Onnen was born in 1906 and had joined the Nazi Party before Adolf Hitler rose to power. He later became a member of the SS and served with Einsatzgruppe C, one of several mobile killing units tasked with mass executions of Jews and other civilians in Eastern Europe following the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Although never prosecuted as a war criminal, he was killed in combat in 1943 on the Eastern Front.

Technology Meets Tradition: Combining Tools to Reveal the Past

Despite the power of AI, historians emphasize that the technology was only one component of the identification process. Traditional archival work, decades of research, eyewitness accounts, and the crucial family connection were all essential to reaching this conclusion. Matthäus noted that while AI produced a remarkably high match, the human element of corroborating contextual historical evidence remained indispensable.

The publication of these findings appeared in the Journal of Historical Studies in September 2025, providing the academic community and public with a peer‑reviewed account of the methodology and conclusions.

Implications for Holocaust Memory and AI Use

This identification has powerful implications for how we understand Holocaust history and for the role of AI in historical research. The use of AI in this case highlights how modern technology can assist in solving historical mysteries that once seemed unsolvable. But it also raises important ethical questions about the use of facial recognition and similar technologies on sensitive historical material.

Experts are clear that while AI can support identification and analysis, it must be used responsibly and in conjunction with traditional research methods. The risk of misidentification and the moral responsibility to treat victims and survivors’ memories with dignity remain paramount.

A Future Path for Historical Investigations

With the executioner’s identity now known, researchers are turning their attention to identifying the victim in the photograph — a much more challenging task due to the lack of records and the sheer number of unnamed victims killed in similar mass executions. Historians are combining AI with Soviet‑era records and local archival data in hopes of one day naming the man in the suit before he was killed, though the project faces significant obstacles.

Supporters of this approach argue that AI might shed light on other unresolved aspects of WWII history, potentially restoring identities to forgotten victims and connecting families with their lost ancestors. Critics caution that the technology must be wielded with care, ensuring that it does not distort historical truth or become a tool for speculative or inaccurate claims.

Remembering the Past Through Innovative Tools

The identification of Jakobus Onnen as the Nazi executioner in one of the Holocaust’s most infamous photos demonstrates how AI can complement human expertise to deepen our understanding of historical atrocities. While the photograph remains a stark reminder of the cruelty and devastation of the Holocaust, this breakthrough adds a new chapter to a story long shrouded in mystery, ensuring that the faces — even those of perpetrators — are not lost in the passage of time.