---
# System prepended metadata

title: 'Chapter 1: The Origins of Identity Tracking'
tags: [Foremembrance]

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## Chapter 1: ***The Origins of Identity Tracking***

(revision 2023-08-15d)

In the digital age, as technology weaves itself into every aspect of our lives, identity tracking stands out as one of the most influential—and contentious—innovations. It is an intricate system, pooling together a person’s most intimate details, from their name and address to their online behaviors and biometric markers like fingerprints. Yet, such detailed data collection is a double-edged sword, with the potential for both protection and persecution.

This book's early chapters delve into some history of identity tracking, tracing its inception during a time of great global upheaval: World War II. During this period, the early seeds of today's digital identity systems were sown, their transformative power evident even in their infancy. These tools, both inspiring and terrifying in their potential, played critical roles in the war, altering the fates of millions and setting the stage for the digital landscape we know today.

Identity tracking often—either by design or inadvertently—captures additional details like gender, race, ethnicity, parentage, class, religion, sexual preferences, and more. Such data, while seemingly benign, holds the potential for discrimination and even persecution. Today, identity tracking systems are deeply woven into the fabric of our lives. They underpin a plethora of transactions and services, from online shopping and social networking to healthcare and banking. Moreover, they've become indispensable tools for national security, aiding authorities in detecting and thwarting criminal activities.

However, as identity tracking becomes increasingly pervasive, it simultaneously ignites pressing debates about privacy, individual freedom, and autonomy. In a world where personal data oscillates between being a treasured asset and a potential weapon, how do we strike a balance between harnessing the benefits of these technologies and ensuring their ethical deployment?

During World War II, the precursors to today’s advanced databases and digital identity systems were just beginning. Yet, even in their embryonic state, these technologies showcased their transformative might, influencing the trajectory of the war, shaping the destinies of countless souls, and redefining concepts of human rights. Their applications during this period oscillate between inspiration and horror, revealing the dual nature of what have now become omnipotent tools.

Each offers a unique lens into the use and ramifications of identity tracking during the World War II, presenting contrasting tales that unveil the full spectrum of this technology’s potential.

Central to our exploration are the personal sagas of two pivotal figures, Jacobus Lentz and René Carmille. These men, both visionaries in their own right, not only bore witness to the dawn of identity tracking but also actively sculpted its trajectory during one of history’s darkest hours. Lentz, a Dutch civil servant, was instrumental in creating advanced identification systems, only to see his work co-opted by the Nazis during their occupation of the Netherlands. In contrast, Carmille, a member of the French Resistance, leveraged his understanding of these systems to thwart Nazi efforts and shield France's Jewish population. Their stories provide contrasting lenses into the world of identity tracking. 

**•••**

The embryonic stages of identity tracking technology were already in motion during the early decades of the twentieth century, well before the cataclysmic events of World War II. The initial strides were manifested in the structured and systematic approach to demographic data collection through census systems. The United States pioneered these advancements, employing a rudimentary form of mechanical data processing for its 1890 census.

This nascent system, a brainchild of engineer Herman Hollerith, was inspired by the pattern-punching methods used by railway conductors on tickets. Hollerith's innovation allowed census data to be punched into cards, which machines could then interpret. The ramifications were profound: the processing time for decennial census data plummeted from nearly a decade to just a few years. Concurrently, across the Atlantic in Europe, analogous systems were gaining traction as nations began to fathom the potential of these budding data management methodologies.

The efficacy of these early systems and their prowess in handling voluminous data set the stage for behemoths like IBM to redefine data processing. Indeed, Hollerith's enterprise, post its patenting of the tabulator, amalgamated with other firms in 1911 to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR), which metamorphosed into International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924. The advent of punch card systems and mechanical sorting machines streamlined tasks like census counting, administrative operations, and demographic analysis, transferring the onus from humans to machines.

In a blink of an eye, tasks that would have consumed months or even years of human labor were now achievable within mere days. These advancements signified more than mere administrative convenience. They heralded an era where digital identity and personal data would be esteemed as invaluable assets. Governments, too, began to discern the implications of these burgeoning technologies, recognizing their potential for social control, enabling more precise planning, policy development, and resource allocation through accurate population data.

Yet, this potential bore a sinister underbelly. The novel systems could be weaponized to categorize, segregate, and exert dominion over populations, igniting concerns over privacy and the ethical stewardship of personal data. As the early twentieth century sowed the seeds for identity tracking, it simultaneously kindled debates over data privacy and ethics that continue to reverberate in today’s digital milieu.

Jacobus Lentz, a Dutch civil servant, emerges as a linchpin in our exploration of modern identity tracking’s origins and ramifications. A visionary in the realm of advanced identification card systems, Lentz's initial endeavor was to streamline administrative processes in the Netherlands. Among his most seminal innovations was the integration of a personal photograph and fingerprint to combat forgery and fraud.

This feature was the genesis from which the transformative potential of identity tracking burgeoned. Under the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, Lentz’s avant-garde innovations were swiftly perverted. His meticulously crafted system was commandeered to expedite the identification and systematic persecution of Dutch Jews. A staggering 75% of Dutch Jews tragically lost their lives, a chilling testament to the efficiency of Lentz's system in the hands of the Nazis. A technology conceived for efficiency and protection was twisted into an instrument of oppression and dominion, underscoring the perilous potential of unchecked identity tracking.

The full extent of Jacobus Lentz's complicity in the Dutch Holocaust remains in debate. However, his tale serves as a grim harbinger of the potential fallout—both unintended and deliberate—from unchecked technological progress. Lentz's narrative compels us to grapple with thorny questions about responsibility and the potential misuse of technology. Should innovators bear the onus for the malevolent use of their creations? How can we ensure that technological progress is tethered to stringent ethical moorings?

In stark contrast to Lentz, we encounter René Carmille, a Frenchman who epitomized the notion that identity tracking could also be wielded as a formidable tool of resistance. Like Lentz, Carmille possessed an intimate understanding of identity-tracking systems. Yet, he channeled his acumen towards starkly different ends. As a member of the French Resistance, Carmille exploited his influential position in the collaborationist Vichy government’s statistics department to subvert the Nazi forces ensnaring his homeland.

A maestro in data manipulation, René Carmille ingeniously crafted a protective shroud around France’s Jewish populace, stymieing the occupiers’ endeavors to identify, track, and persecute French Jews. In France, only 23% of Jews were deported by the Nazis, a stark contrast to the grim statistics from the Netherlands. It was a covert act of defiance against the oppressive regime, executed even as he clandestinely marshaled the Vichy machinery of data collection and processing to prepare a military mobilization database, poised to galvanize a potential Free French Army uprising against the German occupiers.

Jacobus Lentz and René Carmille epitomize the dual facets of technology-enabled identity tracking. Their endeavors during the war illuminate the existence of moral choices and ethical imperatives, even within the confines of a malevolently oppressive system designed for control and persecution. Lentz's narrative led to tragedy, Carmille’s narrative is a testament to the indomitable spirit of principled individuals, showcasing their capacity to harness technology for the collective good and even to subvert tyrannical systems from within.

**•**

It's imperative to underscore that the perils Jews confronted during the Nazi occupation, while unparalleled in magnitude, were not unique in their essence. Antisemitism, a virulent strain of prejudice, has a long and pervasive history. This undercurrent of anti-Semitism, deeply entrenched in much of Europe, was weaponized during World War II, facilitating the misuse of identity tracking. The Nazis capitalized on this deep-seated prejudice to rationalize the systemic persecution of Jews, culminating in the Holocaust.

The stories of Lentz and Carmille should be viewed against the backdrop of antisemitism. However, antisemitism itself is a manifestation of the malignant “othering”—the systematic dehumanization and persecution of groups branded as “the other”—that has recurrently tainted human behavior and civilizations. The Nazis, in their malevolence, did not confine their persecution to Jews alone. They also targeted groups like the Romani, Slavs, people with disabilities, political dissidents, intellectuals, artists, and the LGBTQ+ community.

This isn't just a historic concern — there are new "others" in the modern world: Under Putin, all homosexuals are considered traitors. Under Trump’s administration, there have been attempts to repurpose the voluntary registrations of “Dreamers” from the previous administration, threatening those children of illegal immigrants with deportation. In Texas, the Attorney General requested lists of name changes from the Dept. of Motor Vehicles, to identify trans-gendered people.

Any strain of prejudice, when amplified by potent technology and wielded by despotic regimes, can escalate in both magnitude and severity. The contrasting tales of Lentz and Carmille underscore the dire potential for the misuse of identity tracking technologies. They serve as stark reminders of the imperative to establish and enforce robust ethical guidelines in the realm of technology. Their narratives should be heeded as we continue to craft and deploy tools capable of amassing, analyzing, and archiving personal data, especially as we traverse an increasingly diverse global landscape where the notion of “the other” could be more perilous than ever.

**•**

Viewing history through the lens of Lentz and Carmille during World War II, we glean lessons deeply relevant for our time. As our technology rapidly advances, the moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding its deployment must remain central to our societal discourse.

There's a clear need for more defined identity and personal data. For instance, the challenge that Jacobus Lentz faced with migration into the Netherlands during the Great Depressionled him to put together a system to ensure all Dutch could have access to civic support.

On the other hand, many advocate for minimizing identity data. This poses a crucial question of both historical and ethical importance: *What is the minimum identifying data access necessary to give you the right to be able to do things without unduly impinging on your privacy, dignity, and entitlement to respect?* It builds on the truth that René Carmille discovered as he purposefully excluded religious information from his census: personal information can be dangerous, damaging, and even deadly.

Often, we share our personal details and other identity information, erring on the side of oversharing, grounded in our current trust toward the data collector. Lentz and Carmille's contrasting approaches demonstrate that mere trust isn't sufficient: the regime can always change. The intended use of data can be easily misinterpreted or manipulated. Lentz's Great Depression data could be used by the Nazis to commit genocide against Dutch Jews; and what the Nazis thought was Carmille's French Census Data was used by The Resistance to raise an army.

Ultimately, identity and data will be used to the fullest extent that it can be, and it may be used for the worst purposes possible, entirely at odds with the original purpose of the collection and the intent of the collectors. We have to consider what data needs to be collected, and what does not. 

The ethical challenges of identity and personal data are not new — they have always accompanied technological progress. Lentz and Carmille's stories serve as a clear warning: we **must** ensure that our technological pursuits champion human rights and dignity.

These stories of the early inception of identity tracking sets a stage for our exploration of the myriad ethical dilemmas that continue to emerge. Jacobus Lentz and René Carmille offer poignant context for our present and guidance for our future. As history attests, unchecked technology can be catastrophic. Their tales not only caution us but prompt reflection on our current state of digital interconnectivity.

This book argues for modern safeguards based on these historical lessons. We must begin building safeguards by remembering the past when identity was weaponized and six million and more died as a result. But this remembrance must be proactive, transforming it from reflection into a vision where technology upholds human dignity for the present and the future. To construct that future we must actively 'remember forward,' using past lessons as proactive blueprints. Call it remembering forward. Call it _foremembrance._

In the chapters that follow, we'll delve deeper into history, spanning not just World War II but the subsequent decades. We'll then examine how these systems influence our current lives, societal dynamics, and our perceptions of privacy, autonomy, and freedom. Our goal is to provide you with a comprehensive understanding, to equip you to navigate our intricately connected digital world.


### Abstract:
"Foremembrance" provides a historical account of identity tracking, focusing on its evolution during World War II. The text seeks to offer insights into the ethical challenges posed by digital identity systems and emphasizes the need for safeguards, drawing from the past to guide our future. 

### Main Argument:
Identity tracking, while valuable, can be misused with dire consequences, especially in the hands of oppressive regimes. The text argues for the establishment of modern safeguards based on historical lessons, promoting the proactive 'remembering forward' or "foremembrance".

### Topics and Key Points:

#### Origins and Evolution of Identity Tracking:
- Importance and contention of identity tracking in the digital age.
- Role of identity tracking systems during World War II.
- World War II as the seedbed for digital identity systems.
  
#### Impact of Data Collection:
- The vast range of personal details captured by identity tracking.
- Potential for protection and persecution.
- Integral role in daily life and national security.

#### Historical Context:
- Early identity tracking systems before World War II.
- Herman Hollerith's census system for the US in 1890.
- Emergence of IBM from the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR).
  
#### Case Studies: Jacobus Lentz and René Carmille:
- Lentz's innovations in the Netherlands used by Nazis for persecution.
- Carmille's role in protecting France's Jewish population.
- Dual nature of technology showcased through their contrasting stories.

#### The Underlying Threat of "Othering":
- Weaponization of antisemitism during World War II.
- Persecution of various groups by the Nazis.
- Contemporary examples of "othering".

#### Ethical Challenges:
- Dilemmas surrounding data collection and potential misuse.
- Balancing identity data needs and privacy concerns.
- The enduring nature of ethical challenges accompanying technological progress.

#### Objective of the Book:
- Constructing a future where technology upholds human dignity by using lessons from the past.

### Facts or Quotes for Verification, Attribution, Footnote or Bibliographic Source

- [ ] "During World War II, the early seeds of today's digital identity systems were sown."
- [ ] "Hollerith's innovation allowed census data to be punched into cards, which machines could then interpret."
- [ ] "Hollerith's enterprise, post its patenting of the tabulator, amalgamated with other firms in 1911 to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR), which metamorphosed into International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924."
- [ ] "Under the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, Lentz’s avant-garde innovations were swiftly perverted."
- [ ] "In France, only 23% of Jews were deported by the Nazis."
- [ ] "Under Putin, all homosexuals are considerd [sic] traitors."
- [ ] "Under Trump’s administration, there have been attempts to repurpose the voluntary registrations of “Dreamers” from the previous administration."
- [ ] "In Texas, the Attorney General requested lists of name changes from the Dept. of Motor Vehicles, to identify trans-gendered people."
