GENEVA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The Red Cross is opening the archives of its International Tracing Service for victims of Nazi persecution to researchers and the public.

The archives contain more than 50 million documents on the persecution, exploitation and extermination of millions of civilians by the Nazis, who kept meticulous records of their crimes.

Previously access was granted only to victims of Nazi persecution and their next of kin, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement on Wednesday.

After World War Two, concentration camp records were brought to Bad Arolsen, Germany, and stored in archives. Historical researchers can now examine the archives and documents.

"The sheer dimensions of the collection and its unique nature both enable these documents to make plain the horrors inflicted systematically and on an enormous scale by the National Socialist regime from 1933 to 1945," said Reto Meister, director of the tracing service.

"It will now be possible to carry out detailed research on, for example, the transport of prisoners, the camp populations, and the health of forced labourers." (Reporting by Jonathan Lynn; Editing by Robert Woodward)

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