Final Project Proposal: Timeline of SS-Concentration Camp System During World War II: UPDATED

For my final project, I would like to map the SS-concentration camp system from 1933-1945.  I chose this topic for a few reasons.  I like to study and learn about the Holocaust.  One of the things at the top of my bucket list is to visit some of the larger camps, such as Auschwitz and Buchenwald.  It's such an important time in our history that needs to be remembered, and I hope to add another source of knowledge to that.

In my research into this topic, I went in imagining a map of 1500 to 2000 dots representing the camps run by the SS.  However, my research has shown me the true number (the number that could actually be counted and recorded through records, etc.) is actually around 20,000.  This is astounding to me, and actually makes me even more interested in creating this map.

The map I am visualizing has a splash screen that gives a little background into what the viewer will be seeing.  Once they press play, the map will go through a timeline, starting from 1933 to 1945.  As the months and years progress, dots will appear representing the camps when they opened.  There will be bigger dots for the main camps, and smaller dots representing the smaller sub camps of those larger ones.  Each camp system will also have their own color to show the different systems.  As the time progresses, I would also like to possibly make it stop at certain points to show major events, like the invasion of Poland, or when more "famous" camps opened, such as Auschwitz.  At the end of the animation, I would like for there to be buttons that when hovered or pressed, information about the camp system pops up in a sidebar.  I want this sidebar to contain dates of opening and liberation, as well as the number of people that were brought to the camp, and the number of people who died.  I was also thinking that in the sidebar, maybe a picture or two of the camps could pop up along with this information.  Maybe the pictures could be flipped through with a button, but I am unsure of how to do that, or if it's even something to consider at this point.

I imagine Flash being used, but this may just be because that is all I have used up to the point of writing this proposal.  I am very much open to using other programs if I am given a tutorial on how to do certain things that will enhance or help create the things I envision with this map.

I have the data I need.  I found a set of 2 books called Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945, published by Indiana University Press in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  They are huge books, but they contain information about every single concentration camp.  I've already started collecting the names, dates, etc for the camps and systems.  Next I will need to find a base map of Europe, bring it into Illustrator, and create everything but the dot placement.  Then I will need to bring it into Flash or some other program and create the timeline, add dots at appropriate times through the timeline, etc.

The obstacles I foresee is the animation and sidebar.  I am trying to workout how to do these things.  I imagine needing to create a long timeline with a lot of frames to represent months and year, and adding the dots into specific frames as the time line progresses.  However, I am unsure if this is what should be done.  I also need to learn how to do the pictures in a way that when the forward arrow is pushed, the picture slides out of the way and shows another.  If anyone has suggestions or knowledge on how to do this, I will be forever indebted to you.

I am not going to let the number of camps deter me.  This is an incredibly important topic to me, and is a story that needs to be told and told over and over.

Here is an example of the map I want to create.  It's a static map, but it came from an animated one.  I discovered this static map while researching for mine, and realized it had been done before.  However, I can not find the animated version.

*Update (3/20/15):  After talking with a lovely gentleman from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, there were actually 42,500 camps!  About 900 of those were what we all know as concentration camps and subcamps, so this will be what I focus on.  While the others are important, limiting the map to concentration camps will be much more manageable, and will not take away from the map at all.

Here is an example of a map dealing with sort of the same things as mine.  Not completely like mine, but the timeline and the dots appearing as the timeline progresses is very similar to my idea.
Interactive Map: Nazi Death Camps (CNN)