Netherlands to declassify archive of more than 400 thousand collaborators from World War II
Kyiv • UNN
The Central Archives of the Special Courts of the Netherlands will open access to the list of 425,000 people accused of collaborating with the Nazis. The documents can be viewed in the reading room of the National Archives in The Hague with a special permit.
The details of cooperation with the Nazis, which have been buried in the cabinets of The Hague for 80 years, will finally be officially opened this week. However, for reasons of confidentiality, the digitized military archives will not be allowed to be viewed without special permission.
Reported by UNN with reference to De Volkskrant and The Guardian.
Details
On Thursday, the Central Archives of the Special Courts (CABR), which was created after the liberation of the Netherlands by the Allies to bring collaborators to justice, will be opened in the Netherlands, in accordance with national archival rules.
An archive of 425,000 people accused of collaborating with the occupiers during World War II will be opened.
Military dossiers will be available on request. On January 2, the Oorlog voor de rechter website - the name of the digitization project - will publish a list of more than four hundred thousand people convicted of war crimes, collaboration or membership in the NSDAP, or suspected of such crimes. The relevant information comes from the National Register of Deceased Persons (NRO).
Anyone who would like to view one of these files, for example, to see what a mother, grandfather, or great-uncle has accomplished, can make an appointment at the reading room of the National Archives in The Hague.
Work is also underway on digital access.
Minister of Culture Eppo Bruins wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives that a “temporary means” is being developed to make digitized criminal cases available in a searchable digital format in a short time. However, users will not be able to do this from their couch at home, but through a terminal in the reading room of the National Archives in The Hague.
According to a spokesperson for the National Archives, anyone interested in research can request a file. Stakeholders wishing to reserve a place to view paper files must declare their interest in doing so.
This can be a historical interest, such as that of a close relative or journalist, or a scientific interest, such as that of a researcher. Then the archives issues a so-called inspection order, which allows you to get acquainted with the case file, but under certain conditions (without copying).
AddendumAddendum
But some in the Netherlands believe that openness about the country's wartime past, including its economic and bureaucratic cooperation, is crucial. Three-quarters of the Jewish population of the Netherlands - more than 102,000 people - were murdered by the Nazis with the anti-Semitic cooperation of the state, the police, and some of the Dutch population.
This is part of the Dutch suppression of their memories of collaborationism after we punished our military and political collaborators. I understand that the children and grandchildren of collaborators are now afraid of the possible consequences, but my personal experience shows that their feelings subside when they see the files. Making it open is an important step
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