For over 80 years, the details of Dutch citizens accused of collaborating with the Nazis during World War II were hidden away in files housed at the central archives of the special jurisdiction courts (CABR) in The Hague. However, this week, the Dutch government is taking a historic step by opening this archive, which contains information on 425,000 individuals suspected of siding with Nazi occupiers during the war.
The archive, established after World War II to bring justice to wartime collaborators, has been largely restricted to researchers and direct descendants of those involved. But from Thursday, it will be accessible to the general public, allowing visitors to explore the records of those accused of collaborating with the Nazis. This marks a significant shift in the Netherlands’ approach to reckoning with its past.
Additionally, for the first time, descendants of victims and alleged perpetrators will be able to digitally access a quarter of the archive on-site at the National Archive in The Hague. This is a move to make historical records more accessible, though privacy concerns have delayed plans to make the archive available online. The Dutch Data Protection Authority raised objections to posting sensitive data online, fearing potential violations of privacy laws. As a result, online access will not be immediately available, and officials are working on an alternative method for sharing the records.
The Netherlands has long struggled with confronting the darker aspects of its wartime past, including the collaboration of Dutch citizens and institutions with the Nazi regime. During the Holocaust, more than 102,000 Jews from the Netherlands were murdered by the Nazis, and a significant portion of the population, including state officials and police, participated in or supported this effort. In recent years, the country has begun to address this difficult legacy more directly, including opening a national Holocaust museum, issuing formal apologies, and funding research into institutional collaboration during the war.
While some families have mixed feelings about the archive’s opening, with some fearing the impact on their reputations, others believe it is essential for the country to confront the past openly. Many descendants of the collaborators feel conflicted, unsure about how the public will react to the records. Despite this, experts argue that revealing these historical documents is an important step toward understanding the full scope of wartime collaboration and ensuring that such actions are not forgotten.
The archive contains diverse materials such as witness reports, membership cards for the Dutch fascist party, court judgments, and even personal diaries. Historians caution that while the archive provides invaluable insights, it also contains documents from a period of intense accusation and political turbulence. Only a small fraction of those accused were actually punished, highlighting the complex nature of post-war justice in the Netherlands.
This move is seen by many as part of a broader effort to reckon with historical injustices, similar to other international efforts to preserve the memory of wartime crimes, such as the ongoing work in Syria. As the Netherlands opens these records, it hopes to encourage reflection without reigniting collective hatred or division. For more information about the archive and its contents, you can visit the National Archive of the Netherlands.
