For the first time, the names of approximately 425,000 individuals suspected of collaborating with the Nazis during the German occupation of the Netherlands have been published online.
These names represent those investigated through a special legal system set up towards the end of World War II.
Out of these, over 150,000 individuals faced some form of punishment.
Previously, the full records of these investigations could only be accessed in person at the Dutch National Archives in The Hague.
The Huygens Institute, which contributed to digitizing the archive, points out that this has posed a significant obstacle for those wishing to research the Netherlands’ occupation, which lasted from the German invasion in 1940 until 1945.
“This archive contains important stories for both present and future generations,” said the Huygens Institute. “From children who want to know what their father did in the war, to historians researching the grey areas of collaboration.”
The archive includes files on war criminals, around 20,000 Dutch people who enlisted in the German military, and members of the National Socialist Movement – the Dutch Nazi party. However, it also holds the names of those found innocent.
The archive consists of documents from the Special Jurisdiction, which began investigating suspected collaborators in 1944.
The online database only provides the names of suspects, along with their date and place of birth, which can be searched using specific personal details.
It does not indicate whether a person was found guilty or what form of collaboration they were suspected of.
However, the database will guide users on how to request further details from the National Archives.
To access the physical files, individuals must demonstrate a legitimate interest in the content.
There have been concerns in the Netherlands about making such sensitive information freely available online, and as a result, the published data has been limited.
“I am afraid that there will be very nasty reactions,” said Rinke Smedinga, whose father was an NSB member and worked at Camp Westerbork, a site from which people were deported to concentration camps. “You have to anticipate that. You should not just let it happen, as a kind of social experiment.”
The Director of the National Archives, Tom De Smet, acknowledged the concerns of relatives of both collaborators and victims of the occupation.
He noted, however, that collaboration remains a deeply traumatic topic that is rarely discussed.
“We hope that when the archives are opened, the taboo will be broken,” he said.
In a letter to parliament on December 19, Culture Minister Eppo Bruins emphasized the importance of archival openness.
“Openness of archives is crucial for facing the effects of [the Netherlands’] difficult shared past and to process it as a society,” he wrote.
He also clarified that while some privacy concerns would limit the information available online, those visiting the archive in person would not be permitted to make copies.
Bruins has expressed a desire to change the law to allow more information to be made publicly accessible.
The website for the online database specifies that names of individuals who may still be alive are excluded from the publication.
