Collaboration archives from the war must be made fully public: it is also the archive of the victims

The Second World War is far from a thing of the past. Remembrance Day is used to expose current political events, such as the current situation surrounding Gaza. There is also discussion about the war archives. The largest of these is the CABR archive, with the criminal files of collaborators. From 2025, this important archive will finally become public. Relatives of ‘wrong’ Dutch people fear unpleasant reactions and still want to limit this publicity. They ignore the fact that the CABR is also an archive of victims, full of information about persecuted resistance fighters and Jews. Therefore, this archive must be made public without restrictions.

Near The Hague Central Station is the National Archives, the most important archive in the Netherlands. This archive contains an unprecedentedly rich and diverse collection of archival documents, the oldest of which dates from the year 1179 (a piece of parchment belonging to a pope). However, the largest sub-archive relates to the Second World War – the so-called ‘Central Archive for Special Justice’. This CABR contains the criminal files of at least three hundred thousand compatriots who collaborated to a greater or lesser extent with the German occupier. The CABR is gigantic in size, almost four kilometers in size, and contains not only paper, but also photos.

CABR now difficult to access

Historians have been eagerly awaiting 2025 for years, the year in which the CABR will finally become public and digitally searchable. Even now, this archive can be consulted, but it is certainly not user-friendly or accessible. Anyone who wants to inspect a criminal file must make it plausible in advance that the person concerned is deceased, and also find out the exact date and place of birth of that person. You can then make an appointment by telephone to view the criminal file in The Hague.

This inspection takes place at a special table that is monitored. Photographing or copying archival documents is not permitted and visitors must put their mobile phone away. The laptop’s camera is covered.

Such restrictions are understandable, as criminal files contain privacy-sensitive and often shocking information about perpetrators. Although they have (almost always) died, the immediate family is often still alive. It is logical that relatives of NSB members, Waffen-SS members and other collaborators are sometimes nervous about what could happen when criminal files become searchable for everyone from next year. It is extremely annoying to suddenly be confronted with all kinds of accusations via Facebook and Twitter about the misconduct of your father or grandfather during the war. Children of NSB members were often bullied after the liberation. Something like that could well happen again.

In recent weeks, the Recognition working group, in which relatives of former collaborators have come together, has undertaken a real media offensive to limit the publicity of the CABR. Jeroen Saris, chairman of Herkenning, suggested the possibility that family members could appeal against disclosure. It was also suggested that the files should not be made accessible to everyone at home via their laptop, but initially only via libraries. From the perspective of the relatives, these are understandable suggestions, arising from legitimate concerns.

Different perspectives

However understandable it may be, it cannot be the case that relatives of collaborators have the final say on the extent to which the CABR becomes public. The perpetrator’s perspective (and his relatives) is after all not the only perspective. There are at least two other perspectives from which you can look at the importance of the CABR and its publicity. Unfortunately, both of these other perspectives have remained underexposed.

Also the historian’s perspective must be taken into account. The CABR is the most important Dutch archive on the Second World War, even more important than the archives located at the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) in Amsterdam, which has become famous thanks to Loe de Jong. Anyone who conducts historical research into a theme from the occupation years will in many cases sooner or later end up at the CABR. The researcher then discovers that the inaccessible way in which the CABR can now be consulted, in practice has a very hindering effect on historical research.

Problems for the historian

The historian is confronted with problems during the first day at the archive. For example, when going through a criminal file of a collaborator, the researcher will also come across all kinds of other names, for example of accomplices or of figures who may be interesting for all kinds of other reasons. However, it is not possible to request their criminal files – a new application procedure must be completed for each person, which will take weeks.

The CABR is an archive composed of individual files of punished persons. You do not know exactly which documents are in a criminal file, and who else is in it. You also cannot search by keywords, or make combinations between names and keywords. The CABR undoubtedly contains a wealth of information about the NSB in my own hometown of Haarlem. However, it is currently extremely time-consuming – and almost impossible – to put together a complete picture. From next year, a simple combination of the keywords ‘NSB’ and ‘Haarlem’ will provide you with a relevant set of documents on your screen. Digital access not only saves historians tons of time, but also makes it possible to conduct more quantitative (statistical) research.

As a historian, I am of course a great supporter of full and digital public access to the CABR. But above all, I am also an advocate of full disclosure from a different perspective: the victim’s perspective.

The CABR consists of criminal files and is therefore an ‘archive of perpetrators’. In practice, the CABR remains an ‘archive of victims’. Practically every criminal file contains information about resistance fighters, Jews and other Dutch people who became victims of the misconduct of the collaborator in question.

Names and stories of Dutch Jews

For those researching the practice of the persecution of Jews in the Netherlands, the CABR is the most important archive. The Nazis tried to erase Dutch Jewry, and succeeded to a great extent. Not only were the majority of Dutch Jews murdered, but hardly any personal documents have survived. However, the CABR contains many names and stories that can be told when the archive is finally made optimally accessible.

Jan-Jaap van den Berg is a historian. He published the book (together with historian Jan de Roos) in November 2023 Wrong people. Robbery, betrayal and repression in Haarlem and the surrounding area 1940-1945which was published by Loutje publishers and is the result of extensive archival research in the CABR.

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