The online release of the Netherlands’ largest war archive has been postponed, as decided by Minister Bruins. The Central Archive of Special Criminal Jurisdiction (CABR), containing files on hundreds of thousands of Dutch individuals allegedly collaborating with occupiers during World War II, will not be accessible online from January 2.
The Dutch Data Protection Authority warned Bruins last month that opening the archive online could violate the privacy of living individuals, which would be unlawful. Initially, over 300,000 files were set to be publicly available on January 1 and accessible online a day later through www.oorlogvoorderechter.nl, following the Archive Act’s mandate for public access.
AP’s insights impact the entire archival sector concerning digital availability, according to Bruins. He intends to amend the Archive Act to assess whether privacy or public access should prevail, as the current law does not allow for this.
Bruins regrets the delay, emphasizing the societal importance of making the archive fully accessible online, which he believes is crucial for Holocaust survivors, science, education, and combating antisemitism. The archive, containing information on those suspected of collaborating with the Germans post-World War II, is currently accessible at the National Archives in The Hague, with restrictions based on the individual’s consent or decease.
Source: NOS