Temporary Facility for War Archive Accessible at More Locations

The CABR is the largest and most consulted archive on World War II in the Netherlands. The archive contains files of individuals investigated after World War II because they were suspected of collaborating with the German occupier. For a long time, research in the CABR was only possible by consulting the paper files. Digitization has made the war archive much more accessible. For example, it is now possible to search by the names of victims. So far, about 30% of the war archive has been digitized.

Minister Moes: The interest in the digitized war archive is great. With this expansion, the temporary facility is accessible throughout the country. Given the advanced age of many interested parties, it is important to offer this possibility close to home. Relatives and other involved parties can search by names or places. This gives them the opportunity to uncover the fate of loved ones from the war years after 80 years.

For scientific research, a temporary facility will be established at the NIOD, the Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam. From early February, it will be possible to reserve a spot at the Regional Historical Centers (RHCs) and the NIOD. More information about registration will be available on the websites of the respective organizations at that time.

The temporary facility has limited capacity and is an emergency solution to provide access to the digitized part of the war archive. To make the CABR fully searchable online for everyone, with context and linked to other war sources, the minister plans to submit a legislative proposal to the House of Representatives in January 2026. This amendment aims to create a better balance between protecting personal data and ensuring access to government information and cultural heritage.

During the development of the temporary facility, careful attention was paid to adequate protection of personal data. The consortium War for the Judge (National Archives, WO2Net, NIOD, and Huygens Institute) has taken various measures to safeguard the privacy of living persons. Visitors who discover documents during their research that should not be shown can report this. These may concern personal data of a living person, a photo subject to portrait rights, or personal documents such as a letter or diary. These documents are temporarily not shown, and an independent committee will then assess whether the request to withhold a document is justified.