From Tuesday 1 July, the Central Archives for Special Justice (CABR) is digitally searchable in the reading room of the National Archive. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) reports this.
People with an investigation interest can view the files from the extensive war archive on five computers until then. It concerns about a third of the 4 -kilometer paper archive, which contains the files of 425,000 Dutch people who were investigated for collaboration after the Second World War.
The ministry speaks of a “limited capacity”, more than the five computers, according to the department, is not feasible for the National Archives. It is expected that the CART can also be viewed online later this year in the study rooms of Regional Archives. The Drents Archief in Assen is also in the picture for that.
In contrast to the paper files, which are in the name of the suspects, stakeholders can also digitally search for, for example, the names of victims or at specific locations.
According to the ministry, the privacy of still living people who prevents in the CACT is sufficiently protected in the digital system. For example, the files of investigated persons who are not clear are clear whether they have died. If visitors come across information that they think may not be shown, such as the personal data of people still living, a photo on which portrait rights or personal documents such as diaries, they can report this. The relevant documents will then be taken offline and investigated as quickly as possible.
The digital accessibility in study rooms is a temporary solution, because ultimately Minister Bruins wants the archive to be searchable online for everyone. That would actually happen on January 1, but was postponed because the AP warned of privacy risks. The minister is now working on a bill to make the archive digitally accessible.
In Drenthe and the rest of the country, discussion is made to what extent the publicity of the archives is desirable. Many have a personal relationship with the events of that time and the archives often offer the last piece of information for relatives who are looking for answers about their ancestors.