Netherlands Names 425,000 Suspected Nazi Collaborators, Ignites Privacy Vs Transparency Debate

The names of 425,000 individuals suspected of collaborating with Nazi Germany have been published online in the Netherlands for the first time under a project called "War in Court", according to a BBC report. The names were released after the expiry of a law on New Year's Day that restricted public access to the archive, marking a new era of transparency regarding the nation's wartime past.

The Huygens Institute helped digitise the archive which was previously only accessible by visiting the Dutch National Archives in The Hague.

"This archive contains important stories for both present and future generations. From children who want to know what their father did in the war, to historians researching the grey areas of collaboration," the Huygens Institute says.

The archive has almost 32 million pages and details the lives and actions of mostly Dutch citizens who worked in various capacities with the German occupiers during World War II. Apart from the names, the database contains the date and place of birth of the suspects, which are only searchable using specific personal details.

Only a fifth of the nearly half a million suspected collaborators were ever presented before a court while other cases concerned lesser offences such as being a member of the Nationalist Socialist Movement - the Dutch Nazi party.

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Privacy vs transparency

Although the names were released to ensure transparency, the entire episode has drawn criticism from both descendants of the accused as well as families of victims. It has also sparked a debate on the ethics of privacy versus the public's right to historical truth.

Some fear that the archive could reignite old tensions and stigmatise individuals linked to the dark period of Dutch history. Meanwhile, supporters argue that such transparency is essential for historical education and for healing the wounds of the past. 

Research suggests that approximately a fifth of Dutch people are not comfortable with the idea of children of Nazi collaborators holding public office.

The archive does not specify whether a particular person was found guilty, or what form of collaboration they were suspected of. Users will have to file a request to see this particular information and even then, they must declare a legitimate interest in viewing them.